According to Arsène Wenger, football is a sprint, not a marathon. “We lost the 100 metres by a fraction of a second,” he said yesterday, reflecting on Arsenal’s thrilling, faltering dash for the title. “Someone has just stuck their chest out in front of us, but we were on the line with them. I’ve never had a team which has consistently produced quality like this one.”

Irrelevance did not sit comfortably with Wenger. Arsenal won their tenth away match in the Barclays Premier League this season, but even though there were olés at the Stadium of Light, the drama was elsewhere. “It feels like an anticlimax,” the Frenchman said. “There is disappointment because we didn’t fight and work for the whole season to finish third, but there is hope for the future as well.”

As Wenger pointed out, the average age of his starting side was 22.3 and much less including his substitutes’ bench. “To make 83 points – we have won championships with less – gives us a lot of hope,” he said.

Arsenal merited their win, if only because of the penetration and panache which Sunderland lacked. Theo Walcott scored the only goal, tearing on to a through-ball from Gilberto Silva and shooting instinctively. Sunderland’s biggest crowd of the season saw their side compete, although the gulf in terms of quality was significant. When Kenwyne Jones left the field with a chipped bone in his wrist at half-time, the threat was lacking, with Roy O’Donovan, his replacement, spurning a number of chances. Improvements will be necessary.

Roy Keane, the Sunderland manager, will today meet directors to discuss transfer targets. “We’re all chasing quality players and I’m under no illusions that it’s going to be easy,” Keane said. The Irishman’s standards remained high until the end, omitting Kieran Richardson from his first-team squad after the England international reported late for training.

Wenger finished with a message to Sir Alex Ferguson. “Congratulations and get ready for the fight next season,” he said.

Sunderland (4-1-4-1): M Fulop 5 – D Whitehead 5, N Nosworthy 7, J Evans 8, D Collins 6 – D Yorke 7 (sub: M Chopra, 75min) – C Edwards 5 (sub: L Miller, 71), G Leadbitter 5, A Reid 6, R Wallace 5 – K Jones 6 (sub: R O’Donovan, 46, 3). Substitutes not used: C Gordon, D Higginbotham. Booked: Collins.

Arsenal (4-4-2): L Fabianski 5 – J Djourou 5, A Song 6, P Senderos 6, G Clichy 6 – E Eboué 5 (sub: M Randall, 80), Denilson 6, Gilberto Silva 6, T Walcott 8 – N Bendtner 5 (sub: A Traoré, 80), E Adebayor 6. Substitutes not used: V Mannone, H Nordtveit, N Barazite. Booked: Clichy.

RefereeK Stroud
Attendance47,802

End-of-term report

Sunderland

Season’s summary: Spent a fortune, so survival was the minimum requirement.
How to improve: Stop the constant changes of strikers.
Player of season: Kenwyne Jones.

Arsenal

Season’s summary: Far exceeded expectations.
How to improve: Halt the threatened exodus of leading players.
Player of season: Cesc Fàbregas.