Arsenal tops Villa, finishes ahead of Tottenham for 21st straight year

Condolences to Spurs supporters.

A once-promising Premier League campaign rife with title ambitions and superiority over hated rival Arsenal has ended with the Gunners finishing above Tottenham for the 21st season on the trot.

That's not to say it was a disaster for Tottenham, and there's plenty to be pleased about on the heels of Mauricio Pochettino's five-year extension and the emergence of a talented young English core.

Related: Headlines, hits, and more from the last time Tottenham finished ahead of Arsenal

While Arsenal had a straightforward result against bottom-dwellers Aston VIlla at the Emirates, winning 4-0 courtesy of Olivier Giroud's first Premier League hat-trick, Tottenham displayed arguably its worst performance of the year.

Newcastle absolutely embarrassed Pochettino's lot, winning 5-1 on a sunny day at St. James' Park.

It's the first time Arsenal has finished better than third place since 2005-06.

Magpies' summer signings Aleksandar Mitrovic and Georginio Wijnaldum scored twenty minutes apart in the opening half of a match that involved little more than pride for the Championship-bound Tynesiders. Wijnaldum scored a second from the spot courtesy of a dramatic bit of simulation from Moussa Sissoko.

Mitrovic certainly tried to do his part for the visitors with a 65th-minute sending off for a contentious incident with Kyle Walker.

Ryan Mason and Eric Dier were particularly poor for Spurs, with Harry Kane failing to get the same service he profited from all season. Tottenham displayed more attacking impetus in the second half, and Erik Lamela scored his seventh goal of the season from an acute angle with the help of Newcastle keeper Karl Darlow.

Despite Tottenham's best season since 1989-90 - when the club finished third to its north London rival's fourth - and first Champions League qualification since 2010-11, north London is red for another year.