The picture of Frank Lampard's defeated expression with arms folded on the touchline at the Emirates Stadium has been the modus operandi since he took caretaker charge at the beginning of April.
Tuesday night brought with it another painful night for already despondent Chelsea supporters. This time at the hands of a ruthless and impressive Arsenal who refused to allow recent setbacks to derail their title aspirations. This was the sort of humbling Chelsea used to dish out to the Gunners on a pretty regular basis in the later Arsene Wenger years.
Although this was not the infamous 6-0 win in March of 2014, the gap in quality was as painful as the inevitability of this latest loss. The stark difference in value and output between both squads feels like a weekly realisation with most opponents Chelsea have faced this campaign.
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Arsenal may not win the Premier League title, but their league campaign has already bettered any points total the Blues have attained since 2017, a stark reminder of how far Chelsea have been from a serious title challenge in recent years. Going trophyless might sting Arsenal fans but at least they have a club that appears competent and performing above pre-season expectations.
Although any chatter of a title push seems decades not years away given Chelsea's current bleak outlook, it reflects the humility that will be needed in every facet of the club to accept how far Chelsea have fallen from the standards of previous teams.
But that challenge will not be overcome by Frank Lampard, whose coaching career looks in tatters now, failing to inspire any response since taking over from Graham Potter and still showing the tactical deficiencies that cost him at Derby, Chelsea the first time and Everton.
Martin Odergaard and Granit Xhaka managed to exploit the spaces in Lampard's 4-3-3, which at this point feels like the latest in a failed list of experiments with a muddled squad since the influx of names in January. The shambolic defending for Gabriel Jesus' goal to make it 3-0 was as comical as any conceded this season.
A sixth loss still leaves Chelsea waiting to reach the 40-point mark which has prompted some to gaze fearfully down the table towards the relegation zone.
The reality is, that should Manchester City beat Leeds this weekend, it would mean Chelsea would be effectively safe given Leeds could only reach 39 points by winning their last three games and have the worst goal difference. The same applies to Leicester City and Nottingham Forest.
Even if Chelsea were to lose all of their remaining games against Bournemouth, Forest, both Manchester clubs and Newcastle, it would be hard for them to be overtaken by the bottom three.
The fact we are even talking like this in reference to a club that were World and European Champions in the past 18 months speaks to the scale of this season's embarrassment. The remaining games feel like a contractual obligation from everyone involved rather than of any enthusiasm for something greater.
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