BEVERLY HILLS, May 21, (THEWILL) – Arsenal has failed to secure a top-four finish for the first time in 20 years as it ended the 2016/2017 English Premier League (EPL) season on Sunday at fifth position.
Arsenal produced a convincing 3-1 defeat of Everton but it was not enough to push them above Liverpool and Manchester City as the top-four slot, considered by many pundits as Arsenal’s birth right, eluded them following Liverpool and City’s defeat of their opponents Middlesbrough and Watford respectively.
Man City humiliated Watford 5-0 to claim the third spot, while Liverpool humbled relegated Middlesbrough 3-0 to seal a fourth place finish on the last day of the EPL season to finish with 78 and 76 point respectively.
Chelsea who had already won the EPL title with two matches to go ended the season with 93 points while their closest rival, Tottenham Hotspurs, secured a second place finish having earned 86 points with 6-1 pounding of Leicester City.
Chelsea also broke the Premier League record for wins in a season by beating Sunderland 5-1 to earn 30 victories in the season.
The victory over relegated Sunderland ensured that the team shattered the competition record set by Jose Mourinho’s title-winning Blues teams in the 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 seasons, winning 29 of their 38 EPL matches.
