Arsenal vs. West Brom: Score, Grades and Reaction from Premier League

Arsenal finished the 2014-15 Premier League season with a flourish, destroying West Bromwich Albion 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium to secure third place in the table and ramp up their FA Cup final preparations ahead of Saturday's showpiece event.

Theo Walcott scored a magnificent hat-trick inside 37 minutes to dispel any fears of dropping below Manchester United and into fourth.

Walcott opened the scoring in the fourth minute, driving a thunderbolt into the top corner from the right side of the penalty box after peeling away from a laboured Jonas Olsson. He doubled his tally and the Gunners' lead 10 minutes later with a scrappy, prodded effort after a melee in the Baggies box.

Jack Wilshere rifled in a stunning 18-yard half-volley minutes later to essentially rubber-stamp the victory after just over a quarter of an hour of play, and Walcott completed a personal trio with a back-post tap-in after strong buildup work from Wilshere and Santi Cazorla.

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Gareth McAuley grabbed a consolation strike for West Brom in the second half, but few players on the away team celebrated it, knowing they'd been soundly beaten and thoroughly outplayed on the day.

It leaves Arsenal heading into next week's FA Cup final against Aston Villa in bright form, having recovered from a few disappointing results of late. They'd only managed to win one of their last five matches, drawing blanks against Swansea City and Sunderland and will now feel eager to step back onto the Wembley turf and deal out more damage after such a luxurious display.

West Brom opted not to sit in and defend, with James Morrison and co. driving forward with the ball and attacking with pace and numbers. That spelt danger from the first minute, and Walcott and Alexis Sanchez looked threatening in the resulting space.

Saido Berahino played in Chris Brunt for a strike on goal very early on, but that turned out to be one of very few chances David Ospina had to deal with. From the second minute of the match, it was all Arsenal.

The decision to play two players with everything to prove ahead of the final, Wilshere and Walcott, ensured a committed, high-intensity performance, and the home side ran rampant. Walcott's first was raw power. His second was raw determination. His third was raw opportunism.

Wilshere and Cazorla linked played superbly in midfield, running rings around their Midlands counterparts, and Wilshere's goal was a just reward for his efforts on the ball. The Englishman, back from a lengthy ankle injury that has wrecked his 2014-15 campaign, will be pushing for a starting role ahead of Saturday, and this performance will not have done his chances any harm.

As the half-time whistle went, the visitors looked both shell-shocked and mesmerised by what was a truly sumptuous Arsenal performance.

Tony Pulis rung the changes in the second half, bringing on Victor Anichebe and Craig Gardner in an attempt to change his approach. And after Cazorla again went close from range, forcing Myhill into a tremendous save, the Baggies finally grabbed one back.

Ospina came and failed, miserably, to collect a corner ball, and Gareth McAuley headed into a half-empty net. It will raise fresh questions over the Colombian's legitimacy as a No. 1 goalkeeper and prompt fans to bay for a new signing—or the return of Wojciech Szczesny.

Wenger responded by throwing on Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey, keeping all of his options fit and fresh ahead of the looming final. It allowed Walcott to depart to a deserved standing ovation from every corner of the ground.

Wilshere later departed to similar treatment, and Ramsey proceeded to smack the post twice in two minutes, then flash a third drive just wide of the post, keeping us all guessing as to how the Gunners midfield will look against Aston Villa.

End of season or not, this was one hell of a performance from Wenger's men ahead of the FA Cup final and, the fans will be hoping, a 2015-16 Premier League title challenge.

Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Francis Coquelin and Laurent Koscielny represent key, core pieces to a domestic push, and there aren't too many holes for the manager to fill over the course of the summer.

If Wilshere can stay fit and Wenger opts to trust Walcott up front a little more often, he has the makings of a deadly, pacey side. Walcott's pace and movement offers so much, opening up passing angles for Ozil and Alexis, and they're attributes Giroud cannot provide.

Player Grades

Player	Rating
David Ospina	5
Hector Bellerin	7
Gabriel Paulista	7
Per Mertesacker	7
Kieran Gibbs	7
Francis Coquelin	7
Santi Cazorla	9
Jack Wilshere	9
Alexis Sanchez	7
Mesut Ozil	8
Theo Walcott	10

Player	Rating
Boaz Myhill	7
Craig Dawson	6
Gareth McAuley	6
Joleon Lescott	5
Jonas Olsson	2
Steven Fletcher	5
Claudio Yacob	6
James Morrison	5
Calum McManaman	5
Chris Brunt	5
Saido Berahino	5

Reaction

Speaking to BBC Sport, Arsene Wenger shed little light on his FA Cup team selection, but praised his star performers on the day. He also affirmed his desire to challenge for the title next season:

"

Theo Walcott had a great game today. He was on fire and moved well. Jack Wilshere as well.

I had no pre-set mind before the game regarding the FA Cup final team. I have not thought about next Saturday. I wanted to pick a team to win the game.

We had a slow start to the season, but progressively, we got stronger, and from January onwards we got competitive.

We have qualified directly for next season's Champions League. But we want more. We want to challenge for the Premier League title. But first we want to win the FA Cup next weekend.

The first thing we need is to get everybody back in pre-season and not lose so many players. Walcott was out for a year, Wilshere for six months."

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