Despite manager Bryan Robson’s side controlling the game for long periods, it was young Dutch striker van Persie who delivered a telling 66th-minute blow with his ninth goal of the season, and his fourth in his last six appearances.

The Gunners then rubbed salt into Albion’s relegation wounds by wrapping up the points in injury time courtesy of Brazilian Edu to leave the Baggies one off the bottom with just two matches remaining.

But for the opening 35 minutes of the match Arsenal looked every inch a side who had seen their fading title hopes finally disappear over the horizon with new champions Chelsea’s 2-0 victory at Bolton on Saturday.

Second place is hardly a consolation prize for a team that won the league last season in such historically enterprising fashion when they failed to lose a single game.

There is an extra £500,000 at stake for the club as a whole – the difference in prize money between second and third – and much needed when you consider the financial drain of building Ashburton Grove.

For the players, the runners-up spot means an additional fortnight’s holiday as they would be spared the burden of starting pre-season early to accommodate a Champions League qualifying tie.

Arsene Wenger’s stars, though, looked as if they were already on their jollies as they succumbed to West Brom’s greater determination and will in fighting for their Premiership lives.

The Baggies probed and prodded and forced the Gunners onto the back foot, albeit without creating a notable chance, in particular with lone striker and captain Kevin Campbell starved of service.

Campbell’s status underlined the contrast between the calibre of the two sides as van Persie and Jose Antonio Reyes were just five years old when the veteran forward signed his first Arsenal contract back in 1988.

Campbell went on to score 59 goals in 228 appearances during his seven-year career at Highbury, and what he would have given for a goal against his old club and adding to his meagre tally of three this term following his transfer window move from Everton.

The best of the home side’s early chances came via a Zoltan Gera overhead kick that was spectacular, but well wide, while Jonathan Greening – returning after a three-match ban – was equally as off target with an attempted left-foot half volley.

Then in the 34th minute Arsenal finally found a spark, courtesy of a 20-yard right-foot curler from captain Patrick Vieira that only just cleared the crossbar.

Galvanised, there followed a sweet exchange of passes from one side of the field to the other that culminated in van Persie driving in an acutely-angled shot that forced Russell Hoult into the first save of the game from either ‘keeper.

With Arsenal now beginning to exert authority, it then took a painful block from Ronnie Wallwork to deflect away a goal-bound Vieira drive soon after.

Within seconds the Albion defence was opened up as Lauren played a slide-rule pass in to van Persie, only for Hoult to produce a superb point-blank stop to keep out the Dutchman’s attempted flick.

Yet out of nothing, Albion ended the half in the ascendancy and were inches away from making the breakthrough, only for Zera’s defence-opening pass in to Ronnie Wallwork culminating in a crisp right-foot shot that was inches over the bar.

From there, Albion started the second period utterly determined to lift themselves out of the bottom three, and roared on by a desperate Hawthorns crowd they continued to push for the opener.

But other than a Paul Robinson drive blocked by Lauren and a Neil Clement header to a Greening corner coming off the back of Gilberto Silva, Albion just could not trouble Jens Lehmann.

Unsurprisingly, the opening goal of the game came via a piece of pure Arsenal magic, with Kolo Toure starting the move from just inside the Albion half, initially playing the ball into Vieira.

The Frenchman, who was almost dispossessed at one point, kept his composure to feed Reyes and he in turn picked out van Persie who delivered a stunning finish with a low left-foot shot beyond the outstretched reach of Hoult after turning inside Clement.

Reyes should have finished Albion off six minutes later, but after rounding Clement, Thomas Gaardsoe and Hoult, it was the backtracking Clement who cleared a weak side-foot finish off the line.

Albion rallied, with Lehmann finally called upon to make his one and only save in the 76th minute as he parried a raking low drive from Kieran Richardson.

But despite Robson bringing on three strikers in Geoff Horsfield, Robert Earnshaw and another former Gunner in Kanu, the three-pronged attack failed to pierce Arsenal’s resolute defence.

Instead, it was Arsenal’s two 75th-minute subs who combined to clinch the victory, with Dennis Bergkamp finding Edu striding into the area and the Brazilian chipped Hoult from 15 yards, with the ‘keeper touching the ball on over the line.