Arsenal FC: 10 Reasons Gunners Are About to Get Great Again

The goal wasn't as sublime as Robin van Persie's left-footed volley back in December.

That particular strike, which snuck Arsenal past Everton, 1-0, at the Emirates on the North London club's celebration of its 125th year in existence was the stuff of legend.

But you could say that Thomas Vermaelen's winner on Wednesday (it came just seven minutes into play) will prove far more vital to the team's future prospects.

That goal sent the Gunners flying into third place and sent Gooners hearts into high-school first-crush realm. Flying, as it were.

Thanks to Tottenham's 1-1 draw to Stoke City, Arsenal now hold a one-point advantage over their North London rivals. Mind the gap, eh?

In an interesting footnote, though van Persie didn't get that goal, he did provide the assist for the Belgian center-back's header. It seems appropriate, after all. Van Persie always finds a way to have a hand on the goal scoring, no matter the manner.

To think the Gunners would ever see themselves in third was unfathomable as recently as one month ago.

Thirty minutes into the Feb. 26 North London derby, Spurs held a 2-0 lead and looked as if they'd cruise 13 points clear of their red rivals in the standings.

But how things have changed since then. Five unanswered goals never meant so much. (Arsenal won that match, 5-2.)

You'd like to knock on wood, but with Arsenal five points clear of Chelsea with nine games to go (Chelsea face Tottenham this weekend, meaning more points will be dropped from one or both of Arsenal's closest rivals in the standings), Champions League qualification is looking ever more assured.

Which we've seen is crucial for offseason recruitment.

Now, whether Lukasz Podolski ends his hemming-and-hawing re: his future and decides upon a club remains to be seen, but it appears next to certain that Arsene Wenger will spend this summer (reports have claimed he has up to £55 million to spend).

There will be new blood infused into the side—rest assured of that.

That, compounded with Arsenal's excellent form of late (resilient battles and wins against Newcastle United and now Everton), has Gooners around the world relishing the prospect of a full season of fully-fledged, flowing football.

And potentially silverware? Wait, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. One step at at time.

Here's 10 reasons why we'll see it next term.

Their Confidence Is Back; Bring on the Style

Six minutes into Wednesday's match against Everton, Arsenal almost scored their goal of the season.

Heck, it might have been the EPL's goal of the season as well (although Robin van Persie has several which will be in the discussion for that award).

It was as if the clock had been rolled back several years, maybe even as far back as 2003-04.

A slew of one-touch passes finally found Tomas Rosicky, who'd started on the left wing but drifted centrally (like we saw Samir Nasri do so often last season).

The Czech, bolstered by his fine vein of form since January—and new contract to boot—sent in a wonderfully weighted lofted ball from the right of the attacking third into the left frame of the penalty area.

It found a backpedaling Robin van Persie, who achieved the not-so-simple task of heading the ball down into the path of the onrushing Aaron Ramsey, back from injury and starting the match.

The Welsh midfielder scuffed his half-volley, and to a greater extent, what had promised to be a vintage work of art.

Thomas Vermaelen's goal a minute later erased the bitter taste left from that unfulfilled finish, but that wasn't the point.

Arsenal are rolling back the years with their fluid style, which was on full display in the first 20 minutes against Everton, when the television announcers barely had time to finish their thoughts before they were forced to capture the latest Arsenal attack.

There was Mikel Arteta's delightful no-look one-touch flick-and-spin on the edge of the penalty area into the path of van Persie, who for all the world looked set to score his 34th goal (all competitions), but for a good save from Toffees keeper Tim Howard.

It was scintillating, it was scything. It was confident. There's nothing more aesthetically pleasing to watch than an Arsenal team dripping with it.

And when they're winning to boot, the feeling enters seventh heaven.

If they can keep this confidence for next season (give or take a couple key additions, not to mention the return of Jack Wilshere), we may well have a title-challenging side in the works.

Robin Van Persie Stays (We Hope); EPL Defenders Quiver in Their Boots

At this point, Lionel Messi is the only left-footed player in world football who is more dangerous than van Persie.

The Dutchman needs only a fraction of space to get his shot off, something he has done to devastating effect for Arsenal in 2011-12—33 goals are testament enough to his proficiency in front of goal.

There has been all manner of talk about the future of the Gunners captain—his contract runs out in 2013—but one has to believe that a strong finish by Arsenal, along with some choice additions to the team, will be enough to entice him to stay.

There's something about the framework of Arsenal that speaks to the Dutchman on a level that runs thicker than money. He's alluded to as much recently.

And if he does in fact stay, watch out. A fit, firing van Persie for yet another season—this time, with some offensive help, we hope—would be the scourge of EPL football.

Arsenal's Defense Is Growing in Stature

The keen (OK, maybe it was relatively rudimentary) observation surfaced during the first leg of Arsenal's Champions League round of 16 tie against AC Milan.

The ITV commentator for that Feb. 15 match at the San Siro (whose name escapes me now) made the point that that match signified the first time in over four months that Arsenal had been able to play their first-choice back four of Bacary Sagna (right-back), Laurent Koscienly and Thomas Vermaelen (central defense) and Kieran Gibbs (left-back).

Now, the recently-returned to fitness Andre Santos will probably factor into that equation somewhere during the run-in to the end of the season (he was one of Arsenal's most potent threats getting forward at the start of the season before he went down to injury).

Yet the simple fact remains that an Arsenal team with a back four playing together consistently is very good news. Or very bad news. Depends on which club you support.

If it's Arsenal, you're good. If not, well...not so much.

Arsenal were immense in defense on Wednesday against Everton. That can only bode well for the future.

Ox, Jack and Ryo

Youthful talent at Arsenal is nothing new, but there's something about this latest batch that has Gunners fans feeling downright giddy.

Call it an incremental increase in resilience. Maybe they're simply more fit for the furor of Premier League football. Either way, they've been very impressive.

The prospect of seeing a midfield-to-winger triangle (of sorts) of Jack Wilshere (currently injured), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ryo Miyaichi (currently on loan with Bolton) would have even the most stoic supporter doing a little jig.

It's a stool that has just one leg at the moment (Oxlade-Chamberlain), but once the others are affixed, it looks to be the type of frame that Arsenal can build from for the long-term.

The pace and prowess Oxlade-Chamberlain and Miyaichi can work wonders from the wing position (Miyaichi has drawn raves during his two month stay with Wanderers, much as Wilshere did two seasons ago during his own spell).

Coupled with Wilshere's immeasurable talent and tenacity in the center of the park, those three would give Arsene Wenger a veritable embarras de choix (good problem to have with depth) when it came to team selection.

After all, we haven't even mentioned holdovers Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky, Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta.

This midfield could be a force.

They Have Been Shaken and They're Set to Reawaken

That brutal stretch in mid-February which saw Arsenal all but eliminate themselves from Champions League contention (a 4-0 loss to AC Milan) and actually eliminate themselves from the FA Cup (a floundering 2-0 reverse at Sunderland in the fifth round) has been erased by the Gunners' recent run of form.

They very nearly made history against Milan, rocketing to a 3-0 first-half lead in the return leg at the Emirates before failing to get that needed fourth. It was as heroic a performance as they come. The image of Tomas Rosicky slumped over at the final whistle, unable to even stand from his sheer exhaustion, said it all.

There was the 2-1 last-gasp win over Newcastle United last Monday, when Thomas Vermaelen had saved his side from a messy draw with his winner in the final seconds.

There was the 1-0 win against Everton.

Each of those three results showed a new-found sense of resilience we've not often seen in recent Arsenal sides.

Sure, there have been outlying results, but they've never been strung together.

We're seeing that now. Whatever served to motivate this team and send them upon this excellent run of late, get more of it.

If they can get results of this register next season, there's no telling where they can, or will, end up.

What's Changed? Confidence

For fear of falling into a tidy movie montage reference, I won't say that the AC Milan second leg, in and of itself, has singlehandedly served to save Arsenal's future.

But it kind of has.

Despite coming up just short against the Rossoneri, Arsenal proved to themselves that they had what it took to strike the fear of God into a side that had for all the world looked assured of safe passage through to the quarterfinals.

That does a lot for a side.

They Will Have a First XI That Can Hang with Anyone in the World

*With Jack Wilshere back from injury, of course.

With Arsenal playing like they are right now, it would be hard to bet against them when facing most of the premier clubs in the world.

They swept Tottenham off the pitch, they hung with Manchester United back in January, they beat Liverpool at Anfield, they waxed Milan.

None of those results happen without Arsenal players at their very best. And against Everton, Arsenal were far and away the superior side for most of the game.

Sprinkle in a little Wilshere here, add a dash of a key offseason signing there, allow Oxlade-Chamberlain and Miyaichi to cool off (OK I'm running out of baking allusions) and you've got a side that can hang with any in Europe.

They'll Extract Themselves from Their RVP Goal-Scoring Dependence

It's easy to forget that Gervinho, arrived from Lille last summer, scored 14 league goals for Les Dogues in 2010-11.

He has four to his name this season for Arsenal, but the Ivorian has frequently frustrated with his lack of incisiveness and directness in front of goal.

Too often have we seen potential goal-scoring chances run amok.

That will change in 2012-13, and there's no reason to think an added season of experience won't do Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain a world of good when it comes to bagging goals, either.

Arsenal do need reinforcements in the attacking department, and if they can secure a genuine goal-scoring threat, there's no telling how immense that would be for their future prospects.

Arsene Wenger Turns a New Leaf

In the midst of that harrowing first month and a half of the season (league losses to Liverpool, Manchester United and Blackburn had Arsenal mired in 15th place in mid-September), Arsene Wenger looked set to endure a near-Shakespearean fall from grace.

Arsenal were lackluster, bereft of inventiveness in the attacking third and porous in defense. Calls for Wenger to step down began to grow in strength.

It shook Wenger up, whether he will admit it or not.

The French manager delved into the summer transfer market in a manner he'd never done before, grabbing Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker and Yossi Benayoun (on loan) in the final hours of the August window.

Now, it looks likely that Wenger will splash some serious cash in the upcoming summer market.

Is this real life? Will Wenger seriously begin building a side in a manner other than stockpiling young talent like it's going out of style?

Arsenal fans answer that query with a resounding "It better be."

The current side is ever so close to cracking the realm of serious contenders. Should Wenger prove himself willing to splash a little more cash and reinforce certain areas of the squad (central defense, central midfield, and another striker), we could well be on our way to witnessing something special next term.

Success Starts at the Back, and Arsenal Have a Superb Start in That Department

The Polish international has never been one to lack for confidence—only 18 months ago, Szczesny was clamoring for an increased first-team role, threatening to leave the club if he did not get it.

While you might be prone to roll your eyes at such a claim from a 20-year-old, Szczesny has made good on his confidence.

He has proven to be the dependable shot-stopping option Arsenal were looking for since Jens Lehmann entered his decline—in 29 matches this season, he's allowed 1.34 goals per game, and has 70 saves and a 64 percent save percentage.

While that's not as good as, say Liverpool shot-stopper Pepe Reina, who has a 72 percent save percentage, or Chelsea's Petr Cech, who boasts a 70 percent clip, Szczesny has often been hung out to dry by a makeshift Arsenal back four (see: Tottenham's two goals in the Feb. 26 match).

His reflexes are exceptional, and with a solid back four to work with, there's no reason we can't expect to see Szczesny enter into the rarefied realm enjoyed by those aforementioned keepers.