The Gunners ended what has been a difficult campaign with a 4-1 win over Stoke at Emirates Stadium, where the visitors were ripped apart by three goals inside 18 minutes.

It was, though, not enough for anything more than a fourth-place finish, which means Arsenal must qualify for the Champions League group stages once again.

Following defeats in the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and Champions League, the Gunners have had little left to play for in the closing stages of the season.

However, before being thumped 4-1 at home by Chelsea just days after their European dreams where shattered by Barclays Premier League champions Manchester United, Arsene Wenger's men had gone on a 21-match unbeaten run which saw them move back up into the top four.

Walcott, 20, feels the Gunners can take heart from those battling performances since late November, which should act as a springboard to more consistency when the 2009/2010 campaign kicks off in August.

"We have got to take this into next season now, bounce back and put in a good performance," said Walcott, called up for England's June World Cup qualifying double-header against Kazakhstan and Andorra.

"We are scoring goals from all sorts of positions, the team is playing very well and are keeping the ball without conceding many goals.

"We have to learn from our experiences this year, do the dirty work and get the results."

Walcott added: "Man United only won one game out of their matches against the top four, so it just shows how important every game is in the Premier League.

"The little clubs, away and at home, they are the points you have to make up.

"We have to do the dirty work, like we have learned from this year, and take that into next season."

Wenger, meanwhile, has some serious thinking to do over the summer as he looks to get Arsenal back within touching distance of United.

The future of unsettled Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor - said to be interesting Manchester City, Chelsea and AC Milan - remains unclear, and he could be sold off to add some reported £20million to the transfer reserves.

The Gunners boss will, however, take stock of what talent he current has available before deciding just where to strengthen - the centre of defence and midfield the most likely focus.

Wenger revealed: "We do have one or two transfer targets in mind that we want to bring in.

"At the moment we are analysing every position in the squad, analysing the potential of the players we have, and also the improvements that they can make for next season.

"Basically we have a team that is on the way up, and we have to take that into account as well."

He added: "We are very sorry that we have not won a trophy, but many clubs would be proud of our record of the last four years.

"If you consider the investment we have made in the last few years, and the quality of football we have shown, we do not have to be ashamed.

"The club is going in the right direction and we have to be strong enough to continue it."

Wenger - who has allayed fears he was set to quit for Real Madrid - admitted he was touched by the warm reception from fans before, during and after the match on a lap of appreciation.

"Our fans have been amazing throughout the season," he said.

"The big regret I have for our fans is that they were all really up for the Manchester United home game, and the game was over after 10 minutes.

"I promise that I will give another time where we can get them all up like that again, and this time be rewarded."