Richard Jolly reports

So, Manchester United are Premiership champions.

Sir Alex Ferguson, at his grandson's birthday party, must have relished this particular game of pass the parcel with Arsene Wenger, but he must have been surprised to get the present he wanted most from Leeds United.

Promotion and relegation battles, however, make for unlikely bedfellows and for once Leeds and Manchester were truly United in their elation; the sunshine at Highbury masked a gloom which has enveloped the former red hot title favourites for several weeks.

Amid the drama of the Premiership title race, Peter Reid's side guaranteed their own future in the Premiership in the most unexpected of settings, though the crown was slipping away from Arsenal before Mark Viduka's 88th-minute winner in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

Suspiciously offside though Viduka looked before his fine finish, it ended Leeds' participation in the relegation sub-plot and gave Leeds a third lead in an engrossing clash betwen two sides with very different motives for winning.

Despair at Arsenal

And in an already frantic Highbury, Arsenal need to chase both the game and the crown they won at Old Trafford last year was never short of wholehearted, but fell just short. Henry and Dennis Bergkamp equalised Harry Kewell and Ian Harte goals but where they needed a winner, Viduka provided Leeds one.

The margins, though, could not have been finer. Henry, outstanding again, capped a solo run with a curler past Paul Robinson and back off his post, almost scored a winner at 2-2; Sylvain Wiltord, correctly, had a goal chalked off for offside just after Henry's equaliser; Gilberto had hit the bar at 0-0.

But the margins Leeds will care about are the three points - and a superior difference of ten and 16 goals respectively - which separate them from Bolton and West Ham. Crisis club though they may be, Leeds United are still a Premiership team.

Beware the sides at the bottom; Arsenal's title challenge had already been hampered by draws at Aston Villa and Bolton. Leeds were to prove no less determined opponents

Though Gilberto Silva headed Pires' third-minute corner against the bar, any illusions Arsenal had of an easy win were quickly ruined by a moment of quality which illustrates why Leeds should never have been in danger of relegation.

Kewell's rasping half-volley brought him unexpected popularity in the red half of Manchester; sweetly struck from 30 yards, it whizzed past David Seaman with unerring accuracy. 

Arsenal's fragile confidence, dented at Bolton, took a further hit at Highbury.

Cole: Title dreams over

A makeshift back four including Kolo Toure and Oleg Luzhny were rattled, Leeds' Australian attack of Kewell and Viduka rampant. The former only found the side netting after rounding David Seaman with embarrassing ease, while the latter found the Arsenal keeper with an instinctive shot.

But with the Antipodeans focused on attack, Leeds' nine other players devoted themselves to defence. Inevitably, their main target - Henry - was also the most elusive. Two deflected efforts tested Paul Robinson, but when he levelled it was with a simple header. It was reward, though, for his predatory instincts and the efforts of Arsenal's midfield general.

Ray Parlour, assuming the mantle if not the armband of the injured Patrick Vieira, drove Arsenal forward with purpose. Twice he let fly from distance, the first rebounding off the post for Henry to finish, the second drawing a goalline clearance from the alert Michael Duberry.

Henry also found Parlour's sweet spot on the inside of the post, Wiltord converting the rebound, but Leeds survived an Arsenal onslaught at the end of the first half and emerged after the interval with greater purpose.

But after a dismal season to mirror his side's, Harte provided a reminder of why he was once regarded as Elland Road's Beckham, whipping in a free kick from the right flank to restore Leeds' advantage.

Despite deflections off both Ashley Cole and Gilberto, it casts further doubt about David Seaman's reactions, but after Martin Keown's own goal at Bolton last week, it provided further evidence of the panic in the Arsenal defence from set pieces.

Henry: Another goal

That was matched, however, by the quality in attack. Henry and Wiltord both found the side-netting before Robert Pires escaped Danny Mills' attention to supply a cross Dennis Bergkamp finished for just his fourth Premiership goal of the season. A delicate finish confirmed that temporary though form is, his class is permanent.

Parity restored, Arsenal appeared the more likely winners. Henry hit the woodwork, Bergkamp curled a shot wide and Keown mis-directed a header, but even as they surged forward, inviting low crosses from Cole and Luzhny passed through the six-yard box without a team-mate attacking them. Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wenger will not need reminding, would have scored.

And a Kewell effort that drew an excellent stop from Seaman provided further evidence of Leeds' threat before Viduka silenced Highbury.

So the season Wenger aimed to complete undefeated will finish with the most damaging loss of all - not to Leeds, but of their title to their rivals at Old Trafford.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Dominic Matteo (Leeds) - A real captain's performance from the Leeds skipper, who played superbly out of position in midfield and set up the winner.

Arsenal: Seaman, Toure (Kanu 70), Luzhny, Keown, Cole, Wiltord (Pennant 76), Parlour, Silva,
Pires (van Bronckhorst 80), Bergkamp, Henry.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Stepanovs.
Booked: Bergkamp, Keown.

Leeds: Robinson, Mills, Duberry, Radebe, Harte, Kelly, Matteo, Bakke, Wilcox, Viduka, Kewell (Simon Johnson 80).
Subs Not Used: Martyn, Bravo, Barmby, Milner.
Booked: Viduka. 

Att: 38,127
Ref: A Wiley (Staffordshire).