It has been all too easy to poke fun at Arsenal in recent seasons.

This is a side which has been nudged in the ribs and asked when was the last time they had actually won a major trophy, to which rival they plan to sell their best player to and just what the deal is with Arsene Wenger's preposterously long jacket. Yesterday, the only question left to pose was who they fancy in the Champions League next season.

The London side have earned their reprieve. A full seven points behind Tottenham Hotspur following a derby defeat back in March, Arsenal have since dropped just four points in the league and have claimed fourth place in the Barclays Premier League ahead of their city rivals. They started yesterday's match with Newcastle United still vulnerable since Spurs were just a point behind, but Laurent Koscielny scored after 52 minutes to consolidate their place in Europe's premier competition.

They have still to come through a qualifying round next term, but Arsenal can spend the summer toying with the idea of rubbing shoulders with Real Madrid, Barcelona, heck, even Celtic et al. They will know too that Spurs have been left to the less salubrious arena of the Europa League.

It was hard to knock Wenger's side, then. Even if you were to try, the Arsenal manager was not having any of it. He has been given a few bruises along the way since famously assembling 'The Invincibles' and while his latest squad to not enjoy such prestige, he was still moved to lavish them with praise. Given their defiant form since that derby defeat, perhaps one might dub them 'The Irrepressibles'.

"They are special. I've told them many times but they've shown it in the last two months. They've been absolutely exceptional," Wenger said. "We have shown character and attitude. We make 73 points [in the league table], that's three points better than last season.

"I've had many groups in my life and the focus, the desire to do well, was exceptional. It's one of the best groups I've had in my life on that front."

One of the factors that has been blamed for a lack of silverware since a solitary FA Cup in 2005 is Wenger's reluctance to spend money. Reaching the Champions League has loosened the purse strings again, though, and already the Frenchman is considering splashing out.

"We want to have additions to the squad but keep the structure, spirit and quality of the squad we have now. We will be out there in a very pro-active way," he said.

Their efforts on Tyneside had been monitored closely as White Hart Lane yesterday, where Spurs overcame Sunderland late on. That would not be enough thanks to Koscielny, though, and Theo Walcott later claimed he had been unaware of their rivals' result. "It was in our hands and we did the job," said the Arsenal forward. "A lot of people thought we wouldn't do it so it's nice to show them that we could."