It was simply one self-destruction too many.
Undone by a spirited Leeds side confirming their own safety as well as
Manchester United's title, Arsenal handed the Premiership on a plate to their
main rivals at Highbury.
Under-strength due to injuries and suspensions and with their morale
undermined by their draw at Bolton, Arsenal twice hauled themselves back into
contention at Highbury by sheer force of will.
Thierry Henry equalised Harry Kewell's early opener and Dennis Bergkamp
levelled once again after Ian Harte's free-kick had been deflected in.
However, while Arsenal were a constant attacking threat, they were also in
constant danger of self-destructing at the back as Leeds raided with menace.
Without either Patrick Vieira or Sol Campbell to steady the ship, the
rudderless side careered from one potential shipwreck to another.
Eventually, they were holed below the water line and Sir Alex Ferguson, at his
grandson's birthday party, received the sweetest present of all himself with the
title giftwrapped by his rivals.
While Mark Viduka's last-gasp winner confirmed the outcome of the title race,
it was invaluable to his own side as it guaranteed their own Premiership
survival.
Leeds had thoroughly deserved it, Arsenal had not.
The Gunners have surrendered too many leads this season to deny Ferguson's
side a prize they have remorselessly driven towards since the turn of the year.
What should really annoy Arsene Wenger, however, is that rather than giving up
the title with a bang, it disappeared with more of a whimper.
United's convincing win against Charlton 24 hours earlier had left Arsenal
with the task of beating Leeds and Southampton just to take the title race to
the final weekend of the season.
But with injuries aplenty, all of Wenger's efforts to rebuild his side's
shattered morale following their collapse a week earlier at Bolton were
undermined within just five minutes.
Gilberto threatened first as he thudded a header against the bar but Arsenal
were caught napping as veteran defenders Martin Keown and Luzhny showed their
age as they were left trailing by Kewell.
The Australian nipped ahead of them both to control Jason Wilcox's long ball
before unleashing an unstoppable volley into the far corner from 25 yards out as
David Seaman was caught off-guard.
Arsenal's defence should have heeded the warning, but Kewell was next only
denied when David Seaman forced him out wide and his shot was smashed into the
side-netting.
Not that Seaman had anything resembling a defence in front of him. For
Arsenal's defending at this stage was shocking as Viduka threatened twice more.
Indeed, with Vieira absent and Gilberto fading by the minute after an
exhausting midweek friendly in Mexico, Arsenal desperately needed a source of
inspiration.
It came, finally, from Ray Parlour, who ran at the Leeds defence before
unleashing a curving 20-yard shot that Paul Robinson tipped onto the crossbar.
Henry was nevertheless on hand to head home the rebound and, with 14 minutes
left until the break, that gave the worried Highbury fans the lift they
desperately needed.
Parlour was still at the centre of his team's resurgent mood, with Michael
Duberry clearing the midfielder's next attempt off the line.
It was thrilling stuff with Henry then striking the post and Wiltord volleying
home the rebound only to find the offside flag had - correctly - already been
raised.
However, just when Arsenal looked to have hauled themselves back into
contention, they gave themselves yet another mountain to climb.
Once Ashley Cole had brought down Kewell just 20 yards out, the home side
incredibly put only two men in the defensive wall to face up to Ian Harte.
That was simply an invitation to the Leeds full-back to take aim and his
goalbound effort glanced off Cole's forehead before beating Seaman at the far
post.
Arsenal again rallied, with Pires charging into the penalty area before
cutting inside Danny Mills and laying the ball back rather than going for goal
himself.
Bergkamp was on hand to rifle the ball into the roof of the net and, with 26
minutes left, it was, thrillingly, game-on at Highbury once again.
Arsenal poured forward in ever-increasing numbers, with players almost falling
over each other to take aim inside the packed Leeds penalty area, especially
with Kanu on for full-back Toure.
Bergkamp nevertheless curled an effort just over the top, while Henry struck
the foot of the post
Arsenal nevertheless had to take risks and they were indebted to Seaman's
inspirational reaction save from Kewell.
While Bergkamp was just inches away from connecting with Cole's low cross,
they left gaping holes at the back.
And Viduka stormed through one of them to curl his shot past Seaman in the
last act of a dramatic afternoon.
Such a spirit of generosity does not normally extend across the Pennines but,
on this occasion, both Uniteds were safe.
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