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Do not try telling Arsenal's fans that Champions League qualification is not a ribbon-draped, podium-bouncing achievement in its own right. At least, perhaps not until the lustre has finally faded from a breathless, error-strewn 3-2 defeat of West Bromwich Albion that sealed third place in the Premier League to scenes of wild relief as much as delirium. The annual trophy-by-proxy is now Arsenal's for the 15th season in a row, its metaphorical lustre deepened by a dramatic denouement to a season in which the fortunes of these late-model Gunners have...

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