A brilliant free kick from Owen Hargreaves capped a thrilling game as Manchester United came from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1 and close in on retaining their Barclays Premier League title. The England midfielder's superb strike in the 72nd minute all but ended Arsenal's hopes of winning the title.

Arsenal went ahead through Emmanuel Adebayor in the 48th minute, only for Cristiano Ronaldo to equalise from the penalty spot six minutes later.

Hargreaves then sent a curling 25-yard shot over the wall and beyond Jens Lehmann, the Arsenal goalkeeper. It was only Hargreaves' second goal since his £17million move from Bayern Munich in the summer.

Needing to win to get back into title contention, Arsenal created the better chances in the first half. Adebayor wasted one with a tame shot at Edwin van der Sar after Alexander Hleb's pass had left him with only the goalkeeper to beat.

The striker put Arsenal ahead soon after half-time, however, when Van der Sar and Rio Ferdinand failed to deal with Robin van Persie's cross from the left. Adebayor bundled the ball home from barely three yards though there was a strong suspicion that it came off his hand.

The score was almost 2-0 within two minutes when Ferdinand turned a cross from Adebayor towards his own goal. Van der Sar blocked the deflection and United responded by equalizing in the 54th minute.

William Gallas blocked a pass from Michael Carrick with his hand and Ronaldo converted from the spot. He was forced to retake the penalty because players encroached the area the first time.

The second goal came after Patrice Evra was tripped 25 yards out and Hargreaves curled the resulting free kick inside the near post past an unmoving Lehmann. United then held on for victory, with Van der Sar saving late on from Nicklas Bendtner, a substitute.

United's 25th win of the season puts them six points ahead of Chelsea, who face Wigan Athletic on Monday. Arsenal are nine points off the lead and, having been knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday, are almost certain to finish without a trophy for the third season in a row.