Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle: Brilliant Declan Rice winner confirms Champions League spot for Gunners | OneFootball

Gunners end three-match losing run against Newcastle

Arsenal sealed Champions League qualification as Declan Rice’s brilliant finish earned them a 1-0 win over Newcastle.

The Magpies, who went into the match with three wins over Arsenal this season to their name, were the better side in the first-half, with David Raya forced into five saves before the break.

Mikel Arteta’s side though, were improved after half-time and took the lead ten minutes after the restart, when Rice fired in a superb first-time effort into the bottom corner from 20 yards out.

The Arsenal boss was booked late on for kicking a ball back onto the pitch and that means he will serve a touchline ban on the final day of the season, but there is now effectively nothing riding on that trip to Southampton for the Gunners.

Newcastle's Champions League fate remains in their hands, but they will start the final day level on points with Chelsea and Aston Villa, albeit with a superior goal difference.

Manchester City will bump Newcastle, who host Everton at St James' Park in their concluding game, down to fourth if they beat Bournemouth on Tuesday.

Arsenal were handed a major boost prior to kick-off when Alexander Isak, linked with a summer move to north London, was absent from the visitors' team sheet with a groin problem.

Yet, it was Newcastle who should have been ahead at half-time with only a string of Raya saves keeping the scores level.

It was Raya's sloppy pass after just six minutes which presented the first chance of the game. Sandro Tonali picked up the Arsenal goalkeeper's wayward ball before he found Callum Wilson who did well to present Bruno Guimaraes with a shot. However, Raya atoned for his initial error when he got down low to block Guimaraes' strike and then scooped the ball away.

Raya was back in action just five minutes later when he saved well from Tino Livramento following the full-back's neat one-two with Anthony Gordon.

At the other end, Nick Pope produced a fine save to deny Thomas Partey's header from Bukayo Saka's corner. But it was soon Raya taking centre stage again - this time diverting Harvey Barnes' deflected shot wide after the Newcastle midfielder was allowed to run unchallenged from the halfway line to the edge of the Arsenal box.

Raya then turned away Dan Burn's header from point-blank range before batting away Sven Botman's follow-up with his left hand.

But Arsenal, so flat and nervy in the first 45 minutes, started the second half with greater purpose, and they took the lead after just 10 minutes.

Gordon was caught in possession by Saka with the Arsenal winger finding Martin Odegaard in Arsenal's right-hand channel. Odegaard took one look up before spraying the ball to Rice on the edge of the area with the midfielder's low curling effort nestling into Pope's bottom corner.

Newcastle had lost their stranglehold on the game with Arsenal looking more likely to add to their advantage, and Ben White's effort from range had Pope at full stretch.

Barnes might have done better when he skied his effort over from the edge of the area, and substitute Joe Willock then came close to haunting his old club when he fashioned a chance only to blaze his shot high and wide.

Arsenal's campaign has been derailed by injuries and Kai Havertz was handed his first appearance in 102 days following hamstring surgery.

Newcastle pressed for an equaliser - with Pope arriving to contest a Newcastle corner in the seventh minute of stoppage time - but Arsenal held firm to leave Eddie Howe and his players facing an anxious final day to ensure their return to Europe's premier competition.