London: Arsenal qualified for the Champions League for the 16th straight season after edging Tottenham to fourth place in the Premier League.

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 kickoff, 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.

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 said.

Laurent Koscielny’s 52nd-minute volley sealed an unconvincing 1-0 for Arsenal at Newcastle, rendering Spurs’ 1-0 victory over Sunderland — courtesy of a late screamer from Gareth Bale — meaningless. Chelsea finished third by beating Everton 2-1.

With the title fight decided and three relegation spots settled, the remaining business was bidding farewell to several icons of English football.

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.

“It is difficult to take. In the end we did what we had to, but Arsenal did their job well and go through,” Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas said. “It is difficult at this moment.”

Bale guaranteed an extremely tense final few minutes in the race for fourth between the fierce north London rivals by smashing a trademark long-range effort high into the net in the 88th minute at White Hart Lane, meaning Arsenal needed to hold onto its lead at St James Park.

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott slid a shot against the post in injury time to keep Tottenham’s hopes alive, but Newcastle couldn’t find an equalizer.

“It was so tense,” Walcott said. “We had to dig deep and our defense was so solid. We did our job and we are so happy.”

Tottenham was third and seven points clear of Arsenal after winning the north London derby in March. But not even Bale's stream of match-winning goals in recent weeks could hold off Arsenal's end-of-season resurgence, just like last season.

“We have missed out and it is another hard day to take,” Tottenham defender Michael Dawson said. “We can't just look at today — we put ourselves in this position. We hoped Arsenal would slip up but they didn't, unfortunately.”

To make matters worse for Spurs, failing to reach the Champions League increases the speculation regarding the future of Bale, who has been linked with many of the world's top teams after a brilliant season in which he won English football's Player of the Year award.

Second-place Manchester City lost 3-2 at home to Norwich, and Carragher held his team keep a clean sheet in his 717th and final match for Liverpool, who won against Queen Park Rangers 1-0.

Owen rounded off his illustrious career by playing the final 16 minutes for Stoke in a 1-1 draw at Southampton, and Kevin Nolan scored a hat-trick in West Ham’s 4-2 win over Reading.

Also, Fulham won 3-0 at Swansea and relegated Wigan drew 2-2 at home to Aston Villa. (Agencies)