Why We Can Be Champions Next Year

Another summer, another set of chances. By clinching the top four, and the lucrative fest that is the Champions League, we look a club in far calmer waters who are going to far more exotic lands than we were in previous months. A club reinvigorated, with a foundation that makes all but one club in England green with envy and a manager who seems to have regained the fire that flamed his previous successes. The future for the Arsenal looks bright, and in this article I want to explain why I feel that the title is not beyond us next season.
To start with let's look at our run in. The amazing stats are there for all of us to see but they make for quite some reading: since Spurs away, we played ten games; won eight; drew two; and conceded one goal from open play. This season in the league we have the second best defence, and the third highest scoring attack. Statistically the best tackler in Ramsey, the best passer in Arteta, the best passer in the final third in Cazorla and (to my mind) the best central defender in Koscielny. All of these are nice if somewhat pointless ways of defining our season, which on the whole still was far from sunshine and picnics. We lost two of our best players (or so the media narrative goes, for I don't feel we missed Song at all).
We had a difficult start to the season and some painful losses. Yet from the devastating home loss to Swansea on, we scored 52 points. The only team to match that (not better it) is Manchester United. And that was from match-day 15. So to suggest our season only really kicked in after we beat Bayern away (which, let's face it, was a result which was frankly brilliant) is a bit of a fallacy. None the less, the form we showed after that hideous defeat to Swansea was very good, and it went up a notch after we lost to Spurs. As a historian I know not to take things for granted, but on the whole our form is a great indicator of the possibility and potential in this Arsenal squad.