Arsenal worthy winners

Arsenal's title winners enjoy a lap of honour

By Phil McNulty Chief Football Writer

 Sports Talk: Your reaction to Arsenal's title

Arsene Wenger stood deep in Manchester United territory and talked about a shift in Premiership power - words designed to drive at the very heart of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Wenger's players had already delivered the biggest statement of intent by storming the Old Trafford power base and taking the title back to Highbury.

Arsenal's deserved win at Manchester United only emphasised their supremacy and under-scored their claims to be crowned as the new Premiership super-power.

Manchester United's desperate - and at times illegal - attempt to knock Arsenal off the path to the championship was symptomatic of the season as a whole.

Ljungberg turns away to celebrate

Arsenal have focused on the prize while United's season has been broken up by distractions and patches of poor form.

Ferguson may also have felt slightly foolish, although probably not knowing the crusty old Scot, as Arsenal made a nonsense of his claim that Manchester United have been the best side in the Premiership since Christmas.

 Photo Gallery: See this story in pictures

Arsenal are thoroughly worthy champions, a well-rounded and consistent unit who also happen to play the most attractive football in the top flight.

Wenger, the master manager, has retained the old Arsenal traits while adding the flourishes further up the field.

Ferguson will have watched with envy as Arsenal demonstrated a defensive solidity he could only dream about in a season littered with errors at the back.

And with Arsenal - without Tony Adams, Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp - equally potent up front, let no-one be in any doubt who the prime Premiership force is.

Vieira kisses the badge - but will he stay?

Wenger's Arsenal have been inspired by a succession of near misses in recent seasons, none moreso than the FA Cup Final defeat against Liverpool in Cardiff last May.

Arsenal flourished after that adversity, adding depth to their squad while drawing fresh reserves from proven quality such as Henry and the brilliant Patrick Vieira.

 How Arsenal won the title

And with Dennis Bergkamp rolling back the years to produce moments worthy of his world-class prime, Arsenal were n business.

The worry for United is that Wenger has clearly built a team designed to last - and no-one should back against the success story continuing even if Vieira makes a summer move.

Wenger still faces key decisions on replacing Tony Adams and possibly Vieira, but his team-building ability cannot be in doubt.

Wenger leaps at the final whistle

Arsenal's title is also a triumph for the purists, ironic in view of the "boring" jibes aimed at the club throughout earlier successes.

Wenger's team play in a style which is pleasing on the eye and wins football matches with monotonous regularity - the perfect combination.

And the Frenchman's attention to detail is such that he is probably already looking ahead to next season and unconquered territory.

Namely the Champions League.

Arsenal have only flirted with the European showpiece, now Wenger will want his team to fully embrace the prize that has so far eluded their grasp.

For now, however, we should celebrate a victory for football and for a stylish team that plays in its manager's image and likeness.