It could have been more comfortable for Arsenal as Walcott hit the post in stoppage time against a Newcastle side desperate to improve after recent home defeats to Sunderland and Liverpool.The win was as hard-fought as the scoreline suggested, with Newcastle probing in the first half and the visitors enduring a nervous final few minutes as news filtered through of Gareth Bale's late goal at White Hart Lane.Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and his team saluted their joyous supporters, who sung "are you watching, Tottenham?" with added fervour.Despite another home defeat, the Magpies finished 16th having secured their Premier League safety against QPR last weekend, and their season finished on a relative high note as the supporters saluted 38-year-old goalkeeper Steve Harper, who played his last game for the club after a 20-year career on Tyneside. Reaching the Champions League ahead of Spurs completed a superb turnaround after they trailed by seven points at the beginning of March. Arsenal have now finished above Spurs 18 seasons in a row.He would been heartened by his side's first-half display, in which Papiss Cisse was a whisker away from giving the hosts an early lead but fired over following Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa's cutback. And the late-season form of Wenger's side, who have won eight of their last 10 Premier League games, will also go a long way to appeasing fans who had doubts about the Frenchman earlier in the season.Pardew's side were in the ascendancy as the home supporters saluted Harper in the 37th minute to correspond with his squad number, the keeper unable to control his emotions amid the deafening cheers.Arsenal have not won a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup but reaching the top four again at least means the Gunners can attract new talent in the summer with funds due to be released for players.
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