Arsenal clinches 3rd place on Theo Walcott hat trick

Theo Walcott scored a first-half hat trick on a rare start for the England winger as Arsenal beat West Bromwich Albion 4-1 to secure third place in the Premier League and a direct berth in the Champions League group stage.

Walcott, who has struggled to regain full fitness this season after a serious knee injury, started up front and stated a case for inclusion in Saturday's FA Cup final against Aston Villa by netting in the fourth, 14th and 37th minutes at Emirates Stadium.

"I've been out for a year, but I feel great," said Walcott, whose place in the Arsenal's team has been threatened by the arrival of Alexis Sanchez. "I've got to thank the manager for showing faith in me."

Jack Wilshere also scored in the first half to give Arsenal a 4-0 lead at the break in a perfect warm-up for the cup final.

Gareth McAuley headed in a consolation goal in the 57th minute for West Brom, which finished in the 13th place.

By finishing third, Arsenal avoided the need to play in a two-legged playoff to get into the Champions League.

"We had a slow start to the season, but progressively, we got stronger, and from January onwards we got competitive," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.

"We have qualified directly for next season's Champions League. But we want more. We want to challenge for the Premier League title. But first we want to win the FA Cup next weekend."

Chelsea raise trophy

Before raising the Premier League trophy, Chelsea's players first lifted striker Didier Drogba — during Sunday's season-ending 3-1 victory over Sunderland.

The 37-year-old Drogba was allowed to make the unusual, lengthy mid-game farewell to Chelsea fans after being theatrically substituted around 30 minutes into the game.

Drogba was carried to the touchline by his teammates before waving goodbye to each corner of Stamford Bridge.

There was no final goal for Drogba, with his replacement, Diego Costa, instead quickly scoring from the penalty spot to cancel out Steven Fletcher's Sunderland opener.

Loic Remy then scored twice for the champions in the second half.

Hull relegated

Hull was relegated after two seasons in the Premier League on Sunday following a 0-0 draw with Manchester United that sent the visitors into the Champions League playoffs.

Hull fans started the season watching their squad, containing 42 million pounds (now $65 million) of new signings, playing in the Europa League. They ended it with tears in their eyes after the team failed to pull off a final-day escape act.

Steve Bruce's side needed to defeat United and also was relying on Newcastle, which began the day two points ahead, failing to beat West Ham. Neither happened, with Newcastle winning 2-0 to give Hull no chance of staying up.

"It's one of those awful, awful experiences," Bruce said. "That's football. There are high and allows and this is a low, low moment."

Hull dominated most of the match and had two first-half goals disallowed. United goalkeeper Victor Valdes pulled off great saves to deny Ahmed Elmohamady and Nikica Jelavic, and Hull couldn't even score when United was down to 10 men after Marouane Fellaini was sent off in the 77th minute for a studs-first tackle on Paul McShane.

United finished the season in fourth place and must win a two-legged playoff in August to qualify for the group stage of Europe's top club competition.