[....]
perhaps I can't guarantee that the Gunners are still in condition following their pre-season loss to Manchester United, Mikel Arteta has a lot of work to do for his team.
Another factor is the different mentality of opposing teams have against them next season. They came out last season as pretty much the underdog so majority of us didn't really think that they would be in a position to compete for the title. A lot of teams were probably caught off-guard too but that won't be the case anymore.