Chelsea will have to wait at least till Saturday's match with Bolton to claim their first title in 50 years after a Jose-Antonio Reyes goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 victory over North London rivals Spurs.
It leaves last year's title winners still with a mathematical chance of overhauling Chelsea -- they are 11 points adrift with four matches remaining -- but they have to win their last four matches and hope Chelsea lose all theirs.
It was Arsenal's first double over their bitter London rivals in 16 years and their ninth clean sheet in 10 matches -- all of which have been without Sol Campbell.
PHOTO: AFP
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said that Campbell -- who was left on the bench as young Swiss Philippe Senderos was once again given the nod -- retained his full confidence.
"We have 17 to 18 players of top quality. Of course I see Campbell coming into the side again, he has my full confidence. But the players who have come in are doing well," the Frenchman said.
Wenger said that he had still not conceded the title.
"I won't let that go as long as we have one chance to lift it. We will still go for it. In most other leagues we would be top but Chelsea have got more points than us," he said.
However, he insisted that his side maintain their momentum and at the very least prevent Manchester Uunited from taking the runners-up spot, which is the last spot for automatic entry into the group stages of the Champions League.
Reyes missed an open goal in the first minute after being beautifully released by Robin van Persie but he shot woefully into the sidenetting.
Spurs too went close in the 14th minute as their leading scorer Jermain Defoe turned Kolo Toure and put in a chip which beat Jens Lehmann but went over the bar.
Defoe should have opened the scoring three minutes later as he was slipped free by Fredi Kanoute after Arsenal needlessly gave away the ball.
However having wriggled through the defense his shot was parried by Lehmann and then booted clear by Toure.
Reyes though redeemed himself in grand style in the 22nd minute -- for only his second goal in the last 19 Premiership matches and eighth of the season -- running onto a finely sleighted pass from Francesc Fabregas and this time making no mistake, shooting past Paul Robinson into the far corner.
Wenger said that had transformed the young Spaniard.
"He was very lively. He missed an early chance but when he scored he was a different animal on the pitch," he said.
Arsenal skipper Patrick Vieira, who had earlier had claims for a penalty turned down by Mike Riley, should have doubled the lead 10 minutes from the break but having broken free of Kanoute his header went just wide of the post.
Riley made the right decision in the 40th minute as he rejected Kanoute's appeals for a penalty when Senderos appeared to catch him but replays showed he had made contact with the ball.
A minute later and the blossoming talent of van Persie shone again as he turned King and blasted just wide from outside the area.
Arsenal were running rings round the Spurs defense and it was Fabregas who had the Gunners' next chance but his shot was blocked by Michael Dawson.
Arsenal failed to find the same tempo for the first 20 minutes of the second half but again nearly doubled their advantage in the 67th minute when the impressive Senderos' towering header went just wide of the post.
His fellow central defender Toure was not to be outdone and unleashed a fierce shot from 35m out which beat Robinson but went just over the bar.
Arsenal went even closer in the 73rd minute as Robert Pires went on a run down the center and put in a short pass to Edu, whose instinctive shot from just outside the box curled past Robinson but clipped the post and bounced to safety.
The Gunners were back firing on all cylinders and four minutes later a wonderful passing movement saw Reyes unmarked out on the left and found by Gilberto Silva he fired in a shot but it hit the sidenetting.
A quite stunning piece of individual skill by Reyes -- picking the ball up deep in his own half and spinning in between two Spurs defenders -- set up Dennis Bergkamp but his shot from outside the area curled just wide.
Reyes then set up Edu but again a desperate lunge by defender Erik Edman saw him block the shot and it went out for a throw-in.
However a major injustice was avoided when Robbie Keane got free of Senderos but his header from Andy Reid's cross went wide, leaving him shaking his head in frustration.
Keane then claimed vociferously for a penalty for handball by Andy Cole but Riley waved him aside and pointed for a corner -- replays again showed the referee was right.
Champions League preview
With three wins already this season over Liverpool, Jose Mourinho's Chelsea are hot favorites at home to come out on top in their all-English Champions League semifinal.
In Europe, however, the nouveau-riche London upstarts enjoy none of Liverpool's reputation, earned with five European Cup finals and four triumphs.
A surprise win over Juventus in the quarterfinals cemented Liverpool's credentials in Europe and manager Rafael Benitez says it gave his players back the confidence that they could beat Chelsea.
"Juventus was important because it made the players believe we can win games when we're not expected to," Benitez said.
Chelsea beat Liverpool 1-0 in both their Premier League games and 3-2 in the League Cup final in February.
"It's a Champions League game and we don't want to think about it in terms of the Premiership. Our idea is to approach the game with the same mentality as usual. We are playing well, we are not afraid. We can beat anyone," Benitez said.
While Liverpool lost at the weekend to relegation-threatened Crystal Palace, runaway leaders Chelsea earned three more points against neighbors Fulham.
They are on the brink of winning the English league championship for the first time in 50 years and with Roman Abramovich's billions behind them look likely to be a force in English football for seasons to come.
Wins over Barcelona and Bayern Munich, playing some of the most exciting football of the competition, have installed them as second favorites to AC Milan for the Champions League crown.
The return of fleet-footed winger Arjen Robben, injured for almost all of the last 10 weeks, is a boost for Chelsea, who have begun to feel the pace of the season they have dominated since November, losing just one Premier League game.
The London side have looked more vulnerable at the back recently, letting in nine goals in their last four European games after building their reputation on defense.
Mourinho returns to the bench after a two-match suspension over remarks he made about referee Anders Frisk and Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard during the Nou Camp match in February.
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