Weakened by the sale of captain Patrick Vieira to Juventus in the summer of 2005, Arsenal's 2005–06 season was comparatively disappointing domestically and the club failed to challenge for any trophies at home. In the league, their poor away form dogged them and despite recording some impressive wins at home (5–0 over Aston Villa, and 7–0 over Middlesbrough), Arsenal spent much of the latter stages of the season in fifth place or lower, and looked set to miss out on the Champions League for the first time since 1997. However, they won their last three matches of the season, culminating in a 4–2 victory over Wigan Athletic in the last ever match at Highbury; coupled with Tottenham Hotspur's loss at West Ham the same day, this meant Arsenal pipped Spurs to fourth place and a Champions League spot.