Arsenal ended a troubling run against Newcastle United with a tense 1-0 victory in their final Premier League home game on Sunday, effectively securing second place and a spot in next season’s Champions League.

Having suffered three defeats to Eddie Howe’s side earlier this season, the Gunners were vulnerable to a fourth loss as Newcastle threatened with numerous early opportunities. However, Declan Rice steadied Arsenal’s nerves, capitalising on Newcastle’s first-half wastefulness. In the 55th minute, Rice met Martin Ødegaard’s pass perfectly, curling a shot past goalkeeper Nick Pope to break the deadlock.

Arsenal, winless in their previous three league fixtures, owed a debt of gratitude to goalkeeper David Raya, who kept them in the match with a series of impressive saves from Bruno Guimarães, Tino Livramento, Harvey Barnes, and Dan Burn during a Newcastle-dominated first half.

Whatever was said during the interval seemed to rejuvenate Arsenal, who appeared far more composed after the break. With only an away fixture at bottom club Southampton remaining next weekend, a third consecutive finish as runners-up looks almost certain, albeit with a considerable points gap.

Arsenal currently sit on 71 points from 37 matches. Only sixth-placed Manchester City, with two games remaining, can mathematically equal that tally. Newcastle remain third with 66 points, but with just a single point separating them from seventh-placed Nottingham Forest, the battle for the remaining Champions League spots promises to go down to the final day.

In other Premier League action, Fulham completed a dramatic double over local rivals Brentford with a 3-2 away win in a thrilling encounter on Sunday. Harry Wilson, who previously scored twice in added time in a 2-1 victory over Brentford in November, once again came off the bench to deliver the winner. Wilson’s curling strike from nearly 30 yards restored Fulham’s lead after they had been trailing 2-1, with the side scoring twice in two minutes.

Marco Silva’s team have now reached 54 points — a new Premier League record for the club — and occupy 10th place, just one point behind eighth-placed Brentford as the fight for European qualification continues.

“We should have done some things better, but the response in the second half was excellent. It’s never easy in a derby,” Silva told Sky Sports. “It breaks the points tally record for our football club, something this club has never done before. I’m never satisfied; I want to push for more. I know it’s not silverware, but we want to compete as much as possible.”

Results

• Fulham 3-2 Brentford

• Everton 2-0 Southampton

• Leicester City 2-0 Ipswich Town

• Nottingham Forest 2-1 West Ham

• Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle