Old foes left with plenty to ponder

EVEN with precious little other than pride at stake, it would have been out of character for Roy Keane or Arsene Wenger to lose any focus. That said, they could have been excused yesterday if their thoughts occasionally drifted to events elsewhere.

Both are well versed in the intensity of the climax to a Premier League campaign, Keane from his days as Manchester United captain and Wenger as manager of arch-rivals Arsenal.

The fact that neither of them had any say in the destiny of the title yesterday was, of course, a far greater source of chagrin to Frenchman Wenger than Keane, who was always going to have to be content with survival in his first season in top flight management.

While United held off the challenge of Chelsea to defend their crown, Wenger went away last night to formulate the fightback after the Gunners’ fade-out in the championship chase.

In offering his congratulations to United manager Alex Ferguson, he also fired the first shot in the psychological war for next season. He said: “The message I have is: ‘Congratulations and get ready for the fight next year.’ This win gives us 83 points which is respectable. I have won championships with fewer than that and it highlights the level of competition.

“There was very little difference between the three teams who fought for the championship and, for any little weakness, you were punished.

“Manchester United made the difference at home. They had 16 victories at Old Trafford and used that advantage. It feels like an anticlimax for us. It’s disappointing but there’s hope for the future because we have such a young side.

“We had a very young side here: the average age was 22.3 without the bench, and with the bench it would have gone down to 20. I think we can only be stronger next season. I think we have learned.”

Theo Walcott embodies much of the youthful exuberance running through the Gunners’ ranks and he demonstrated again that he is pivotal to their future ambitions.

The 19-year-old England prodigy produced a goal of the highest calibre in the 24th minute, racing on to a sumptuous through ball from Gilberto Silva to steer home beyond goalkeeper Marton Fulop.

Sunderland’s former Cork City forward Roy O’Donovan was given a second-half run-out after £6m striker Kenwyne Jones was forced off at half-time with a broken wrist sustained when he took the full force of the ball.

Keane confirmed: “Kenwyne chipped a bone in his wrist and he’ll be out for about six weeks. He was a big loss to us here and it’s disappointing, but we’re fortunate it has happened on the last day of the season when it doesn’t really matter.”

Reflecting on his side’s 15th-placed finish, Keane added: “Our results against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and United were never going to make or break our season.

“What’s kept us in the Premier League is that we’ve generally got good results against the teams down around us, if not here then away. We had chances today but didn’t take them.”

O’Donovan ought to have made his mark as he spurned four fine opportunities. He sent a header looping over, failed to connect from close range and allowed Lukasz Fabianski to save, drove wide from a decent position, and was finally foiled again by the keeper in the last minute.

Keane knows he needs to add more quality to his squad this summer and now faces talks with chairman Niall Quinn and chief executive Peter Walker to discuss his transfer budget.

He said: “I’m due a meeting with Niall and Peter in the next 24 hours. I’m sure Arsene Wenger is looking to buy players as well, but I’m not sure we’ll be after the same ones. I think it will get harder in that respect.”

Wenger saluted Keane for keeping Sunderland up. “You have to say well done, it’s remarkable,” he said.

SUNDERLAND (4-5-1): Fulop 6, Whitehead 6, Nosworthy 6, Evans 6, Collins 6, Edwards 6 (Miller 71, 5), Leadbitter 6, Yorke 7 (Chopra 75, 5), Reid 7, Wallace 6, Jones 6 (O’Donovan 46, 6). Subs Not Used: Higginbotham, Gordon.

ARSENAL (4-4-2): Fabianski 7, Djourou 6, Song 6, Senderos 6, Clichy 6, Eboue 6 (Randall 81, 5), Denilson 6, Gilberto 7, Walcott 8, Bendtner 6 (Traore 81, 5), Adebayor 7.

Subs Not Used: Nordtveit, Barazite, Mannone.

REFEREE: Keith Stroud (Hampshire) 7: Perhaps sensing the end-of-season feel to proceedings, Mr Stroud kept a low profile. Set the tone for a lenient approach when Danny Collins escaped a booking for a nasty tackle on Emmanuel Eboue.

MATCH RATING: ** Despite Roy Keane’s insistence that escaping relegation was nothing to celebrate, the home fans generated something of a carnival atmosphere. Any champagne football, however, came from the visitors.