Sunday, May 19, 2013
Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal: Koscielny strike secures Champions League football for Gunner
Arsenal secured Champions League
qualification for next season with a vital 1-0 win over Newcastle at St
James' Park on the final day of the Premier League season, as Laurent
Koscielny's second-half volley was enough to seal fourth place.
The Gunners' victory meant that regardless of how Tottenham got on against Sunderland at White Hart Lane, they would be the north London side appearing in the Champions League come September.
Arsene Wenger risked Mikel Arteta from the start after the Spain midfielder was given injections in his calf on Friday to patch up the injury he sustained in the midweek win over Wigan, but the decision proved a poor one as the Gunners captain was forced off through injury in the 29th minute.
Newcastle marked Steve Harper's final game by handing him the captaincy for the day, as the goalkeeper reached the end of a 20-year spell at the club. The 38-year-old was afforded a marvellous send-off by Newcastle's supporters as they chanted his name for the duration of the 37th minute, to symobolise the goalkeeper's shirt number.
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