Following the 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday, the point gained means that third place is all but secured going into the last two games of the league season, and as a result, Arsenal would be not facing a Champions League qualifier since the beginning of the 2012-13 season. What does such an improvement upon previous league campaigns mean for the North London club?
Recognition of Improvement:
Once the notorious Emirates debt was cleared off a fair few years back, fans of Arsenal have been anxious to see what the club can do with less financial restriction on its transfer dealings. The "big name" acquisitions of Alexis Sánchez and Mesut Özil, as Arsenal try to reinvent themselves as one of the top clubs in Europe, are working their magic on the team. This exit from the play-offs, coupled with consecutive FA Cup finals, are showing that Arsenal are distancing themselves from the infamous nine-year trophy drought, and towards a Premier League title challenge in the near-future.
Change in players' attitude?
In recent years, it is not a controversial argument to suggest that the team have experienced points of season where they have "dropped off", as a result of a lack of belief that they can win the league, and because the league target was simply to finish in the top four. After a strong 14/15 league campaign, where second place was a strong possibility, and with Theo Walcott, Arsene Wenger and Francis Coquelin commenting on how a title challenge is possible next year, it is expected that the players will have the belief that they can challenge for the title next year, due to this promising improvement.
Less fatigue:
This season, Arsenal's Champions League qualifies were sandwiched inbetween the team's opening August Premier League games. With the players still not completely match fit and still acclimatising to a new season, it is clear to see why such early fixture congestion may have led to Arsenal only winning two of their first eight league games, not possessing the sharpness in front of goal to claim the three points. Such a situation led to Arsene Wenger confessing the title was out of their reach in September, despite many months of the season still to play. Without such congestion next season due to an avoidance of the playoffs, the team can make a Champions-worthy start to the season.
Altogether, Arsenal avoiding the play-offs displays a number of factors which pave the way for a title challenge in the near future - boosted morale, decreased fatigue and noticable improvement - and as a result, we could be seeing a strong Arsenal Premier League title challenge in the next few years.