Mikel Arteta did not even try to hide his anguish at Arsenal's failure to qualify for the Champions League after a late capitulation ended the Gunners hopes of a top-four finish.
Arsenal were five points clear in fourth with three games to go, but defeats by their direct rivals Tottenham and then a disastrous display at Newcastle derailed their hopes of returning to the Champions League for the first time in six years.
A rampant 5-1 victory over Everton at the Emirates on the final day was academic as Spurs got their job done at Norwich to hold on to fourth.
After the game, the Gunners boss apologised and explained how any attempt to dissect the season's end would have to come after his summer break.
"I cannot assess the season today, I’m sorry, I’m still in a lot of pain after what happened on Monday," the Spaniard admitted. "I cannot give a fair assessment on what we’ve done. What I can guarantee is that we’ve tried to squeeze the lemon as much as we can for every single drop and we reached the point we reached.
"I need the dust to settle, I need to go and get a few days on holiday because I don’t think today I’m going to reflect the season the way it is.
"I’m very grateful for everybody supporting our club, the way they’re giving us confidence, respect and motivation to drive forward because I think they believe in what we’re doing. But when you have it there - I’m a winner and I hate losing and we lost something we could win. That’s why I’m in pain."
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If Arsenal are to end their hiatus from European club football's elite competition, there are three things that Arteta must look to address to ensure his side are in a better condition to fight for fourth next time around.
Transfers
Arteta has already proven that he is not afraid to splash the cash when required - the Gunners forked out £150million on six new additions last summer, the majority of whom all worked out to be vital members of the team.
In turn, that also proves that the Arsenal manager clearly has a good eye for talent and can be trusted to spend club funds wisely. He will have to do again this summer, as there are some glaring areas within this side that need to be addressed..
With Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah both likely to depart, it is essential Arsenal bring at the very least one top-class striker to add some much-needed goals to the squad. Gabriel Jesus has been touted as a potential option, but could prove more difficult to get without the allure of Champions League football on offer.
An alternative could come in the form of Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has long been on Arsenal's radar and would surely view a move to the Gunners as a step-up from fighting off relegation with the Toffees.
Handling the pressure
So often it is Arsenal's North London rivals Spurs that are accused of choking under the pressure, but Arteta's side crumbled when the spotlight became too much for them.
Whether that be down to youth or not, the facts remain that the Gunners failed to hold their nerve despite a five-point lead over their nearest challengers with three games to go.
Granit Xhaka's scathing review of his own side after the Newcastle defeat will live long in the memory of all who witnessed it as the Switzerland international made sure his feelings were abundantly clear during his post-match media duties.
"I can’t explain to you why. We didn’t do what the game plan was, not listening to the coach," the much-maligned midfielder admitted. "What happened was a disaster performance. You don’t deserve to play Champions League or even Europa League. It’s very hard to take it at the moment."
Though it is true the Gunners have both the youngest squad and manager in the league, they had enough talent and experience within their ranks to get over the line when it mattered most and still failed.
Quicker recovery
Arsenal were incredibly streaky this season, with a flurry of wins swiftly followed by a string of losses. The entire campaign opened with three defeats on the bounce by Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City respectively.
When Arteta does eventually look back on where this campaign was lost, he may reflect not on the derby day demolition at the hands of Spurs but instead the run of games that saw his side lose to Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton in succession.
Their inability to pull themselves out of the slump at the first time of asking, or the second against Brighton is a damning indictment of some of the mentalities within the dressing room.
Sides who qualify for the Champions League have to grind out wins they may not always deserve over the course of the season, something Spurs managed to achieve under Conte.
There were very few times Arsenal snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, much like there were few occasions the Gunners were beaten despite having the better of the play - in the end, Arteta's side got exactly what they deserved.
