Curiously, despite sitting joint-second in the table, Arsenal have never really been in the title race. Theirs has been a season of two halves, the first of which was verging upon shambolic.
Since the turn of the year, though, they have recovered sufficiently -- their 34 points won is the most in the Premier League in that time -- to elevate their league positioning without ever really threatening to catch the runaway leaders.
Nevertheless, the momentum they have built in 2015 suggests the Gunners could be contenders for next season's title. In the meantime, although it will pain Arsenal to acknowledge Chelsea's current superiority, there are several things they could learn from the champions-in-waiting.
The first relates to summer transfer business. Chelsea were incredibly efficient last summer at identifying the holes in their squad and acting accordingly. The acquisitions of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas were sewn up early on in the transfer window, and provided the missing pieces for Jose Mourinho's jigsaw.
Arsene Wenger must act swiftly in the transfer market to strengthen his squad ahead of next season
Arsene Wenger must follow suit this summer. Although he bought well in 2014, he overlooked the need to improve his options at centre-back and holding midfield, which hurt Arsenal in the early portion of the season.
The Gunners could still do with more depth in defensive midfield, despite Francis Coquelin's emergence, and may require a goalkeeper to replace the disillusioned Wojciech Szczesny. It's imperative that Wenger moves swiftly and decisively to fill those gaps.
The goalkeeping situation is a particularly interesting one. When David Ospina joined Arsenal for £3m from Nice last year, he became the most expensive keeper of Wenger's tenure.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have two goalkeepers currently on their books -- Thibaut Courtois (£6m) and Petr Cech (£7m) -- who both cost more than the Colombian. If Wenger wants to bring in a world-class No. 1, he may have to break a pattern and spend big in order to do so.
Should Arsenal get all the pieces in place before the season kicks off, they'll be in a better position to make a strong start. That's the other major lesson to learn from Chelsea: the vital importance of hitting your stride early on.
Mourinho's men have somewhat stumbled towards the finish line, having seen their performances fall away since January. However, their impressive opening enabled them to build a lead that has proved insurmountable.
Arsenal, by contrast, won just two of their opening eight games. It was always going to take a miraculous run to thrust them back in to contention and, in the end, even a remarkable eight wins in succession, a run which Chelsea ended on Sunday, has not proven to be enough. Wenger cannot afford to be such a slow starter next time around.
He'll be helped by the fact that there is no World Cup this summer. The Copa America is a hindrance in that it might rob Arsenal of Alexis Sanchez for the opening fortnight of the season, but Arsenal have plenty of strength in depth in attacking areas.
With the work of fitness coach Shad Forsyth finally beginning to pay dividends, the Gunners should be in good shape for the big kick-off on Aug. 8.
There are other lessons to be taken from Chelsea, but Arsenal already seem to be learning them. The success of Mourinho's sides is in part due to their cynicism, but you will not see four more cynical bookings than those picked up by Arsenal on Sunday. The Arsenal of 2015 have a pragmatic streak that has enabled them to face both Manchester clubs, Liverpool and Chelsea without suffering defeat.
Arsenal would never want to be exactly like Chelsea and the cries of "boring" made plain the Emirates faithful's distaste for their unadventurous style. However, even the staunchest fan would admit envy at their London rivals' latest league triumph.
In order to supplant Mourinho's men, they might have to emulate at least some of their approach.
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