Arsenal proved they have the character as well as the class to lift the title as they survived even the most controversial penalty decision to secure victory in a frenetic North London derby at Highbury.

Sir Alex Ferguson had desperately hoped for a break to come his side's way and when referee Mark Halsey gave Tottenham an immensely debatable penalty with just nine minutes left, he looked to have got his way.

Indeed, who else but former Manchester United striker Teddy Sheringham should have hammered the ball home to undermine Arsenal's title campaign by putting the visitors level.

However, Arsenal displayed the poise needed to win titles by refusing to panic.

Instead, they launched a furious assault on the Tottenham goal and were awarded their own penalty just three minutes later.

When full-back Lauren rolled the ball home with Thierry Henry still limping after being brought down, Highbury erupted.

The explosion was matched at the final whistle. For the Arsenal fans had seen just how close their side had come to seeing the title being wrested out of their own control by their bitterest rivals.

Now just four wins away from lifting the Barclaycard Premiership crown, Arsenal by no means played at their peak, even after Fredrik Ljungberg gave them a first-half lead.

But they survived and that was all that really matters at this stage of the season, especially when fortune seems to turn against you.

After all, Manchester United's earlier win at Leicester in a midday kick-off had put added pressure on Arsenal to respond in kind.

And this was the kind of vital three points that are chiselled out through graft as much as craft in a display typified by the resilience of Sol Campbell against his former club and recalled captain Tony Adams.

Indeed, while both sides were forced to try their luck from long-range early on - to little effect - it was not until the 24th minute that Ljungberg produced the first real threat.

Keeper Kasey Keller produced a fine one-handed save on that occasion but Ljungberg was not to be denied for long.

Just a minute later, Bergkamp produced another typically pin-point through-ball and Lungberg was onto it in a flash to clip his shot past the Spurs keeper.

While Bergkamp himself came close with a curled effort just before the break, Arsenal could still not rest on their laurels.

Indeed, when Sol Campbell slipped to allow Sheringham to clip a shot over the bar, only the offside flag saved both of their blushes.

With King possibly limping before the break and certainly having endured a torrid afternoon, there was at least a much-needed change in the visitors' line-up after the interval.

With King taken off, Davies came on and that enabled Spurs to revert to their more accustomed 3-5-2 formation, with the Welshman fitting in at right wing-back and Ziege dropping slightly back.

Perry's slip still enabled Ljungberg to steal possession from him soon afterwards but with Henry arriving just too late, the Swede's curling cross-shot ran just wide of the far post from a tight angle.

There was a nervous moment for the home side as well, when Seaman came perilously close to carrying the ball into his own net as he caught a corner under pressure, with no free-kick awarded in his favour.

However, the match looked to be petering out when it suddenly exploded into action in the final 10 minutes.

Poyet was already flying through the air as he tried in vain to reach the ball inside the penalty area when he made contact with Seaman and fell to the ground.

While every player seemed to expect a goal-kick to be awarded, referee Halsey incredibly pointed to the spot.

Poyet was almost apologetic when Arsenal's players remonstrated with the official but the decision stood and who else but former United striker Sheringham should convert the spot-kick with nine minutes left.

The drama was not over yet. In fact, it had only just begun. Just three minutes later, Halsey awarded Arsenal a penalty when Richards appeared to haul down Henry.

The Arsenal striker had missed his last two penalties and as he limped away, up stepped Lauren to nonchalantly roll the ball home and put the home side back ahead.

It was the moment that could have decisively turned the title in Arsenal's favour.

Teams

Arsenal: Seaman, Luzhny, Campbell, Adams, Lauren, Wiltord (Dixon 87), Vieira, Edu (Kanu 83), Ljungberg, Henry, Bergkamp (Parlour 72).

Subs Not Used: Keown, Wright.

Booked: Bergkamp.

Goals: Ljungberg 24, Lauren 86 pen.

Tottenham: Keller, King (Davies 45), Perry, Richards, Gardner, Anderton, Sherwood, Ziege (Etherington 78), Poyet, Sheringham, Iversen (Rebrov 53).

Subs Not Used: Thatcher, Herschfeld.

Booked: Poyet, Sheringham, Sherwood, Perry.

Goals: Sheringham 81 pen.

Att: 38,186

Ref: M Halsey (Welwyn Garden City).