ArseWEB presents.... 
The race for Europe
see also: Thanks to Julian Shulman for collating the scores and tables below.
Introduction
On the 5th day of the 5th month, 5 teams were still in contention for 5th place in the league and the coveted 5th place in Europe. OK, so Villa were already in the UEFA cup as Hokey Cokey Cup winners, but I wanted to use all "5"s in that sentence, OK?Arsenal were favourites, requiring only to beat Bolton at home to guarantee 5th place (and a chance of 4th if Villa lost by a sufficient margin at Goodison Park). But as we all know, being favourites to win something has never been a particularly good omen for the Arse. So the boys set about turning the molehill into a mountain, and thanks to the other teams involved were able to manufacture a situation where we had practically no chance at all. Hooray! Read on....
Kick Off
TABLE (places 5 to 8)
GD Pts
ARSENAL +16 60
Spurs +12 60
Everton +19 58
Blackburn +13 58
FIXTURES
Arsenal - Bolton
Everton - Villa
Chelsea - Blackburn
Newcastle - Spurs
57 minutes
Spurs go 1-0 up against Newcastle to take over the UEFA place
SCORES
Arsenal 0 - 0 Bolton
Everton 0 - 0 Villa
Chelsea 1 - 2 Blackburn
Newcastle 0 - 1 Spurs
TABLE
GD Pts
SPURS +13 63
Arsenal +16 61
Blackburn +14 61
Everton +19 59
71 minutes
Newcastle equalise and put Arsenal back into the UEFA place
SCORES
Arsenal 0 - 0 Bolton
Everton 0 - 0 Villa
Chelsea 1 - 3 Blackburn
Newcastle 1 - 1 Spurs
TABLE
GD Pts
ARSENAL +16 61
Blackburn +15 61
Spurs +12 61
Everton +19 59
76 minutes
Bolton score and Blackburn take over the UEFA place as Arsenal lose a point
SCORES
Arsenal 0 - 1 Bolton
Everton 0 - 0 Villa
Chelsea 1 - 3 Blackburn
Newcastle 1 - 1 Spurs
TABLE
GD Pts
BLACKBURN +15 61
Spurs +12 61
Arsenal +15 60
Everton +19 59
78 minutes
Everton take the lead over Villa and jump above Blackburn on goal difference
SCORES
Arsenal 0 - 1 Bolton
Everton 1 - 0 Villa
Chelsea 1 - 3 Blackburn
Newcastle 1 - 1 Spurs
TABLE
GD Pts
EVERTON +20 61
Blackburn +15 61
Spurs +12 61
Arsenal +15 60
82 minutes
Platt equalises against Bolton, but it won't be enough as Everton have the better goal difference. All the teams are now on 61 points.
SCORES
Arsenal 1 - 1 Bolton
Everton 1 - 0 Villa
Chelsea 1 - 3 Blackburn
Newcastle 1 - 1 Spurs
TABLE
GD Pts
EVERTON +20 61
Arsenal +16 61
Blackburn +15 61
Spurs +12 61
84 minutes
Bergkamp's magic strike put Arsenal into Europe
SCORES
Arsenal 2 - 1 Bolton
Everton 1 - 0 Villa
Chelsea 1 - 3 Blackburn
Newcastle 1 - 1 Spurs
TABLE
GD Pts
ARSENAL +17 63
Everton +20 61
Blackburn +15 61
Spurs +12 61
Final
SCORES
Arsenal 2 - 1 Bolton
Everton 1 - 0 Villa
Chelsea 2 - 3 Blackburn
Newcastle 1 - 1 Spurs
TABLE
GD Pts
ARSENAL +17 63
Everton +20 61
Blackburn +14 61
Spurs +12 61
Our condolences go out to the fans and players of Everton FC, and Anders Limpar in particular, who would have been playing in the UEFA Cup next season if the extra place awarded to England for "fairplay" had not been taken back as a result of the actions of certain other London clubs. You know who they are.
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