Jamie Carragher... last game for Liverpool.Jamie Carragher... last game for Liverpool.

Arsenal claimed the final Champions League spot at the expense of their arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the Premier League season yesterday with a 1-0 win at Newcastle United.

Defender Laurent Koscielny put visitors Arsenal ahead in the 52nd minute to secure fourth place with 73 points, one point ahead of fifth-placed Spurs who mustered a late goal from Gareth Bale to beat Sunderland 1-0 at White Hart Lane.

Chelsea sealed third place on 75 points with a 2-1 win at home to Everton.

Manchester United had already been crowned champions and their attention was on giving retiring manager Alex Ferguson a send-off to remember but as the goals rained in they could not give him a win as they drew 5-5 at West Bromwich Albion.

Last year’s champions Manchester City finished 11 points behind United in second after a 3-2 defeat at home to Norwich City.

With first and second place decided some time ago and all three relegation spots already determined, the burning issue of the day centred on who would grab the final top-four place.

Discounting the highly improbable mathematical possibilities, it boiled down to a battle between north London’s big foes Arsenal and Tottenham.

Arsene Wenger’s side had the advantage before kick-off, with a one-point lead and the knowledge that as long as they won at Newcastle, the Champions League place was theirs.

They were facing a Newcastle side who were no longer troubled by relegation fears after securing their top-flight status and that lack of pressure translated into a troublesome first half for Arsenal as the hosts enjoyed the better chances.

Arsenal came out for the second half with a bit more spark and seven minutes into it finally got the goal they craved as Theo Walcott’s free-kick was headed on by Per Mertesacker and Koscielny stayed on side to prod the ball home.

Walcott hit the post in stoppage time as Arsenal ended a nervy game on top and completed a turnaround since trailing Spurs by seven points in March after losing the north London derby.

“We are happy, it’s very important for the club to play Champions League next year,” Koscielny told Sky Sports.

At White Hart Lane, Spurs had more urgency about them from the outset than Arsenal but were left questioning referee Andre Marriner’s decision to book Bale for diving.

Bale, who has picked up a series of player of the year accolades this year, was shown the yellow card midway through the first half although television replays showed Seb Larsson’s foul could have led to a valuable Spurs penalty instead.

With news filtering through that Arsenal had gone ahead in their game, Andre Villas-Boas’ side continued to press for an opener with Michael Dawson, Bale, Scott Parker and Aaron Lennon among those going close.

They were given some hope with 15 minutes to go when Sunderland’s David Vaughan was sent off after a second yellow and finally made the man advantage count as Bale curled in a stunning goal on 90 minutes.

But it was not enough for Spurs who missed out on Europe’s elite club competition for the second year running. Spurs finished fourth last season behind Wenger’s side but they were denied a Champions League berth because sixth-placed Chelsea took the final spot as Euro champions.

QPR bid goodbye to the top flight with a 1-0 defeat at Liverpool where Anfield favourite Jamie Carragher was making his final appearance before retirement.

Results

Premier League

Chelsea 2
Mata 7; Torres 76;
Everton 1
Naismith 14;

HT: 1-1. Att: 41,794.

Liverpool 1
Coutinho 23;
QPR 0

HT: 1-0. Att: 44,792.

Man. City 2
Rodwell 29, 59;
Norwich 3
Pilkington 26; Holt 54; Howson 65;

HT: 1-1. Att: 47,054.

Newcastle 0
Arsenal 1
Koscielny 52;

HT: 0-0. Att: 52,354.

Southampton 1
Lambert 57;
Stoke City 1
Crouch 47;

HT: 0-0. Att: 31,539.

Swansea City 0
Fulham 3
Kacaniklic 22; Berbatov 77; Emanuelson 90;

HT: 0-1. Att: 20,365.

Tottenham 1
Bale 90;
Sunderland 0

HT: 0-0. Att: 36,763.
Red card: Vaughan (S) 75.

West Brom 5
Morrison 40; Lukaku 50, 81, 86; Mulumbu 81;
Man. United 5
Kagawa 6; Olsson 9og; Buttner 30; Van Persie 53; Hernandez 63;

HT: 1-3. Att: 26,438.

West Ham 4
Nolan 23, 79, 87; Vaz Te 34;
Reading 2
McCleary 53; Le Fondre 55;

HT: 2-0. Att: 34,973.

Wigan 2
Boyce 21; Baker 45 og;
Aston Villa 2
Bent 5; Vlaar 61;

HT: 2-1. Att: 18,200.

Final standings

  P W D L F A Pts
Man. United 38 28 5 5 86 43 89
Man. City 38 23 9 6 66 34 78
Chelsea 38 22 9 7 75 39 75
Arsenal 38 21 10 7 72 37 73
Tottenham 38 21 9 8 66 46 72
Everton 38 16 15 7 55 40 63
Liverpool 38 16 13 9 71 43 61
West Brom 38 14 7 17 53 57 49
Swansea 38 11 13 14 47 51 46
West Ham 38 12 10 16 45 53 46
Norwich 38 10 14 14 41 58 44
Fulham 38 11 10 17 50 60 43
Stoke 38 9 15 14 34 45 42
Southampton 38 9 14 15 49 60 41
Aston Villa 38 10 11 17 47 69 41
Newcastle 38 11 8 19 45 68 41
Sunderland 38 9 12 17 41 54 39
Wigan 38 9 9 20 47 73 36
Reading 38 6 10 22 43 73 28
QPR 38 4 13 21 30 60 25

Top scorers
26 goals: Van Persie (Man. United).
23 goals: Suarez (Liverpool).
21 goals: Bale (Tottenham).
19 goals: Benteke (Aston Villa).
18 goals: Michu (Swansea).
17 goals: Lukaku (West Brom).
15 goals: Lampard (Chelsea), Ba (Chelsea), Berbatov (Fulham), Lambert (Southampton).

League One p/o final
Brentford 1 - Yeovil 2

Next fixture
Championship play-off final
Watford vs C. Palace - May 27 (at Wembley Stadium)

Season verdicts

League champions
Manchester United

Champions League
Man. United, Man. City, Chelsea

Champions League prel. round
Arsenal

Europa League
Tottenham Hotspur, Wigan Athletic (FA Cup winners), Swansea City (League Cup winners)

Relegated
Wigan, Reading, Queens Park Rangers

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