United are once again champions of England and inevitably, it was achieved the hard way, with a nail-biting goalless draw against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
A tense, nerve-wracking afternoon saw few chances at either at end, as a largely dour match dragged agonisingly to its conclusion. Hearts were in mouths for United fans throughout the afternoon, and never more than when Cesc Fabregas struck the post with six minutes remaining.
Victories over Manchester City and Wigan had the champions six points clear of second-placed Liverpool going into the match, meaning a point would secure a record-equalling 18th league title. Mindful of the dangers of playing for a draw, the Reds were quick out of the traps.
Barely 15 seconds had passed before Cristiano Ronaldo got the better of Kieran Gibbs, exposing the space behind the young full-back to race onto Darren Fletcher’s through-ball. The Portuguese declined to continue his sprint, however, and his cross was cleared before it could reach Ryan Giggs.
That early opening heralded a sustained spell of United pressure, which only served to heighten the expectant buzz which had hummed around Old Trafford long before kick-off.
However, Arsenal, still reeling from their Champions League exit at the hands of United, and the subsequent scrutiny of their silverware drought of recent years, were not at Old Trafford to simply roll over for the champions-elect.
Robin van Persie headed wastefully over from Andrey Arshavin’s pinpoint right-wing cross, despite having no United defenders in
his immediate vicinity, while it took a last ditch challenge from Jonny Evans to halt an Arshavin run which had bypassed three of the Reds’ backline.
Slowly, United began to find gaps in the Gunners’ midfield and defence, and Wayne Rooney was agonisingly close to opening the scoring after 17 minutes, as he glanced Michael Carrick’s measured back-post cross narrowly past the upright.
From there, chances were few and far between for either side. United found Arsenal’s reshuffled backline hard to penetrate, while the visitors struggled to find the killer ball to crown their impressive approach play.
Giggs lashed over the bar from a difficult angle, but the half ended on a nervous note for United as Samir Nasri lashed a half-cleared corner goalwards. The Frenchman’s effort was heading off target, but could have deviated anywhere as it hit the unmarked van Persie. Fortunately for the Reds, the loose ball fell kindly and Nemanja Vidic was able to clear.
At the break, United had the required point to seal the title. The growing air of nervousness inside Old Trafford suggested a foreboding that Arsenal, with no great motivation of their own, could still gatecrash the party.
The Gunners were clearly in the mood to do so. The second half was barely underway when Cesc Fabregas was booked for following through on Evra. Moments later van Persie, already booked for hacking Ronaldo down, also caught the Frenchman. Referee Mike Dean lectured the Dutchman on his behaviour, before promptly booking Nasri for a cynical trip, again on the battered and bruised Evra.
As if to add a more dramatic backdrop to the now simmering atmosphere, proceedings were subjected to a brief, but torrential downpour which added further zip to the turf. Both sides continued to pop passes around, regardless of the saturated conditions, and United's first clear chance of the game was quickly forthcoming.
Giggs' cross from the right wing found Tevez, who rolled Kolo Toure but was quickly pressurised by goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. The Argentine was unable to fire shot off, and Ronaldo blazed the rebound high into the Stretford End.
Arsenal were still retaining possession with more authority than their hosts, and Sir Alex Ferguson responded by throwing Ji-sung Park into the fray, at the expense of Tevez. The Korean soon had the ball in the Arsenal net, bursting through and swapping passes with Ronaldo before tapping in, only for the goal to be ruled offside. To the naked eye it was comfortably the right decision, only for television replays to reveal that Ronaldo had been played onside by Bacary Sagna.
A goal would have lifted all the growing tension on and around the field, but instead it was allowed to fester as United dropped deep, looking to counter as Arsenal pressed for a heartbreaking winner.
It meant much of the game was seen between fingers for plenty of United fans, although hands were briefly on heads when Ronaldo, felled after a lightning breakaway, drilled a free-kick fractionally past Fabianski's top left-hand corner.
Arsenal came even closer with six minutes remaining. Another fine build-up culminated in the ball reaching Fabregas, and the Spaniard's shot took the merest of flicks from Edwin van der Sar's fingertips before rattling against the outside of the post.
United were, by now, simply running down the clock. There was just about time for one last scare as Rooney was ruled to have fouled Sagna on the edge of the area, only for van Persie's free-kick to flick wide of the far post.
The final whistle prompted delirium among the fans who could finally exhale. Once again, success had been reached. Once again, United had straddled a knife-edge all the way there.
Ujungpandang Time