The mood at the Emirates Stadium in London was somber on Sunday. Reason: Arsenal ended their 2017 English Premier League campaign with a victory but they will not be playing in the money-spinning European Champions League next season for the first time in 20 years.

This is despite a 3-1 win over Everton on the final day of the Premier League.

The Gunners began the day a point behind fourth-placed Liverpool and were on course to displace the Reds when they took an eighth-minute lead.

But Liverpool, needing a win to ensure fourth, broke Middlesbrough’s resistance just before the break, and won 3-0.

Manchester City claimed the third spot with a very easy 5-0 win at Watford.

League winners Chelsea extended their run with a 5-1 drubbing of visiting Sunderland, just as Tottenham Hotspurs tightened their grip on the second position with a 7-1 whitewash of hosts Hull City.