Arsenal squeezed ahead of London rivals Tottenham into 4th place on the final day of the season by beating Newcastle 1-0.

It capped a mixed season for the club that saw them wipe the board with most teams outside the top 6, but struggle to beat those around them. Their only victory against a top six club all season was against Tottenham at home, where Spurs played nearly all of the game with a man down.

In his final season at Everton before leaving to take charge of Manchester United, David Moyes guided the club to back to back finishes above their Merseyside rivals Liverpool for the first time in decades.

They were outside contenders for a top four finish for much of the season, but failed to match one of the league’s best home records (losing just once at Goodison Park all season) with results away from home (winning just four matches).

Sunderland pulled themselves from the brink of relegation with the late replacement of manager Martin O'Neil with the controversial Paolo Di Canio.

Di Canio’s passionate and demanding attitude brought out a much greater work ethic in a Sunderland side that was widely viewed as underachieving. It also brought out some unwanted aggression as the players tried to impress their fierce new coach, and Sunderland received three red cards in Di Canio’s seven games in charge.

The top three teams in English football automatically qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League. The last English team to win the tournament was Chelsea in 2012. They beat Bayern Munich in a penalty shoot-out to take home the trophy.

The 4th placed team in the BPL gets the chance to enter the 2013/14 Champions League, provided they win a knockout qualifying match against a foreign team in August.

The bottom three teams in the Premier League are relegated to the second tier of English football, the Npower Championship.

Tottenham finished the season with 72 points, their highest ever total in the Premier League, spearheaded by triple Player of the Season award winning Gareth Bale.

In any other season preceding this one it would have been enough to see them reach the top four and get into the Champions League — they came 4th with 70 points in 2010/11, and 4th with 69 points in 2011/12.

Goals scored — goals conceded = goal difference. It is the primary method of determining who finishes highest in the event of a tie in points.

As well as being England captain, he has also taken up ambassadorial roles across the globe, including for UNICEF and this year, the up-and-coming footballing market of China.

Outside of his professional sporting career, he and Spice Girl wife Victoria have also served as British cultural icons abroad, particularly in Japan and America.

Referring to the England shirt, derived from the national team logo which features three lions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anDL1BJK3VA