Nicolas Pepe scored twice as Arsenal beat Brighton 2-0 but the Gunners missed out on the final European qualification spot
Arsenal appeared on track for a seventh-placed finish - and a spot in the Europa Conference League - after Nicolas Pepe's second-half double at the Emirates Stadium, but Tottenham's late win over Leicester left them in eighth and facing their first season without European football in 25 years
Arsenal were frustrated by Brighton in a one-sided first half but finally made the breakthrough when Pepe expertly controlled a Calum Chambers cross and fired past Robert Sanchez (49)
The in-form Ivorian then made it five goals in his last three appearances when he latched onto a Martin Odegaard pass and produced another clinical finish (60) from the right-hand side of the Brighton box
The victory lifts Arsenal above Everton, who were beaten 5-0 by champions Manchester City, but Mikel Arteta's side have to settle for eighth place - and a season out of European competition - due to Tottenham's dramatic 4-2 victory at the King Power Stadium
Brighton, meanwhile, perhaps fatigued by their dramatic comeback win over Manchester City on Tuesday, finish in 16th place
There were more scenes of protest against Arsenal's Kroenke family owners outside the stadium ahead of kick-off and many of the 10,000 fans in the stands then held up posters reading 'Kroenke out, fans in' as the players emerged from the tunnel
But their ire was aimed solely at the owners, rather than the players, and they were quick to get behind the team as Arsenal dominated proceedings from the outset
Odegaard, playing the final game of his loan spell from Real Madrid, was at the heart of almost every attack in the early stages but it was Thomas Partey who had the first chance, curling a long-range effort narrowly wide
The Ghanaian, who is still waiting for his first Arsenal goal, then went even closer when his looping strike forced the back-peddling Sanchez into a scrambling save
Brighton offered little as an attacking force but did at least defend resolutely in the first half, although they were fortunate to go into the break level after Gabriel Magalhaes sent a header against the bar shortly before the break
Arsenal didn't have to wait long, however, with Pepe's opener arriving just a few minutes after half-time
 Chambers' low cross was firmly struck, but the Ivorian controlled it with his first touch then dispatched a powerful finish with his second
The Gunners were appealing for a penalty soon after that when Odegaard went to ground following a counter-attack, their appeals waved away by Jonathan Moss, but any frustration at that decision subsided when they doubled their lead a few minutes later
It was another fine finish from Pepe as he collected Odegaard's through-ball and punished Lewis Dunk for backing off him, steering the ball into the bottom corner beyond the despairing Sanchez
Bernd Leno had to make a rare save from Jakub Moder as Brighton attempted to claw their way back into the game but the hosts continued to have the upper hand and should have extended their lead
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sliced wastefully wide from one counter-attack while Partey struck the bar with a powerful effort from Granit Xhaka's pass
There was a warm reception for Alexandre Lacazette as he came off the bench for what could be his final appearance for Arsenal while Odegaard, who is due to return to return to Real Madrid following his loan spell, was also loudly cheered when he was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli
The Gunners appeared to be heading up to seventh place and into the Europa Conference League at that point, but Tottenham's late comeback at the King Power Stadium means they miss out by a point despite a winning end to a difficult Premier League campaign
 "Happy with the performance and the result and most importantly having our fans back after such a long time
 Thanks so much to them
"If anyone was doubting about their reaction, they showed clearly how much they want to support the team, so thank you so much on behalf of myself, the staff and all the players
"But then disappointed because we are not in Europe
 We made progress in terms of points
 Sixty-one points last year would have taken us to fifth
 But it shows the way the league is developing and the level we need to get to
" "The boys kept going
 You can't criticise them for that
 Sometimes you have to be honest and say we weren't quite at our level, but not for the want of trying
"I think we just had a tough week and a tough season and today was maybe a little bit of a step too far for us against a good team with really, really good attacking players
"Euro 2020 kicks off on  - just 19 days after the conclusion of the 2020/21 Premier League season - and runs until 
The 2021/22 Premier League campaign will start on the weekend of  - 34 days after that Euro 2020 final at Wembley
Clubs will be able to start planning for the new term when the top-flight fixtures are released at 9am on  but transfer business can start in earnest before then, with the summer transfer window opening on 
The 2021/22 Championship season begins a week before the top-flight one on the weekend of 
 All Sky Bet EFL fixtures will be announced at 9am on 
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