Spurs held their nerve to ensure Arsenal did not overtake them in the race for the top four Tottenham avoided a final day collapse to secure a top four finish and confirm their qualification to next season’s Champions League. The north Londoners, who earlier this week booked their place in the final of Europe’s premier cup competition, ended their campaign with a draw to finish two points ahead of Arsenal in fourth. 2 Tottenham ended the Premier League season with a valuable victory Eric Dier opened the scoring at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium inside the opening three minutes, but the Toffees made a second-half turnaround to take a 2-1 lead. Christian Eriksen popped up to score an equaliser for Spurs, however, with the game ending tied 2-2. Arsenal’s defeat of Burnley was not enough to move them above their local rivals, as they needed Spurs to lose to have any chance of overtaking them. LATEST FOOTBALL NEWS GLORY Now Capoue and Foyth have shown Kane what can happen if you leave Tottenham NEWS Woeful De Gea stat, Solskjaer 'not at Man United's level', Rashford abused after final LIVE Transfer news: Poch Tottenham talks, £18m Leicester deal, Bayern sign English defender shameful Marcus Rashford receives 'over 70 racial slurs' and reveals teacher among abusers Finished Solskjaer ‘not Man United standard’ with Conte ideal replacement after final loss INQUIRY Questions will be asked of Solskjaer after 'master' Emery nullified Man United DRAMA Man United stunned by Villarreal as Solskjaer's search for silverware goes on shocker De Gea's commitment doubted as he concedes 36th straight pen and misses in EL final NEW BLOOD Zidane 'decides to leave' Madrid with immediate effect as Khabib calls for Conte GOAL Only Messi scored more, Moreno gets assists like Kane and could end United trophy hope Unai Emery’s side ended the season outside the top four, so have to contend with a third straight season without Champions League football. Despite their failure to qualify for the Champions League through their league position, Arsenal can still make it should they win this season’s Europa League. The Gunners take on Chelsea in the final later this month. Getty 2 Emery needs to beat Chelsea in the Europa League final to get Arsenal back in the Champions League Spurs will be glad to see the back of the Premier League as they have limped over the line, with just three wins in their final 12 games. But finishing in the top four, still with the prospect of winning a first-ever Champions League, has to be regarded as a fine achievement by Mauricio Pochettino’s side given the circumstances they have come up against this season. They have had a number of key players out injured for large portions of the season, and they did not sign a single player in either last summer’s transfer window or when it reopened in January. Everton’s pursuit of seventh had ended last week and they face a summer of trying to find a way of breaking the top-six’s dominance.<doc-sep>Sign up to FREE email alerts from Football London - Arsenal Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice It's a third consecutive season of Europa League football for Arsenal. Picking up a single point from 12 against Crystal Palace, Wolves, Leicester City and Brighton was quite frankly relegation form, something which you wouldn't expect from a side with hopes of playing Champions League football. The feeling inside the Emirates Stadium after drawing with the Seagulls was one of a realisation that hopes of sealing a top four finish in the Premier League this season were over and even a 3-1 win over Burnley on the final day of the season wasn't enough as Spurs avoided defeat against Everton. Arsenal had another chance of playing at Europe's top table in 2019/2020. It was simple. Unai Emery needed to Europa League trophy for a fourth time in his career, but his side were beaten 4-1 by Chelsea in the final and with that came confirmation that it's Thursday night football for the Gunners once again next term. Although, that is not such a bad thing. The Europa League does at least bring around one positive for the north London outfit, in providing a platform for a number of the club's promising youngsters on the European stage. This has been the case this season with Emile Smith Rowe the standout youngster during the group phase, while Bukayo Saka, Zech Medley and Charlie Gilmour all made their first-team debuts in the competition. Joe Willock and Eddie Nketiah were regulars in the squad until the knockout stages came around. Jordi Osei-Tutu and Tyreece John-Jules were involved in the final two group games without coming on. (Image: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) A look ahead to next season and there's no reason why the likes of Xavier Amaechi and Konstantinos Mavropanos can't be integrated into an Europa League XI alongside the returning Reiss Nelson. The U18's who won the Premier League title could also be factored in and with limited funds ahead of the summer window, giving some of these wonderkids a chance wouldn't be the worst idea. This is a golden batch of young talent who have progressed through the Hale End academy in recent years but there is a very real danger that the north London outfit could lose them as clubs from across Europe look for the next Jadon Sancho. To his credit, Emery has recognised this and has spoken about giving the Arsenal a youngsters a chance in the first-team. "I usually work with young players and give them the opportunity to work with us,” he said in January. "I then give them chances to play but only if we can get the victory. My responsibility is to work with them and here I want to do that. "But each player is going to earn in his way more or less chances with his performances and his everyday work. "When they are playing with Freddie [Ljungberg] in the under-23s we are looking at their performances and their attitude, if it’s OK or not … and at the moment we are going to continue in this way. "We know they can train with us and start playing matches. It is very difficult but we need to help them." (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images) This hasn't quite happened during the second half of the season, but Europa League football would at least provide Emery with the chance to blood some youngsters once again in the group phase at least. And that's always a positive. Keep up to date with the latest Arsenal news, features and exclusives from football.london via our free WhatsApp service . Click here to enroll or text NEWS to 07557204612 and then add the number to your phone contacts book as arsenal dot london (case sensitive, with spaces) to receive daily updates and breaking news from Layth Yousif and the team on Arsenal. Your phone number won't be shared with any other members of the group. Click here for more information on the service.<doc-sep>It’s official. Chelsea are in to next season’s Champions League after Arsenal failed to beat Brighton at home. It was the latest slip up in a season that saw all of the teams fighting for the top 4 suffer a wild collapse late on. Chelsea, Spurs, Arsenal and Man United all suffered varying collapses, but fortunately for the Blues they were able to get out of their bad spin just in time. A win today against Watford was the key, after Tottenham lost yesterday and Man U drew against Huddersfield. It looked like it was going to be another tense week of waiting when Arsenal scored against the Seagulls, but their second half penalty brought them level, and the Gunners weren’t able to find a second. It means that despite having won just one game of their last 4, Maurizio Sarri has managed to steer his team into the Champions League, presumably opening the path for him to stay at the club another year. We still have a game against Frankfurt in the Europa League to win, but at least the pressure is off us now, and we don’t need a win there as desperately as Arsenal.<doc-sep>Who have qualified for the 2019-20 Champions League? Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea have secured their places in the group stage by virtue of confirmed top-four finishes. Tottenham hold the final top-four spot and will confirm their qualification – also for the group stage – as long as they avoid defeat by Everton. Even if they lose, Arsenal would need to win at Burnley and overturn an eight-goal deficit in goal difference to overhaul them. Can the fourth-placed team end up in the Europa League? In theory, yes, but not this season. It happened to Tottenham in 2012 because Chelsea won the Champions League, guaranteeing a place, and finished outside the top four at a time when England had a maximum of four spots. Now the Premier League gets up to five berths and the fourth-placed team miss out only if English clubs win the Champions League and Europa League but neither finish in the top four. That cant be the case this season. Quick Guide What would it take to force a play-off for the Premier League title? Show With the 38th and final round of matches left to play in the Premier League season, the unthinkable prospect of an extra 39th outing remains on the table. The sensible permutations are simple. A win for Manchester City and the trophy will continue to adorn sky blue ribbons for another year. Any mistake, and Jurgen Klopp’s side can grab a first title in 29 years. Guardiola will be expecting a routine win away at Brighton and Klopp will equally anticipate three points against Wolves at Anfield, but what about that elusive 39th match? The 2018-2019 Premier League handbook states that in the case that the title "cannot be determined because two or more clubs are equal on points, goal difference and goals scored, the clubs concerned shall play off one or more deciding league matches on neutral grounds, the format, timing and venue of which shall be determined by the Board." For everything to be equal on Sunday evening Manchester City will need to lose 4-0 at the Amex coupled with a 4-4 draw at Anfield. Both teams would finish on 95 points, with a goal difference of +65, and 91 goals scored. There is a precedent for this absurdly fantastical turn of events. Sort of. Guardiola hasn’t been immune to a hammering as City boss, overseeing the club’s 4-0 defeat to Everton in January 2017, while a trip back to the winter of 1983 would find an FA Cup occasion that did, in fact, see Brighton demolish City by a scoreline of 4-0. For Liverpool, meanwhile, the mere mention of “4-4” conjures up memories of a Premier League classic in which the Rafa Benitez-led Reds were on the receiving end of Andrei Arshavin’s brief dalliance with genius. Last month Klopp declared the 2018-2019 season as being “absolutely crazy”. Well, Jurgen, we’re about to find out just how crazy. Benji Nurick Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback. Can five teams go into the Champions League? Yes. If Arsenal finish outside the top four but win the Europa League they will be in the Champions League. If Chelsea win the Europa League only four English clubs will be in the Champions League, other than in the unlikely event that Tottenham end up fifth, and then win the Champions League. How many clubs qualify for the Europa League? That depends. Ordinarily it is three, with the Premier League’s fifth-placed finishers and the FA Cup winners going into the group stage and the Carabao Cup victors starting in the second qualifying round. But that drops to two if an English team win the Europa League but finish outside the top four because the Premier League gets a maximum of seven places in Europe. So can any club say for certain they will be in the Europa League? Only Manchester United. If they finish fifth they go into the group stage. If they finish sixth – which gets a Europa League place because Manchester City won the Carabao Cup but will be in the Champions League – their entry date will depend on who wins the FA Cup. Arsenal are guaranteed a Europa League place if they do not end up in the Champions League. Gonzalo Higuaín seals victory over Watford and a top-four place for Chelsea. Watford can reach the Europa League by winning the FA Cup final against Manchester City on 18 May. Photograph: Matt Dunham/AP What happens if Arsenal finish outside the top four and win the Europa League? They go into the Champions League group stage and Manchester United go into the Europa League group stage. The second Europa League spot will go to Wolves or Watford depending on the outcome of the FA Cup final. What happens if Chelsea win the Europa League? They are in the Champions League anyway, so unless Spurs finish fifth and win the Champions League, there will be three English teams in the Europa League. What if Watford win the FA Cup? Beating City would earn them a spot in next season’s Europa League group stage. Seventh-placed Wolves would miss out on European football because only seven teams can qualify and Watford have finished outside the top seven. A win for Watford would also see the Premier League’s highest-placed side who have not qualified for the Champions League begin their Europa League campaign in the second qualifying round, which starts on 25 July. Manchester United are scheduled to play a friendly against Milan in Cardiff on the same day. And if Manchester City win the FA Cup? Seventh-placed Wolves will go into the Europa League second qualifying round.<doc-sep>
Arsenal squandered their hopes of playing Champions League football next season after they were held to a 1-1 draw against Brighton at the Emirates on Sunday. The Gunners needed to win both of their remaining games for a chance to get into the top four and even then their qualification would depend on London rivals, Chelsea. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's early opener appeared to set the course for a crucial win for Arsenal but a penalty by Glenn Murray equalised the score. The Gunners' only hope at a return to the Champions League is the Europa League, where they are set to face Valencia in the second leg of their semi-final fixture. Unai Emery's men established a 3-1 win over the La Liga outfit in the first leg and will hope to secure a place in the final with an advantageous result in the closing leg. Speaking after the game, Emery said, "I think we worked and tried but didn’t get the result for taking chances next week. Now our way is to be strong in our focus for Thursday." "We are going to be stronger in our mentality to prepare for the match on Thursday. And we are going to give the best individual and collective performances in the last matches, above all [against] Burnley." "I think we can speak now about the different situations and issues in the season, but it's better to take the focus for Thursday against Valencia - and we are going to do the analysis also." "We knew it is going to be difficult but our focus is now the Europa League. We have the opportunity in the Europa League to do something important and we will try and do that." "On Thursday we have the second leg and have this one title to play for. It's a way to get into the Champions League. Above all, for us the Premier League is the first competition and we couldn't be in the top four." Twitter has since exploded with reactions to the news: When you spend 90 minutes of your day off watching Arsenal vs Brighton. pic.twitter.com/7t2365Qq3w — FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) May 5, 2019 Watching Arsenal today pic.twitter.com/3n3kE8vyix — Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) May 6, 2019 Three weeks ago Arsenal were favourites for top 4. Now they're favourites to play Europa league with Man United next season Team like Arsenal 😢😢😩 — Kelewele Joint 😋 (@Ankamagyimi) May 5, 2019 Aaron Ramsey reminding Arsenal supporters they won’t be in the Champions League before walking out the door. 😂😭🤣 [@SingleMaltSuds]#THFC #COYSpic.twitter.com/0iQnnXcETd — Last Word On Spurs🎙 (@LastWordOnSpurs) May 5, 2019 How funny would it be if Chelsea and Arsenal, the two Europa League teams that have been mocked constantly this season qualify to the Champions League and Spurs miss out along with United who already have?! 😂 😂 Brilliant!! — Younes H-Hamou (@youneshh) May 5, 2019 Arsenal fans : we shall finish top four. Brighton : 😂😂😂😂 #ARSBHA pic.twitter.com/pmdRqtZk8b — Emmyton (@Emmyton5) May 5, 2019 Petr Cech consoles Aaron Ramsey who had to sit through Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Brighton today pic.twitter.com/brX26GkdlX — arseblog (@arseblog) May 5, 2019 The amount of money Arsenal have thrown away in the last 2 years is unbelievable. In another world, we're walking away with around £125m to reinvest in the team from Alexis, Ozil, Ramsey and Welbeck. In this one, we got an ageing Mkhi and Ozil on wages of over £500k a week. — Blahovic (@Blahovic) May 5, 2019 Arsenal fans at the beginning of the season: 'Torreira > Kante' 'Xhaka > Jorginho' 'Leno > Kepa' 'Emery > Sarri' Think it's safe to say that they were proved wrong once again by the best club in London... — FutbolChelsea (@FutbolCheIsea) May 5, 2019 Arsenal went 22 games unbeaten this season. They went above us for 5 minutes and celebrated with dressing room selfies and in the streets, we have lost 13 games and they still finish below us. hahaahhahahahahhaahhahahahahahhahahahhahahahahahhahhahahahahhahahahahhahahahahahhahhaha — Daniel (@DanielLevyReal) May 5, 2019