PREVIEW-Soccer-Arsenal seek to save season at upbeat Man United

By Mike Collett

MANCHESTER, England, April 10 (Reuters) - The last flickering embers of Arsenal's Premier League title hopes will all but be extinguished on Sunday unless they beat vibrant Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The north London side's dreams of winning the Champions League ended on Tuesday when they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Liverpool, who beat them 4-2 at Anfield for a 5-3 aggregate victory.

Arsenal now travel to the other end of the East Lancs Road and Old Trafford having won only two of their last 12 matches in all competitions, and with just one win from their last seven Premier League games.

United, who reached the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday with a 1-0 win over AS Roma at Old Trafford, lead the title race with 77 points and five matches to play, followed by Chelsea (74 points) and Arsenal (71).

If United beat Arsenal they will be nine points clear of them with just four matches remaining, leaving the Gunners an almost impossible task of catching them. Even a draw will leave Arsenal with a mountain to climb.

Chelsea, who also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League this week, do not play their home match against Wigan Athletic until Monday evening.

While the race for the title is now, realistically, a two-horse affair between United and Chelsea, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will not concede defeat until it is mathematically impossible for his side to catch the front two.

Earlier this week, he said Arsenal could still win the Champions League and Premier League double and, although the European dream is over for them and alive for United, Arsenal should not be written off in the title race yet.