Typical in seasons past when Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool (and before them Man City) were all substandard. Now Arsenal have Ozil, Liverpool have Suarez and Spurs have an excellent, rich squad. 5th to 7th is far harder to achieve this year than it has been for a long while.
7th doesn't involve us finishing higher than any of the teams you mentioned, it should be the minimum we look to achieve.