Arsenal's stuck-on smiles betray the sense that second isn't good enough, writes IAN HERBERT

An atmospheric black and white clip of Arsenal’s players, entitled ‘Keep Believing’, was broadcast by Arsenal as denouement day dawned and seemed to capture the sense that the team was destined to wait longer for their glorious technicolour moment.

There was nothing monochrome and melancholic about the mood on the streets, though. 

Only an air of celebration, as the Arsenal team bus was serenaded down Hornsey Road in the sunshine at ten to two and as the ‘North London Forever’ anthem was belted out before kick-off into a brilliant blue sky with an intensity which was remarkable, even by this season’s standards. 

A few people who witnessed the terrible diminution of Arsenal, and wondered if there was ever a way back, had tears in their eyes at that moment. 

The match programme cover depicted the team huddled in celebration – which was appropriate, given that bonds, player-to-player, players-to-supporters, have played such a part these past nine months.

Two years ago this month, this club were sacrificing a fourth-place finish to Tottenham by losing 3-0 up the road in N17. Now, they have concluded a season with more wins and more goals than any other in a 38-game Arsenal campaign. And a 67.3 per cent win percentage – the highest of any campaign in the club’s history.

That’s why a sea of banners twisted in the sunshine and the stadium bounced to the sound of ‘Super Mik Arteta.’

There was the briefest hint that the Premier League trophy with red ribbons, which was here as a contingency, might actually be put to use. That came in the febrile few minutes, just before half-time, when Arsenal equalised and West Ham pulled a goal back to trail Manchester City 2-1. Someone then put the word out that the Hammers were level. The place momentarily went berserk.

A false dawn, of course. By the time Kai Havertz slotted in the winner, the sun had begun to drop in the sky and the outcome had become so academic that there was not a flicker of pleasure taken from the players in red and white.

But that hard-won winner was actually a metaphor for so much that had gone before, as Arsenal have fused resilience to beautiful football since the turn of the year.

Arteta, bringing the usual cool insouciance of a Milk Tray man, was up against Sean Dyche, wearing the muscularity of a nightclub bouncer in his tight pants, and the serried ranks of Evertonian blue were tough. The kind of experience that would have been too much for this club a few years ago.

Arsenal are teak tough, now. From New Year’s Eve to the moment the final whistle sounded here, they had trailed for a mere 18 minutes. They equalised three minutes after conceding to Idrissa Gueye’s deflected free-kick. There was an inevitability about them getting the job done.

They become the first team to finish as back-to-back runners up since Chelsea, 17 years ago, and Arteta calmly agreed on Sunday night that it may take 100 points to stop that machine. It’s not a mere mathematical calculation, though. Arteta also reflected that it was time to ‘break, think, reflect’ and fundamental to that process is the question of whether this strike force is good enough. The evidence of Sunday suggested not.

The team have reached this level with players – Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko. Jorginho and Kai Havertz – whom City and Chelsea were happy to live without. Reaching the pinnacle will require better.

Arteta will not flinch. That much has been clear in the way that he has relegated a beloved goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdale, who wandered around the pitch at the end here, looking like he didn’t really know what to do with himself.

It was evident in the way Arteta handled the way he spoke to the tens of thousands of supporters who had stayed back to hear him address them. He placed his hand on the interviewer’s shoulders, momentarily delaying the moment he spoke, so that they could conclude the appreciation they wanted to give.

He then took hold of the microphone to offer what turned out to be far more than vague platitudes. ‘You started to believe,’ he told them. ‘You started to understand what we had to do. Don’t be satisfied. We want more than that.’

There seemed to be an honour in valour for the players who lingered in front of him, listening to those words. By prevailing to the end, in a way they did not last season, Arsenal have again prevented the Premier League becoming a procession. But the players didn’t seem to see it that way. 

A banner of the kind champions usually dance around was placed in front of them on the pitch, bearing the word ‘Thankyou.’ They steadfastly avoided it. Their stuck-on smiles betrayed the sense that second really had not been enough.

The look on Arteta’s face bore that out, too, as he sat down to talk in the press room. The strains of fans beginning a warm evening’s celebration in the streets was just about audible but he didn’t exude much sunniness. 

‘They were there and we were here,’ he said of Manchester City. ‘And they took it away from us. Nobody has to explain to me what their level is because I was there, at City for years. We want that. We really want more.’