For manager Sir Alex Ferguson and winger Ryan Giggs, it is their 11th league crown, while United have now won 18 league titles, equalling the record held by Liverpool.
United had to survive a few nervous moments at the end as Arsenal chased a winner that would have rocked United's title bid, with Cesc Fabregas shaving the post and Robin van Persie smashing a couple of efforts at goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
But despite being far from their best, United held on and now have the chance to complete a league and European Cup double if they can beat Barcelona in the final later this month.
Ferguson had promised that United would play to win rather than just settling for a point but his side were unusually flat and did not manage a single shot on goal in the match, though Cristiano Ronaldo did go incredibly close late on with a free kick.
Arsenal were more adventurous and Van Persie headed over, while Kieran Gibbs hit the side-netting but in truth neither side threatened a goal, bar a couple of late attempts.
As the time ticked down, United became more and more defensive and were almost undone when Arsenal played Fabregas in on the left but his shot just shaved the post.
In the last minute, Van Persie had the chance to whip in a free kick from the right side of the box, but Michael Carrick got his body in the way, and United held on, sparking celebrations in the Old Trafford crowd.
Team Line Up:
1 Van der Sar
22 O'Shea
15 Vidic
23 Evans
3 Evra
7 Ronaldo
24 Fletcher
16 Carrick
11 Giggs
10 Rooney(90)
32 Tevez(66)
Substitutes
8 Anderson(90)
21 Da Silva
2 Neville
18 Scholes
9 Berbatov
13 Park(66)
29 Kuszczak
