Transition has become a dirty word in football, particularly among the managers of the top clubs. Perhaps, above all, because it smacks of a defeatist attitude, an indirect way of saying to the fans: “We’re not going to win anything meaningful this year.”

For a long time, Sir Alex Ferguson had trouble admitting that Manchester United were in transition and only now, as his team appear to be emerging from a three-year hiatus, does he seem happy to embrace the word.

Whether Arsène Wenger accepts it or not, a period of transition is what Arsenal are going through. It has been happening for some time, it is just that an unexpected appearance in the Champions League final last season clouded the reality and gave the misleading impression that Arsenal were ahead of where they are.

Wenger was initially reluctant to entertain suggestions that a slow evolution is unfolding at the club, but reflecting on another chastening experience at the hands of Bolton Wanderers that left Arsenal’s title hopes in tatters, the manager seemed only to contradict himself and point, instead, to a work in progress.

“We made it hard for ourselves and it shows we are not mature enough to deal with it at the moment,” Wenger said. “The target is to get the best out of our potential and we just want to do that and see where we finish at the end of the season.”

Given that Arsenal are four points worse off than at this stage last season, when they clambered into fourth place at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur only on the final day, a repeat of that feat would probably constitute an achievement now that Wenger has given up hope of overhauling United and Chelsea in the Premiership.

“It is too many points to bridge,” the Frenchman said. “It is very pretentious to say we can be champions. We cannot claim to be title contenders when we have had lapses like we have had today.”

It was almost inevitable that Nicolas Anelka would end a 3½-month wait for his first Premiership goal for Bolton to put his former club to the sword, but the omens were never good for the visiting side, the average age of whose ten outfield players was less than 23.

Even with a full-strength team, Arsenal are beaten before they arrive at the Reebok Stadium these days, so without Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie, and no William Gallas or Lauren to call upon, their task was huge.

Credit must go to Bolton, nonetheless, who overcame the loss of both their full backs to first-half injuries to produce a performance that married silk and steel and one that belied Wenger’s belief that Sam Allardyce’s players are nothing but practitioners of rough-house tactics. For the record, Arsenal chalked up four bookings to Bolton’s three.

If Anelka’s first goal — a thunderbolt — was a contender for goal of the season, his second, a fine finish from an even better pass by Iván Campo, was that of a masterful poacher. “Nicolas was the difference,” Wenger said.

Arsenal hit the woodwork three times, but they were chasing the game from the moment Abdoulaye Faye headed Bolton in front in the ninth minute, and seldom looked like adding to Gilberto Silva’s goal. With Anelka firing, Kevin Nolan, the captain, believes that Bolton can stay third. Arsenal cannot hope for any better.