How can Arsenal match the unmatchable? Although dropping 12 points out of 21 during a run-in isn't enough for any team in any decisive stage, when it's Manchester City breathing down the necks every single strain is amplified.
If Mikel Arteta started to look stressed it was undoubtedly billed as Pep Guardiola's victory, another victim of his immense juggernaut. Arsenal have been ground down by the weight of the best and most expensive winning machine there has been in this country. A team that wins 10 straight games to see out the campaign on a yearly basis.
City have been able to do this with a near fully fit squad, too. Their own unorthodox centre-backs at full-back know no bounds. If it's not Nathan Ake then Aymeric Laporte will have to do. When it isn't Kyle Walker it's John Stone. Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji fit in somewhere.
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Arsenal's squad was not set-up to compete like this, very few teams are. Only nation-state backed groups managed by the greatest club winner of his generation can grant this sort of superhuman consistency at the time when everyone is gasping for air. Arsenal have invested heavily in this young group, they have spent money on players others wouldn't, it's worked out better than expected but it's still not enough.
Aaron Ramsdale has 13 clean sheets, only David De Gea has more. Ben White was brilliant in a new position for large portions of the season. Arteta and Stan Kroenke spent £80m ($99.8m) on the pair of them. It was a different type of business, not one that you would see City doing.
It has been proved right to this extent, though. Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool all spent more on bigger names. They could, with Champions League promise, go for those types of players whereby Arsenal couldn't. City allowed three title winners to go over the summer, who else could let that sort of quality drift off?
The question begs now, where do Arsenal go from here? Undoubtedly up, but having got so close to something so unexpected, could they have done more? Where City's depth includes Phil Foden, Akanji, Julian Alvarez, Arsenal had to turn to 31-year-old Jorginho, Jakub Kiwior and Leandro Trossard. There is a quality difference.
Whereas Arsenal's squad cost £462m ($576m) to assemble, City's was almost double that at £836m ($1.04bn). That is a level of finance that even Kroenke's Sports and Entertainment empire can't match. It has been blamed on the owner in the past for lack of investment and tight strung budget.
When the big moves did come in they didn't pay off. The same mistake can't be made here if they are to take the next step. It's a giant step, one that would involve going ahead of City in the table and winning a title with one of the youngest groups of players. That is the foundation that this success, because it has been a success, is built on.
Arsenal can't wait for another bunch to develop and grow into back-ups and elite level squad players, though, they must find a way to stock the squad with enough to cope with key injuries. They need to ensure that there is level trust in the rotation options, especially with the extra competition and pressure of the Champions League once more.
The Gunners have shown that they have the foundation to compete but a mere foundation is not enough with City. The gap of £374m ($466m) between the two squads is a chasm. It can't be allowed to grow any more. Not that money alone is enough, but backing and depth will be needed if the second placed ceiling is to be broken.
Arsenal haven't always been in a position to challenge those who have been historical rivals but they are now and the huge difference in outlay on squads between them and their opponents on paper is a gap that must be closed. The errors have already been made in the market and need to be corrected this summer to keep up the competition.
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