Arsenal did their job at Wembley and in doing so ensured that Saints will be in the Europa League for next season.
There are some who are sceptical of Saints being in the Europa League, but I am not one of them, Southampton Football Club is as the name says a football club and that means trying to compete in every competition we are in.
The sceptics in general point to one reason why playing in the Europa League is a bad thing and that is it affects the form in the Premier League, whilst there is some evidence that those teams that play in the EL do see it affect league form, the overall difference is usually 2-3 points less.
But the teams that suffer this are not usually the ones that qualify through league position, but those who have done so though cup qualification. The likes of Spurs, Liverpool & Everton have spent a decade in the main maintaining a similar league position year in year out whilst being in the Europa League.
That being the case Saints qualification for the EL is the next step forward for Saints, in all respects its a boost for the club, it will help us build our club's reputation and in doing so it will help us in bringing in better quality players to build a squad that can sustain its league form through Europa League campaigns.
Yes it will mean a lot of Sunday games, but the truth is in this modern age where television calls the shots, the 3pm Saturday kick off is a rarity these days, indeed we played 8 games in 2014/15 on a Sunday and many more at a different time than the traditional 3pm Saturday, if we want to be a g club then we have to accept that things will change and we have to adapt with them.
So great news that Saints are in Europe again, there is a long way to go yet though and we first have to get through qualifying before we enter the league stage, if we use these games properly as part of our pre Premier League season preparation then there is no reason why this should not help us hit th ground running in that competition.
Ronald Koeman is a progressive manager, he is confident in his own ability and he is used to playing in the Europa League, he sees it as a positive thing, unlike our previous manager who scared of relegation would allow nothing to get in the way of league form and that meant not taking any other competition seriously.
The top flight has changed since the forming of the Premier League, the rich have got richer and the rest have to make do, Saints can lead the way in being a forward thinking club that sees winning trophies and competing in the Europa League as being success and another step nearer being able to break the top four monopoly, it will be a long road and one that many have failed in, but this is a big step forward.