Arsenal will, of course, still have to negotiate a potentially tricky two-legged qualifier in August before they can focus on a remarkable 16th campaign of elite European football.

However, with that now very much on the horizon, the club can move into the summer break with a completely different outlook from the one they faced when slipping seven points behind Spurs after defeat at White Hart Lane on March 3.

France international Koscielny, whose second half goal at St James’ Park proved crucial, feels everyone deserves great credit for the superb collective effort over the run-in.

“It is very important for the club to be in the Champions League,” he said, quoted on www.arsenal.com.

“The team played well and gave themselves for the team.

“We are all good players and we want to play Champions League. It is a big competition. We did the job and we are happy.”

Manager Arsene Wenger feels his side have gone some way to answering their critics following their end to what had been a frustrating campaign – including the lows of cup defeats by Bradford and Blackburn, before a Champions League masterclass from Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium only to then outplay the Germans when winning the second leg of the last-16 tie.

“The exceptional attitude and determination of this group of players has been rewarded,” Wenger said.

“They continued to believe when we were seven points behind Tottenham in mid-March. [They knew] that we had no room for error any more and you could never see any sign of giving in.”

Wenger feels Arsenal can use their experiences over the past two months to hit the ground running in the quest to finally end their long trophy drought in 2013/2014.

Arsenal will be proactive in the summer transfer market, with the free transfer of France Under-21 forward Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre expected to be the first of several new arrivals.

Wenger is understood to have targeted offensive additions this summer, with the likes of Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic, Real Madrid frontman Gonzalo Higuain and even England forward Wayne Rooney all said to be on the Arsenal manager’s radar, as is Borussia Dortmund defender Lukasz Piszczek and even Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar, who is set to leave relegated QPR.

Wenger, tough, warned finding the right man at the right price is set to be another test.

“We have been remarkably consistent. We won every away game so it’s a good springboard for next season, to transfer that belief into the start of next season, that means we need stability and to strengthen our group if possible,” he said.

“However, there are many clubs out there with a lot of money so the competition is very hard – there is not as much talent as money today in football.”

England midfielder Jack Wilshere, meanwhile, is now set for surgery on his troublesome ankle, which while ruling him out of the friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil, should see the 21-year-old return fully fit for the start of the new season and the autumn World Cup qualifiers.