Manchester United draws with Middlesbrough 0-0 during their English Premiership soccer match. (Xinhua/Reuters photo)

    LONDON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Manchester United's bid to secure second place in the Premier League and automatic entry into the Champions League suffered a blow when it was held 0-0 at home by Middlesbrough on Monday.

    Three first-half goals gave Arsenal a 3-0 victory over relegated Sunderland -- Thierry Henry setting up two and scoring one to keep the Gunners in the hunt for fourth place.

    Victory would have confirmed United as runner-up to Chelsea, who captured a second successive title with a 3-0 rout against them at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

    United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy squandered several good chances and had a second-half penalty denied by Boro keeper Brad Jones as UEFA Cup finalist Boro held on for a deserved point.

Arsenal wins 3-0 over relegated Sunderland during their English Premiership soccer match. (Xinhua/Reuters photo)

    United goes into the final round of the season with 80 points, one more than third-placed Liverpool. It hosts Charlton Athletic on Sunday while Liverpool travels to Portsmouth.

    Sunderland suffered more misery at the Stadium of Light as Henry's free kick was headed into his own goal by Danny Collins after 29 minutes and then the Frenchman set up Cesc Fabregas for the second before tucking a free kick inside the near post two minutes before the break.

    Arsenal is four points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the battle to secure the final place in next season's Champions League qualifiers.

    Arsenal, who can also qualify for the Champions League by winning the final against Barcelona in Paris on May 17, can cut that deficit to one at Manchester City on Thursday.

    Left back Ashley Cole came on midway through the second half for the Gunners after foot, thigh and ankle injuries had restricted the England international to less than an hour of first team football since October.

West Ham United wins 1-0 over West Bromwich during their English Premiership soccer match.(Xinhua/Reuters photo)

    Defeat for Sunderland means it will set a record for the lowest amount of points in a Premier League season, even worse than the previous record of 19 it set in 2002-2003.

    Should it fail to beat Fulham on Thursday, it will also become the only club in the history of the top four divisions in English football to conclude a season without a home victory.

    West Ham United has injury concerns for its FA Cup final against Liverpool on May 13 after striker Dean Ashton limped off during his side's 1-0 victory at relegated West Bromwich Albion.

    Nigel Reo-Coker grabbed the winner for West Ham shortly before the interval after Bobby Zamora had dribbled the ball into the penalty area. Enditem