Arsenal: The 5 Defining Moments of the Gunners Season

If you took a minute to reflect during that wonderful post-match celebration on Sunday that saw the Gunners salute Pat Rice before captain Robin van Persie took his curtain call for the rapturous group of Gooners who'd made the trip north, you'd have realized just how far Arsenal had come this season.

Arsene Wenger certainly alluded to the journey—taxing as it was—when he said that he will be able to "sleep better" knowing that third place is finally sealed and delivered.

Because back in the early portions of the season, when Arsenal were mired in the dregs of the Premier League table (they dropped as low as 17th at one stage), a top-five finish looked iffy at best.

But there the Gunners were after 90 minutes had gone on Sunday, qualified for a 16th consecutive season of Champions League football after Wenger's 17th consecutive top-four finish. (He has never finished outside of fourth during his time as Arsenal manager.)

They had achieved that feat without Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri or Jack Wilshere (two lost to transfers, the other to injury); they had coped most of the season without their first-choice back four (again, injury problems).

They earned 24 points from losing positions this season (coming from behind to win), far and away the best in the Premier League. It was a veritable roller coaster of a season.

There were moments you could point to that helped define this season, and forge it into the unforgettable campaign it became.

Here are my five favorites.

Winning a Thriller at Stamford Bridge

Arsenal had hinted at a revival before this match, but a 5-3 victory over rivals Chelsea—who were ahead of the Gunners in the league standings at that juncture—verified the uptick in form and sent Wenger's charges barreling into November on a massive high.

It was perhaps one of—if not the—most memorable matches I'd ever watched Arsenal take part in. The goals were magnificent, but the collective spirit was what ensnared my imagination.

It was a fitting bit of foreshadowing—the Gunners had plenty of chances to capitulate under the Chelsea pressure that day—but just as they did all season, they found a way to get a massive result in a hostile environment.

Van Persie Steals the Show on the 125th Anniversary Celebration

He'd done it before, and he continued to do it after (30 league goals is nothing to sniff at), but this sensational volley from Robin van Persie, scored on the official celebration of Arsenal's 125 years in existence, seemed tailored for the occasion.

With Gunners legends such as Thierry Henry watching on in the stands, the Dutch No. 10 unleashed one of his more brilliant bits of technical wizardry and led Arsenal to a 1-0 victory over Everton.

Fittingly enough, it was on the 10th of December. Not a bad day for a No. 10 to steal the show.

Thierry Henry Rolls Back the Years Against Leeds United

It was one of my favorite lines from the season: "It just had to be."

With Thierry Henry making his 'second debut' for the club he'd scored 226 goals for in his first spell, the script simply screamed for something sensational to happen.

And what better way to set that story alight than Henry grabbing the match-winning goal on a frigid mid-winter night at the Emirates. It was a sequence that reeked of some of his more brilliant heroics at Highbury.

Arsenal would struggle in January—losses to Swansea and Manchester United followed this win against Leeds in the FA Cup—but it doesn't seem a stretch to say that once Henry's loan deal kicked into force, the Gunners became a different side.

It cannot be discounted how important it can be to train with a professional of Henry's caliber.

He made his final appearance in one of Arsenal's worst showings of the season—that dreadful Champions League round of 16 first leg in Milan—but the effect of his deal would reverberate for the rest of the season.

Arsenal would kick their season into high gear following that Milan match and subsequent loss to Sunderland in the FA Cup, and you can bet an old legend had a hand in reinvigorating the side. It was a brilliant bit of business from Wenger to bring Henry back on board, if only for six weeks.

Putting Five Past Tottenham on Derby Day at the Emirates

It had started so horribly—two goals conceded to Spurs within 30 minutes of play. (Just think, former Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor had a hand in both scoring occasions.)

But by the time the final whistle had gone, those blemishes were totally swept away, washed out to sea by Arsenal's brilliant comeback.

The goals were perfect for the day: a powerful header from Bacary Sagna, a sweeping bit of individual play from van Persie before a vintage left-footed curler that gave Brad Freidel no chance in goal.

Then there were the next three.

Arsenal had crushed Tottenham, and reasserted their claim to be a contender for a top-four finish in the final standings. This game would spark a superb run of form from the Gunners—they would win eight of their next nine league matches, with that epic 3-0 victory over Milan in the second leg sprinkled in to boot.

A Nervy Finish, but a Top-Three Place Nonetheless

The smiles said it all.

The game hadn't been Arsenal's best display of the season—in fact, they'd been far from good for about four matches running—but they did what they'd so often failed to do on the road in recent seasons.

They got a massive result without playing their best.

If you needed a sign that Arsenal are progressing—and with title aspirations surfacing for next season, progress is a must—you needed not look any further than that 3-2 win over West Bromwich Albion.

There was last-ditch defending, there were Arsenal players sacrificing their bodies for the good of the team.

Nothing could make a fan prouder.

Honorable Mention: Deadline-Day Signings

Wenger's rash of deadline-day signings last August bore mixed results—Per Mertesacker struggled to adapt to the speed of the Premier League before suffering a season-ending injury in February, and Park Chu-Young simply never got adequate playing time to show what he was capable of—but the ones that did play, played key roles in securing Arsenal's final standing.

Although Yossi Benayoun was brought in on loan, and saw sparse playing time to start the season, by the final games he had become a vital part of this Gunners side. His goal against Norwich was spectacular, and his instinctive poaching of that Martin Fulop mistake on Sunday may well have saved the Gunners' Champions League aspirations.

Defender Andre Santos, plucked from Fenerbache, never made the greatest impression on the defensive end, but as announcers loved to point out, Brazilian full-backs are often at their best when bombing forward.

Santos provided two vital goals this season—one against Chelsea in that unforgettable match at the Bridge, and the other, like Benayoun, on Sunday. Fulop was again to blame for failing to read the strike's trajectory, but it was a goal nonetheless.

Finally, what more can be said about the princely Spaniard, Mikel Arteta. Thrust into the starting lineup from the moment he stepped into north London from the blue side of Liverpool, Arteta displayed a calming presence and technical astuteness all season.

There was little wonder why he was widely considered one of the best Gunners on the season.

Honorable Mention: Defeating Udinese in the Champions League Playoff

While Champions League football is assured for next season, it was far less certain back in August, when Arsenal were forced to play a tricky playoff tie against Udinese.

They won the first leg 1-0 at the Emirates thanks to a Theo Walcott goal, but after Antonio di Natale struck early for the hosts on a sweltering night in Udine, the Gunners looked shaken.

It was a testament to their resolve, which would continue to grow in stature throughout the season, that they put two past Udinese that night (van Persie and Walcott the goal scorers), and vaulted into the group stages of Europe's premier competition for the 15th season on the trot.