When the final whistle sounded at London Stadium, Manchester City players collapsed on the grass and lay down disappointed. They looked like a team that had just been severely beaten for their championship ambition.
In the Premier League table, City is currently 9 points behind Arsenal even though they still have one match to play. The two teams will meet at the Etihad next month, so theoretical hope still exists. But the feeling after this draw is like a blow to the morale of Pep Guardiola's team.
What is special is that among the figures shaping Arsenal's championship race this season, few think of two such names. One is 16-year-old talent Max Dowman - who just scored against Everton to become the youngest scorer in Premier League history.
The other is Greek center-back Konstantinos Mavropanos of West Ham United - a former Arsenal player who only made eight appearances for this team many years ago.
About an hour after Dowman brought victory to Arsenal in north London, Mavropanos headed the ball into Man City's net, helping West Ham draw 1-1. While Arsenal had a late goal to win all 3 points, City tried their best but still could not find victory.
In theory, the race is not over yet. But football is not just numbers. It is also feeling, motivation and confidence. And all the energy seems to belong to Arsenal.
Mavropanos' equalizer is even more meaningful when it came from a set piece - the weapon that has become Arsenal's brand this season. From Jarrod Bowen's corner kick, the ball flew beyond the reach of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma before Mavropanos headed powerfully.
The second half then became extremely exciting. Due to suspension, Guardiola had to watch the match from the stands but still continuously put attacking players on the field. Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden brought new life to Man City's attack. However, opportunities kept passing by.
The match ended with a regrettable situation. From Reijnders' corner kick, the ball bounced in West Ham's penalty area before falling into Marc Guehi's feet. The whole stadium held its breath waiting for a goal, but his shot flew into the sky.
With West Ham, this point is extremely valuable. They have now equalized points with Tottenham Hotspur and are one point ahead of Nottingham Forest, temporarily escaping the relegation zone.
They may not want to contribute to helping Arsenal get closer to the championship, but if this point helps them stay in the league, it is still a valuable result. For The Citizens, this is still a strange season. They started the season with a 4-0 victory over Wolves with a squad of names like Oscar Bobb, Nico Gonzalez and John Stones.
7 months later, only 3 of them played against West Ham: Erling Haaland, Bernardo Silva and Rayan Ait-Nouri. It can even be said that there are only two left, because Haaland is no longer the scoring machine like at the beginning of the season.
We are still good at many things. But no longer as good as before" - Guardiola admitted after the match.
This draw clearly reflects Man City's problem when facing deep-lying defensive teams. West Ham built a "purple-red wall" in front of the goal with a tight defense built by Nuno Espirito Santo.
The distance between West Ham's defense and striker Bowen was often only about 20m, making Man City almost no space to exploit.
No, it's not over, we haven't given up and the whole team will continue. We have made a lot of progress but things are still not complete.
Man City needs creativity and the team is having difficulty this season. We have to play better in the attacking area. We didn't do that. This has happened in many matches this season" - Guardiola added.
