Arsenal FC: Prepare for the Gunners to Launch a Major Title Bid in 2012-13

Arsenal are back.

We all know it, and after beating Aston Villa 3-0 at the Emirates for their seventh straight league win, the Gunners are looking simply unstoppable at the moment. Every position is playing at their best, from Wojciech Szczesny at the back to Robin van Persie up top.

The defense is contributing more than ever, keeping clean sheets and helping with the attack. The wing-backs in Bacary Sagna and Kieran Gibbs have both been surging forward confidently, sending in crosses and even scoring goals.

The pairing of Thomas Vermaelen and Laurent Koscielny has been phenomenal, with Vermaelen asserting himself as a goal-scoring centre-back and Koscielny shaping up to be one of the Premier League's best defenders.

As for the midfield trio of Alex Song, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky...well, their performances speak for themselves. In the win over Aston Villa, Song contributed to the attack with a lovely lofted through ball to assist Theo Walcott's goal, Mikel Arteta scored an absolute screamer and Rosicky's rebirth continued with another performance showing flair and creativity.

The forwards have been an integral part of Arsenal's resurgence, starting with Walcott. Just about a month ago, Arsenal were down 2-0 to Spurs at the Emirates and the English winger was spurning chances left and right.

Halftime came, and Arsene Wenger decided to take the bold risk of leaving Walcott on—that made all the difference.

Arsenal's mercurial forward bagged a brace to seal an emphatic win over the Gunners' bitter rivals. Since then Walcott's form has turned around, utilizing his pace and improving his crosses—crosses which led to both of Arsenal's goals against Newcastle in the crucial 2-1 win.

Playing in the centre of the Gunners three-pronged attack is who else but the league's top goal-scorer, Robin van Persie. The Dutchman's brace against Liverpool was crucial for Arsenal's storming of the top four, as was his equalizer against Newcastle.

At the same time, it's relieving to Arsenal fans to see that they can in fact win without van Persie scoring, as seen in the 1-0 win over Everton and the 3-0 win over Aston Villa.

And then there's the left wing spot. It's the one spot in the squad that hasn't had a consistent starter. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain thrived there when Gervinho was at the Africa Cup of Nations, but since the Ivorian winger returned, Wenger has tried several different options.

Surely not wanting to rush Gervinho back into Premier League football, Wenger has been easing the former Lille man back into the swing of things. He finally handed him a start against Aston Villa, which saw him grab an assist—a hopeful sign of Gervinho's return to form.

Many conclusions can be made from the Gunners recent "renaissance." Now eight points above fifth-placed Chelsea, it's looking like Arsenal will in fact grab their coveted top-four spot, capitalizing on their competitors' recent slip-ups.

As a bonus (quite a large bonus), Arsenal now find themselves favourites to finish third above North London rivals Spurs, a remarkable feat considering Arsene Wenger's men were 10 points behind just a month ago.

While second-place ambitions seems to be lofty and the title is a miracle away, Arsenal fans would be absolutely delighted with a third-place finish, not only for its automatic Champions League qualifying but for its connotations for next season.

In the 2010-11 season, Arsenal were in a two-horse race for the title before being derailed by their Carling Cup final loss to Birmingham and eventually free-falling down to fourth. When the summer transfer window saw the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, everyone wrote Arsenal off for the 2012 Premier League title and decided the Gunners were better fit for the top-four race.

Those predictions were just about right, but don't expect the same next season. After finishing the season strong and looking forward to an ambitious summer transfer window, expect Arsenal to launch a full-fledged title bid next season.

As usual, Arsene Wenger promises to bring in new players this season, going for quality rather than quantity. However, this summer really could be a good one for Arsenal supporters. Lukas Podolski looks set to complete his move to the Emirates, while a host of other moves also have a good chance of happening.

For once, everything seems to be going right for Arsenal. I know Gooners say this every year, but next season could finally be our season.