Thierry Henry struck deep into injury time to give Arsenal a 2-1 win over Man Utd.
A vintage header from Thierry Henry three minutes into injury time capped a remarkable comeback for Arsenal, as Arsene Wenger's side came from behind to record a 2-1 victory over Manchester United that will be fervently celebrated across the whole of the capital.United had looked to have tightened their grip on the title to the tune of three points when stepping from the shackles of an unfamiliar right-sided role, Wayne Rooney registered with the first header of his Old Trafford career, but Arsenal had other ideas as first substitute Robin van Persie, with seven minutes remaining, and then Henry, converted with exquisite finishes.
Van Persie was left out of Arsenal's starting line-up having nursed injury all week but having entered the fray with his side trailing Rooney's second half effort, he responded perfectly with a crisp finish from the tightest of angles, to register from Tomas Rosicky's delivery.
United looked despondent and with the game deep into injury time, Henry planted a thumping near post header past Edwin Van der Sar from Emmanuel Eboue's right wing cross to send North London into ecstasy.
Arsenal may have been usurped as United's main rivals by their West London counterparts in the past couple of years but the needle that perennially simmers on the touchline is never far from the pitch and it took just 13 minutes for the first flashpoint to occur.
As Rooney tussled with the somewhat dramatically inclined Eboue down the left channel, the latter ended prostrate after being the recipient of the most ferocious of finger flicks. All very school ground like and as is his wont, the overly fussy Steve Bennett elected to curb any ill-discipline by brandishing a pair of unnecessary bookings to Kolo Toure and Ryan Giggs.
On an immaculate playing surface it was United that started the brighter as they, briefly, bossed possession without ever penetrating beyond a backline well marshalled by Toure. Genuine opportunities were very much at a premium as the first half sparring was pleasing on the eye but perhaps overly so, with neither side looking likely to deliver a knockout blow until its final moments.
Giggs bent wide from the edge of the area after clever interplay presented an opening on the edge of the area, Nemanja Vidic powered a header over from a set-piece and then, spurred into action, Arsenal's Rosicky had plenty of pace but too little accuracy in blazing a half volley over.
As the half entered its final third Henry decided to step from the periphery on the left to begin to dictate with typically assured aplomb and alongside the equally dangerous Emmanuel Adebayor, Arsenal began to turn the screw.
It was the same pair that combined to present Henry with a headed opportunity that saw the Frenchman find only the grateful midriff of Van der Sar, after he was expertly found by a perfectly weighted right wing delivery. Gary Neville then had a heart-in-mouth moment when he appeared to make contact with a tumbling Henry in the penalty area but Bennett waved any appeals away, despite the Arsenal man appearing to have a strong case.
It was, though, United that finished by far the stronger as Jens Lehmann went from the ridiculous to the sublime in first needlessly punching, instead of catching a United corner, leaving Rooney to deliver a dipping half-volley that required the German's fingertips to flick the ball onto the bar. From the resulting corner Lehmann again excelled, in pushing Henrik Larsson's powerful downward header wide.
After the interval and Arsenal immediately attempted to step-up the tempo as Cesc Fabregas fired in an early tester with a 25-yard daisy-cutter that Van der Sar gathered comfortably.
The home side looked to have heeded Arsene Wenger's half-time instructions as they pressed for an opener but United had intentions of their own and in the 52nd minute delivered a hammerblow with a rapid counter-attack.
Cristiano Ronaldo held the ball up down the left flank and after feeding Evra on the overlap, previous haphazard deliveries were laid to rest, as a sumptuous low cross was expertly converted by Rooney.
Arsenal looked for an immediate leveller but Rosicky could only screw wide when the ball broke to him on the edge of the area, before the otherwise imperious Vidic nearly ruined his afternoon, when after an almighty scramble, he went close to putting through his own goal but instead only proceeded to nearly knock-out his goalkeeper from close range as the ball was eventually cleared for a corner.
United looked to have escaped but Arsenal are made of sterner stuff these days and after Van Persie had levelled matters with his own moment of magic, Henry stole the headlines with a glorious header that reopens the title race.
Arsenal v Man United player ratings
| Arsenal | Team Statistics | Manchester United |
| 2 | Goals | 1 |
| 0 | 1st Half Goals | 0 |
| 8 | Shots on Target | 4 |
| 10 | Shots off Target | 5 |
| 3 | Blocked Shots | 3 |
| 8 | Corners | 6 |
| 14 | Fouls | 12 |
| 1 | Offsides | 2 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 3 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 76.2 | Passing Success | 74.7 |
| 29 | Tackles | 24 |
| 65.5 | Tackles Success | 66.7 |
| 49.6 | Possession | 50.4 |
| 54.8 | Territorial Advantage | 45.2 |
