If Chelsea manage to overtake Manchester United and win their third straight Premier League title, the team will have Arsenal to thank for it.Thierry Henry’s injury-time goal gave Arsenal a 2-1 win over United yesterday, keeping second-place Chelsea firmly in the title race — a position the Blues might not have imagined after their 0-2 loss at Liverpool on Saturday.“This win will open (the race) up for everybody — though us a bit less, and Liverpool also,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.“With ten minutes to go, United were may be champions but you can’t say that now; it’s more open again.”United lead the league with 60 points, six more than Chelsea. Liverpool are third with 46 points, followed by Arsenal with 45.For Arsenal, their first season sweep over United since 2002 came in dramatic fashion and will go a long way to ease the pain if United manage to hold on for their first league title since 2003.“You cannot expect anything better — to play against Manchester United and be 0-1 down and come back like that right at the end and win the game,” Henry said.Arsenal beat United 1-0 at Old Trafford on September 17. United controlled the match early in front of 60,128 spectators at the Emirates Stadium and was rewarded in the 53rd when Wayne Rooney scored his eighth goal to give the Red Devils the lead. It was Rooney’s first goal since a 3-1 win over Manchester City on December 9. But in the 83rd, with a nine-point advantage over Chelsea looking likely, Robin van Persie scored his 11th goal of the season to level the score.“We lost two goals from positions I didn’t think we could lose goals,” said Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who added his team dropped too far back after Rooney’s goal. “When we get up in that winning position again, we won’t be making that mistake, I can tell you that.”Wenger will be without Van Persie for at least six weeks after the Netherlands striker broke a portion of his fifth metatarsal in his right foot at the end of the game.Still, Wenger believes his young, developing Arsenal team can contend for the championship.“We have done very well against the top teams,” Wenger said. “It’s good for the Premier League, it opens it up, and though we have less a chance than the others, we will fight for every game. It’s a big disappointment for United but they will not crumble — they will be back in the next game.”Real in 3-way tieMadrid: A brilliant free-kick from Jose Antonio Reyes pushed all talk of crisis into the background as Real Madrid has joined Barcelona and Sevilla at the Spanish league summit following a 1-0 win at Real Mallorca. The three points hauled Real onto 38 points from 19 games — the midway point of the season, although Barcelona have a game in hand and a superior goal difference having swamped Gimnastic Tarragona 3-0 at the Nou Camp. —Reuters
