The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Wenger’s farewell as City reach 100 points
PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal manager’s long goodbye ends with fitting finale
Arsene Wenger ended his Arsenal reign with a win at Huddersfield on an emotionally-charged afternoon at the John Smith’s Stadium yesterday.
The 68-year-old took charge of his last game in charge of the Gunners as his side recorded a 1-0 victory courtesy of PierreEmerick Aubameyang’s first-half goal.
Wenger, whose tenure lasted almost 22 years and took in 1,235 games, was given a rousing reception by both sets of fans in a carnival atmosphere.
Arsenal and Huddersfield fans alike saluted the Frenchman as he walked over to acknowledge the away end before the match, bowing in front of the travelling supporters.
Two planes flew over the John Smith’s Stadium, carrying messages of support for Wenger.
“Merci Arsene, we will miss you too,” one read in response to Wenger’s goodbye speech last week, while the other read: “One Arsene Wenger”.
Then, after 22 minutes, the entire stadium rose as one to applaud Wenger – marking the length of his reign – with chants of “there’s only one Arsene Wenger” also springing up throughout pockets of the home support as well as the entire away end.
The game itself was fairly forgettable, Aaron Mooy hitting the crossbar late on as the Terriers came close to denying Wenger a winning finale.
Pep Guardiola felt Gabriel Jesus’ stoppage-time winner at Southampton was a “perfect” end to a remarkable season as champions Manchester City became the first club to amass 100 Premier League points.
Substitute Jesus lobbed the ball over Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy with virtually the last kick of the game at St Mary’s following a superb pass from Kevin De Bruyne.
The last-gasp goal – six years to the day since Sergio Aguero’s dramatic title-winning strike against QPR – sparked mayhem among City’s players and travelling support.
And coach Guardiola hailed it as a fitting finale to a record-breaking campaign.
“100 points, still I cannot believe it,” said Guardiola.
“100 points is a massive achievement. Of course nothing changed before or during the game (in terms of the title) so 97, 98 but we have to play for something.”
Liverpool secured a top-four spot with a 4-0 victory over Brighton which sets them up for the Champions League final in a fortnight.
Mohamed Salah broke the record for a 38-game Premier League season with his 32nd in the top flight – and 44th overall – and after Dejan Lovren doubled the lead just before half-time, Dominic Solanke
and former Dundee United defender Andy Robertson scored their first goals for the club.
After three matches without a win it was the best way to sign off a domestic campaign with a confidence-booster ahead of their date with destiny and holders Real Madrid in Kiev at the end of the month.
Tottenham said goodbye to Wembley in style as they came from behind to beat Leicester 5-4 in a thrilling final-day encounter.
Spurs are returning to their rebuilt White Hart Lane stadium next season after playing this term at the national stadium and braces from Harry Kane and Erik Lamela and a Christian Fuchs own goal gave them the win that sealed third place.
Kane’s two goals took his tally to 30 for the season and it was an encouraging performance ahead of this summer’s World Cup, but he ultimately fell two goals short in his pursuit of a third successive Golden Boot.
Leicester were great value and played their part, having led 3-1, with two goals for Jamie Vardy and one apiece from Riyad Mahrez and Kelechi Iheanacho.
Ayoze Perez struck twice to end Chelsea’s faint hopes of Champions League qualification as Newcastle secured a top-10 finish on their return to the Premier League.
The Blues, who face Manchester United in the FA Cup final next Saturday, simply did not turn up for what many believe could be Antonio Conte’s final league game at the helm and were beaten 3-0 at St James’ Park.
Dwight Gayle headed the home side into a 23rd-minute lead they richly deserved, and Perez’s second-half double ended a run of four successive defeat and clinched 10th place.
Michael Carrick bade farewell to Old Trafford by helping set up the goal that delivered a 1-0 win for Manchester United over Watford.
The veteran midfielder, who is retiring this summer, captained United on his 464th appearance as they wrapped up their league campaign.
Marcus Rashford scored the only goal after 34 minutes, tapping in after Carrick’s superb long pass had played Juan Mata in behind the Hornets defence.
Burnley, who have qualified for the Europa League, lost 2-1 against Bournemouth as Josh King and Callum Wilson’s last-minute winner cancelled out Chris Wood’s opener.
Swansea’s relegation was confirmed as Stoke won 2-1 at the Liberty Stadium.
Andy King gave Swansea an early lead, but Badou Ndiaye and Peter Crouch scored before half-time to give Stoke only their second victory since Paul Lambert took charge in January.
Wilfried Zaha and Patrick van Aanholt scored as Crystal Palace beat relegated West Brom 2-0 as the Eagles finished 11th – having failed to score or earn a point in their first seven outings.
Manuel Lanzini’s double and Marko Arnautovic helped West Ham beat Everton 3-1 to seal a seventh home league win of the season during a troubled year.
The Toffees pulled one back through Oumar Niasse