THE boos that rang round the Emirates, echoing off the empty seats, told the story that matters.
It is over for Unai Emery. It has to be.
Today, tomorrow, next week. The question is the time and date of the Spaniards impending managerial execution, not whether it will come.
But while the Arsenal board try to come up with the solution, the best one would ensure a fragmented club comes together.
Yes, there are arguments for plenty of options.
Max Allegri, learning English at a voracious pace, probably refreshed after a few months out of the limelight since leaving Juventus. A proven winner at the highest level.
Nuno Espirito Santo, with a beard as full as his ambition. Already with an inside knowledge of English football and whose Wolves side have outplayed Emerys Gunners three times already.
Maybe Mauricio Pochettino, even if it is unlikely he could really turn up at the other end of the Seven Sisters Road a week after leaving Spurs.
Mikel Arteta, who was on the brink of coming 18 months ago and now looks as though he would have been a better choice than Emery. As many felt all along.
Or the internal option, of promoting Freddie Ljungberg.
Yet it is hard to look at the list of potential runners and riders and not come to the conclusion that the best man for the Arsenal job is currently working for Britains wealthiest man.
That man is Jim Ratcliffe, boss of Ineos and Nice.
And that manager is Patrick Vieira.
An Arsenal legend, and rightly so.
The fulcrum and embodiment of the drive that allowed Arsene Wengers Invincibles to rewrite the record book.
With managerial experience too, both in the US and in France.
Someone who would not need a crash course in English football, or be fazed by the challenge.
And, most importantly of all, a man who could unite and repair a fractured and schismatic club, swiftly and decisively.
Vieira knows Arsenal. Loves Arsenal. Cares for Arsenal.
Just like the fans.
He understands what makes the supporters tick, too.
Yes, there was some animosity from within when he embedded himself in the Manchester City structure, seemingly being groomed as Pep Guardiolas replacement when he was sent to New York.
But that was then. This is now. And in the here and now Arsenal need to get it right.
SIGN OF THE TIMES
If there were any doubts about the positivity that derives from installing a beloved club figure in the job, the Gunners board need merely to look over at SW6.
Frank Lampard will not get everything right at Chelsea. He knows that, too.
But he has already shown he will get far more right than wrong. That he is brave enough to make big calls. And willing to let the clubs brightest prospects show they can cut the mustard.
Crucially, too, his status at Chelsea means the fans will give him the leeway and latitude to learn on the job. They know that Lampard is making decisions because he thinks they are right for the club, not himself.
Vieira, the moment he walked into the door, would command respect from a squad that appears to have turned its back on Emery, and devotion from the supporters.
The toxicity that is seeping out of seemingly every Emirates crevice would disappear, instantly.
Everybody would be aligned on the same page.
Darkness replaced by hope of a bright new beginning.
Arsenal are in a mess. No question.
Emerys reign is over.
But if the board make the right decision and bring Vieira in now, the entire mood, feel, direction and thrust of the club would be altered, for the better.
Sometimes, hard decisions are actually easy ones. This is one of those occasions.
