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Arsenal missed the chance to close the gap on league leaders Liverpool, and produced a horror show against West Ham.
We billed this up as the game Arsenal couldn't afford to lose if it had genuine title aspirations and the lack of January transfer activity came back to bite the Gunners in the worst way.
It was a performance that will sit in the stomach of Arsenal fans for a while as the Hammers, who had not won a league game in their last four, hit the Gunners on a counterattack just before half time as Jarrod Bowen again was on the score sheet against Mikel Arteta's side.
The lack of a quality forward was again a big issue, with Mikel Merino not able to reproduce his efforts against Leicester and the Gunners, as a result, didn't conjure up much in terms of clear chances.
Despite having 20 shots to five, Arsenal managed a woeful two on target, with Bowen's header enough to not only put the pressure on the Gunners, but also give Liverpool a sense of relief as it heads to the Etihad to face Manchester City.
“Today, we were not at the levels and standards that we have to hit to be much better than the opposition," Arteta said via arsenal.com.
Arsenal was already behind and chasing the game in the second half before disaster struck again as Myles Lewis Skelly was sent off for being last man, and the Gunners' task went from tough to impossible.
In the build-up to the clash, we spoke at length about the Gunners' need to take West Ham out of the game as soon as possible with an early goal. The longer the Hammers stayed in the contest, the more their confidence grew, and when Bowen scored just before half-time, West Ham had something to hold on to.
Now, the Gunners must pray for a City win over Liverpool and while it is an eight-point gap and can be reeled in, with the lack of a quality forward, Arsenal appears to be incapable of scoring enough goals to take it right to the death with Arne Slot's team.
Arsenal was at home, against a team low on confidence and riddled with injuries and it barely fired a shot with a lack of creativity evident.
The Gunners must now pick up the pieces of their title challenge and if Liverpool defeat City, the race is as good as run.
What a woeful day at the Emirates.