Theo Walcott plundered a hat-trick as Arsenal gave themselves the perfect warm-up for the FA Cup final with a 4-1 win over West Brom in the last match of the Barclays Premier League season.
Walcott, who has yet to commit his long-term future to the Gunners, laid down a marker to be included in the starting XI at Wembley with a blistering first-half display from a central striker's role.
The England forward, who has battled back from a serious knee injury, cracked in the opening goal after just four minutes, and then quickly doubled Arsenal's lead before Jack Wilshere, on his 100th league appearance, volleyed in a superb third.
Walcott completed his hat-trick on 37 minutes with a close-range tap in to end the match as a contest before half-time.
Just before the hour, Gareth McAuley headed a consolation for the Baggies, who had beaten champions Chelsea 3-0 in midweek.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger and his squad returned to the pitch after the final whistle for a lap of appreciation having secured third place and with it automatic qualification for the Champions League.
It was a blistering start by the Gunners.
Santi Cazorla played the ball into the right side of the West Brom penalty area, where Walcott - making a first start in the Premier League since March 14 - turned back inside before firing a shot back past Boaz Myhill and into the roof of the net.
It was a first goal at home for the Gunners in four matches, and Wenger's side were soon back on the offensive as Walcott doubled the lead on 14 minutes.
The England forward rode a flying tackle from Jonas Olsson before stabbing the ball into the net through a crowded West Brom penalty area.
After taking in the adulation of the Clock End, Walcott made a point to run over to the Arsenal bench and embrace club physio Declan Lynch, who had helped on the long recovery from a serious knee injury which shattered the player's World Cup dream last year.
Arsenal were 3-0 ahead on 17 minutes when Wilshere sent a fierce left-footed volley into the top corner from 22 yards out following a tee-up from Mesut Ozil, before also going to give Lynch a hug, the 23-year-old having spent more than his fair share of time in the treatment room again this season.
Walcott was denied a first-half hat-trick as Myhill produced a flying one-handed save.
The Baggies defence was, though, breached again on 40 minutes as Wilshere weaved into the left side of the penalty area, feeding Cazorla, whose scuffed shot back across the face of goal was tapped in by Walcott at the far post.
Myhill was soon called into action again earlier in the second half, beating away Cazorla's drive.
West Brom brought on both Victor Anichebe, for Olsson, and then Craig Gardner, replacing Callum McManaman, but it was now a case of damage limitation.
McAuley finally gave the massed ranks of Baggies supporters something to cheer when he got up above Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina to head in a consolation from a corner on 57 minutes.
Gunners midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made a cameo appearance for the final 13 minutes, having been out since early March, but now could also be in contention for Wembley.
Substitute Aaron Ramsey struck the post with a fierce 18-yard drive during the closing stages, with a curling effort from the Wales midfielder then touched onto the angle by Myhill.
Ospina enjoyed a slice of luck in stoppage time as a shot from Gardner went through his hands, but spun up onto the top of the crossbar.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article