Costel Bravo

Costel Pantilimon produced a season-defining display as Sunderland secured Premier League safety and Arsenal all-but clinched third following a goalless draw at the Emirates.

Arsenal, who are now three points ahead of fourth-placed Manchester United going into the final game of the season, dominated for large spells and had close to 30 shots on goal. The Gunners simply couldn't find a way past the Romanian shot-stopper, while Sunderland's resolute defence ensured they would avoid a nail-biting final day of the season with Newcastle and Hull now locked in a two-way battle for Premier League safety.

The result also ended any hope Arsene Wenger's men had of leapfrogging Manchester City into second but it is still looking increasingly likely that the London club will at least secure automatic qualification instead of their usual fourth-placed finish.

Although Pantilimon's display was inspired and Sunderland deserve credit for their defensive display, I cannot help but feel frustrated as the Gunners failed to score for the third successive home game.

Arsenal dominated the first half but took a while to get going as Pantilimon slid out to tackle Jack Wilshere, who was making his first start since November, to prevent the opening goal of the game after 14 minutes. Wilshere was again in the thick of the action soon after but this time sent a volley over the bar.

Santi Cazorla's low strike then forced Pantilimon into another save before Kieran Gibbs fired over from long-range.

Wilshere continued to influence proceedings in the first half and his ball over the top found Mesut Ozil whose half-volley sailed over. The England midfielder set up Olivier Giroud soon after but the Frenchman's volley went across the face of goal and just wide.

At the other end, Adam Johnson shot over the bar in a rare Sunderland attack as the scores remained goalless going in at the break.

Sunderland were quick out of the blocks in the second half and forced David Ospina into two important saves within four minutes of the restart. Substitute Steven Fletcher latched onto Johnson's pass before seeing his shot clawed away by Ospina before the Colombian kept out Patrick van Aanholt with his feet soon after.

It didn't take too long for Arsenal to resume control of the game but again they found Pantilimon in sublime form as Sunderland's number one produced a fine reaction save to keep out Giroud. Pantilimon then stretched out to save Gibbs' header before Alexis Sanchez saw his effort blocked by Sebastian Coates.

Although the Gunners remained on top, Sunderland refused to give up and still produced the odd rare attack to keep the hosts on their toes. Fletcher really should have opened the scoring after latching onto Jermain Defoe's flick but he tried to do too much with the ball and his eventual lob was tipped over by Ospina.

Fletcher wasted another glorious opportunity after 69 minutes as van Aanholt's attempted shot ended up looking more like a pass across goal to set up the Scot. But the veteran striker somehow fired his effort over the bar from close range.

Theo Walcott came off the bench to make his 300th appearance for the hosts and almost made a swift impact. The England forward raced onto a pass from Aaron Ramsey before chipping the ball over Pantilimon but Coates came to the rescue to clear the ball off the line.

Sunderland were living very dangerously and almost mastered their own downfall when Billy Jones diverted Ramsey's cross onto the woodwork.

Substitute Tomas Rosicky also helped to a bit of spark to the hosts' display and his neat one-two with Walcott deserved more than a shot across goal from the Czech midfielder.

Arsenal continued to pile forward in the closing minutes but were again frustrated by Pantilimon, who produced two fine saves to keep out Walcott and ensure survival for the North East outfit.

Finishing second or third doesn't make too much difference as neither are silverware and both secure automatic qualification for the Champions League. But I can't help but feel disappointed by the performance, knowing that a victory would have kept our chances of finishing second alive.

There may no longer be too much to play for as Arsenal prepare to host West Brom in the final league game of the 2014/15 but I think the players need just two reasons to motivate themselves to put in a top display. Firstly, we want to get back to winning ways at home and end the league campaign in style. Secondly we need to ensure we boost our confidence as high as possible ahead of the FA Cup final with Aston Villa.

But before we can even think about the FA Cup Final we need to make sure we end the league campaign on a high. It doesn't matter that there is very little left to play for in the league as we owe it to our fans to produce one hell of a big performance at home. It is about time we got a big win and banged in a glut of goals at the Emirates so let's try and make sure we do that against the Baggies.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS