SOCCER:It was one of Alex Ferguson's former assistants who famously remarked, after watching Manchester United pull yet another win out of the jaws of defeat: "This team is never beaten - it just runs out of time."

Yesterday United were given a taste of their own never-say-die philosophy by an Arsenal team who, over the 90 minutes, deserved no more than a point from a generally unsatisfying encounter but managed to remember that a goal scored in the fourth minute of added time is worth as much as any other, and sometimes more.

United came for a point, to judge by their safety-first formation, and came close to taking three, but their failure to protect their hard-earned lead at least prolonged the uncertainty over the title race. A nine-point lead would have made Chelsea's task look all but impossible, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had admitted before the weekend that another defeat would have ended his team's interest in the championship. Now, thanks to a magnificent weekend for the teams lying third and fourth, the contest remains alive.

Strictly for scoring the last-gasp winner, Thierry Henry took the champagne for the official man-of-the-match award. At least that saved everyone else the trouble of trying to decide between a bunch of players who had expended enormous amounts of energy without achieving anything of real distinction.

In the end it was Henry who made the difference, timing his jump more efficiently than Nemanja Vidic, who saw the considerable amount of credit accrued during an otherwise excellent performance drain away in a single instant.

Perhaps only when Henry finally says goodbye to the Arsenal stadium will he receive a more thunderous ovation than was accorded by the tens of thousands who stayed beyond the final whistle to applaud the last man to leave the pitch.

Until the 83rd minute he had produced a performance worth, if one were being generous, no more than six out of 10.

Just about his only contribution of note had come after half an hour when he met Emmanuel Adebayor's right-wing cross, carefully flighted over Rio Ferdinand's head, with a firm far-post header directed straight at Edwin van der Sar. And even during the move that produced the equaliser for Robin van Persie it was by no means certain whether Henry had jumped over Tomas Rosicky's low cross, allowing it to run to the Dutchman at the far post, or whether he had been trying, in fact, to back-heel it into the goal himself.

Ten minutes later, however, he produced the conclusive strike that had eluded him all afternoon. His leap to Emmanuel Eboue's cross, and the header that followed, were autographed with perfect timing and an exquisite application of controlled power.

By another yardstick, the real man-of-the-match award could have been shared by Rosicky and Eboue, whose interplay was at the heart of Arsenal's goals. The two fought a pair of United defenders tooth and nail to win the possession that created the opening for Van Persie's effort, and they combined again with great presence of mind to ensure that a precise centre was delivered on to Henry's head for the winner.

Wenger will have been particularly pleased with the tenacity shown by his little Czech midfielder.

It will not have escaped the Arsenal manager's notice that both goals came from the flanks. For most of the match his players had persisted with the policy of trying to make their way into the United area via an intricate weave of short passes, which looks beautiful when it comes off but makes it hard, when the accuracy is not 100 per cent and the defenders are doing their job, to sustain momentum and achieve real penetration.

For as long as United were in the lead there was the feeling that Arsenal were about to pay a severe price for the lack of variation in their play.

Out of desperation, eventually, that variation appeared, but it would be a surprise if Wenger were not sitting down with the video this morning and considering how to incorporate it into the team's basic playbook.

As for the four additional minutes, you could say that United brought their defeat upon themselves by inviting the referee, Steve Bennett, to extend the match long enough for fortunes to be reversed.

Van der Sar had tried Wenger's patience by insisting on taking goal kicks from the side opposite to the one on which the ball had gone out, exploiting a liberalisation of the rules which could be said to encourage such a tactic.

Between the two Arsenal goals, Cristiano Ronaldo's second melodramatic attempt to persuade Mr Bennett that he had suffered a grievous injury to his pretty face - this time at the hands of Eboue, rather than Kolo Toure - finally earned him a deserved booking.

Ronaldo is enjoying a season in which he has converted legions of sceptics to his cause, but such paltry and tedious antics will continue to provoke righteous indignation in opposition supporters. Yesterday they had the last laugh.

Guardian Service