Why Europa League football could benefit Arsenal

The dust has settled on a captivating Premier League campaign and amid a hotly contested top-four chase, one long-standing streak has come to a screeching halt.

Arsenal's two-decade long stretch of Champions League berths was snapped when the Gunners finished fifth, one point adrift of Liverpool, and with it, pundits and supporters alike have maligned Arsene Wenger and Co. for failing to achieve a distinction the north London lot were previously mocked for celebrating.

Such is the nature of football fandom and fleeting opinions, and while many of the negative reactions are deserved, it's not all doom and gloom for Arsenal ahead of a return to Europe's second-tier tournament.

Here are three reasons why the Gunners can look forward to participation in the Europa League next season:

Favourites, finally

For the first time in what seems like an eternity, Arsenal is a continental favourite.

British bookies William Hill currently list the Gunners 10/1 faves ahead of fellow automatic qualifiers Lazio and Villarreal, with Arsenal looking to lift a first European trophy since the 1993-94 Cup Winners' Cup.

After perpetual drubbings at the hands of Europe's biggest clubs - a 10-2 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich the latest example - Arsenal supporters should look forward to entry into a competition the club actually has a chance at winning. Six consecutive Round of 16 exits have had a similar effect as the Bavarian beatdown, as Gunners faithful have become desensitised to relative failure and those shortcomings have bread negativity among the fan base. Enough is enough.

Asked about finishing fifth on 75 points, four more than Arsenal amassed to finish runner-up a year ago, first-choice shot-stopper Petr Cech opted to focus on the positives of Europa League play.

"That's the way it goes and I have to say you have to respect every competition because a European trophy is a European trophy and I think it will give everybody confidence and everybody experience, especially the young players if they feature in this," Cech said, courtesy of the Metro.

Mickey Mouse cup or not, both Chelsea and Manchester United have lifted the gargantuan vase-like Europa League trophy of late, and other clubs like Porto, Atletico Madrid, and Sevilla have used titles as springboards for success in the Champions League.

The last time Arsenal played in Europe's second-tier tournament, the north London lot lost the UEFA Cup final to Galatasaray after getting booted from the 1999-2000 Champions League in the group stages. For Arsenal fans, here's hoping that's an omen for successes this time around, because winning is a contagious condition that has become all but a distant memory in the N5.

The prospect and potential of the kids

After a period of relative decline where only Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs progressed from the academy ranks to first-team play, Arsenal's youth set-up is again boasting a talented core of emerging stars.

Unlike the Champions League - especially for a manager whose every squad decision is retroactively scrutinised - Thursday nights in Bratislava provide an ideal opportunity to give the kids a chance while the stars get a rest.

More recently, Hector Bellerin and Alex Iwobi have made the jump, and behind them are a litany of exciting prospects who could cut their teeth next season in the Europa League.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Jeff Reine-Adelaide, and Chris Willock should be automatic inclusions, while young centre-halves Rob Holding and Calum Chambers should also be afforded the opportunity to shine. Those are all players with varying degrees of first-team success, and Arsenal's academy boasts a host of other players who could get the call. Chris' younger brother - technical midfielder Joseph Willock - awaits his chance, as do the likes of Reiss Nelson, Ben Sheaf, pacey full-back Cohen Bramall, and thrilling attack pairing Donyell Malen and Eddie Nketiah.

There are also a host of players like Chuba Akpom, Krystian Bielik, Danny Crowley, Jon Toral, and Stephy Mavididi who have been away on loan that could use Europa League football as an all-or-nothing trial for their futures at the Emirates.

Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil need not play against Polish minnow Arka Gdynia or Cypriot side Apollon Limassol when a Premier League match awaits the club days later, a concession that's certain to help Arsenal's domestic hopes.

Certain to sign a two-year extension amid spurious smoke screens suggesting the decision hasn't yet been made, it's Arsene Wenger's choice: go very young and risk an early exit that indefinitely helps the Gunners' Premier League hopes, or try to win the first continental cup of his celebrated tenure.

For a club short on reasons for celebration, it seems like a win-win situation.

Target the league

"Like Chelsea last season. It helped them not to be involved as they could keep all their energy for the league," Cech said after narrowly missing out on a top-four spot.

It's a salient if not entirely pertinent point, as Chelsea benefited from several factors this season same as Leicester did a year ago, and one of those was the avoidance of Champions League football.

That's not to say that no Champions League football is the same as perfunctory efforts in Europa League, though there is some truth to it should Wenger radically rotate the squad as aforementioned.

There's no way Ozil should be playing the entire 90 minutes of a 6-0 home drubbing of Ludogorets only to appear lifeless in playing the full match again three days later in a drab draw at Middlesbrough. Turn that stalemate and its singular point into three, and Arsenal doesn't even have to worry about Europa League.

Alas, football is rarely that simple, but with a Europa League berth, Arsenal's ambitions have been made more elementary: Win the Premier League.

With a two-decade tenure that has hit a snag, Wenger's north London reign has been appropriately split into two terms - the first a decorated stretch of domestic successes, the second a barren spell highlighted by a pair of FA Cup conquests.

Not since The Invincibles campaign of 2003-04 has Arsenal had a legitimate chance at winning the Premier League, and with the four clubs that finished above it, Wenger and Co. will not have the same distractions as its peers.

With a relatively disappointing campaign ending with a record 13th FA Cup crown, Cech is adamant that one down season has little bearing on a club the stature of Arsenal.

"If you have a one-off year in 20 years it is not a problem. The club has a strong foundation and organisation to be one year out and to come back straight."

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)