The Boxing Day blues are nothing new for West Ham — their 3-1 defeat at Arsenal was the eighth time in their last nine games on cold turkey day that they have failed to win.
What will be of greater concern is that the loss sums up a sorry season that shows no sign of improving.
After back-to-back top-seven finishes under David Moyes, this campaign is shaping up to be a battle to beat the drop. West Ham were sixth in the league on the same date last season and going well in the Europa League, and after a Boxing Day defeat against Southampton, were about to go on a four-game winning run.