Indeed, his emergence as one of the team’s most potent weapons was evident in the single-minded mission of former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn after the final whistle.

Winterburn, who moved to Upton Park two years ago, had been charged with getting his hands on Ljungberg’s shirt for his 12-year-old son James, who has remained a firm Arsenal supporter.

The Swede was happy to oblige, especially as his strike with just 13 minutes left ensured that Arsenal had moved four points ahead of Liverpool and five ahead of Manchester United with only three games remaining.

He declared: ‘‘It’s much more nervous when you are sitting in the stands rather than playing. Of course, we see the time ticking down but we just have to try to be professional and keep playing.

‘‘I wouldn’t say the job is done yet and we won’t be getting carried as we have difficult games at Bolton and then Manchester United away.

‘‘But of course, we are happy to be leading and it’s much better than chasing someone.

‘‘Everybody sticks together here and that’s very important. It’s vital that we don’t panic in the games when it’s still goalless.’’

That nerveless attitude was exactly how Arsenal took their run of consecutive league wins to 10, equalling the sequence which led them to the title in their Double-winning season four years ago.

Even if their two rivals both win this weekend, victory at Bolton next Monday would enable them to secure the title at Old Trafford on May 8.

Indeed, so strong is their position that they could lose to United and still lift the trophy by defeating Everton at Highbury in the final game of the season.

On the enticing prospect of clinching the title at Old Trafford, Ljungberg admitted: ‘‘I don’t want to even speak about it, we will leave that to others and just concentrate on what we do on the pitch.’’

Luck admittedly played a significant part in their victory against West Ham as the officials ruled Frederic Kanoute’s first-half shot had not crossed the line when television replays showed it had done.

The Gunners nevertheless refused to panic and kept on going like a ‘‘machine’’, according to manager Arsene Wenger, just as they had done four days earlier.

Ipswich and West Ham had both packed midfield and defended deeply, relying on hitting Arsenal on the break ensuring much more tension than when the Gunners were recently knocking teams aside in the opening half-hour.

Arsenal’s European experience has nevertheless come to the fore, having learned how to overcome sides determined to hold out for a draw.

Ljungberg added: ‘‘We’ve done that very well in the past two games, just playing our game, without resorting to long-balls, and panicking. We’ve got the goals in the end.’’

As a result, the finishing line is in sight. Wenger will warn his players against taking the title for granted, but it would take a major upset for them to be overtaken now.

West Ham boss Glenn Roeder observed: ‘‘It shows you how far we’ve come that the players were sitting there afterwards with long faces after losing at Highbury.

‘‘But it’s panning out brilliantly for Arsenal as it’s very possible that they can go to Old Trafford and the result won’t have to count.

‘‘Sir Alex Ferguson won’t accept defeat publicly but he’s probably now got to think that the Champions League is the one for him this season.’’