A below-par Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium which allowed Sir Alex Ferguson's side to move within striking distance of the leaders.
Hargreaves was presented with an opportunity to open the scoring for United in the 15th minute after Cottagers midfielder Danny Murphy fouled striker Carlos Tevez on the edge of the penalty area.
The former Bayern Munich midfielder took the free-kick and fooled goalkeeper Antti Niemi with a shot which curled around the wall before it dipped into the bottom left corner to give him his first goal in a United shirt.
Park Ji-Sung added the second a minute before the break when he capped a fine team move to head home a Paul Scholes cross from close range.
Fulham midfielder Simon Davies put John O'Shea's cross through his own net in the 72nd minute to compound the misery for Roy Hodgson's side, who are now six points below safety.
Nicklas Bendtner struck with the last kick of the game from inside the six-yard box to rescue a point for Arsenal.
Philippe Senderos scored a 27th-minute own goal to give Villa a 1-0 lead over Arsene Wenger's side in a match in which the visitors outplayed their opponents but Bendtner levelled in the fourth minute of injury-time.
Chelsea responded from their Carling Cup final defeat to Tottenham with an emphatic 4-0 victory over West Ham at Upton Park despite being reduced to 10 men.
Frank Lampard opened the scoring in the 17th minute from the penalty spot after Anton Ferdinand fouled Salomon Kalou inside the penalty area.
The Blues made it 2-0 three minutes later when Nicolas Anelka picked out Joe Cole on the left edge of the box and the midfielder drilled his low shot past goalkeeper Robert Green.
Michael Ballack added a third in the 22nd minute after he smashed home a spectacular half-volley from 18 yards following good work by Joe Cole down the left flank.
Lampard was sent off in the 36th minute for violent conduct but Avram Grant's side continued to dominate and Ashley Cole (64) completed the scoring with a neat close-range finish after Green had parried Joe Cole's initial shot.
A Mikael Forssell hat-trick helped boost Birmingham's chances of avoiding the drop as they recorded a 4-1 win over lacklustre Spurs side at St Andrews.
The Finland international opened the scoring in the seventh minute when he was able to direct a header from a James McFadden cross past Paul Robinson and into the bottom-left corner of the net.
Sebastian Larsson added a second in the 55th minute with a superb free-kick which he curled over the wall and into the bottom-left corner before Forssell capitalised on indecision in the visitors' defence to neatly strike home.
Forssell completed his hat-trick in the 81st minute with a low finish from inside the penalty area, handing Birmingham their biggest win of the season. Jermaine Jenas scored a late consolation for the visitors.
Kevin Keegan's search for a first win since he returned to Newcastle continued after his side suffered a 1-0 defeat to Blackburn at St James' Park after Matt Derbyshire struck in injury-time.
Reading ended their eight-game losing streak with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough at the Riverside thanks to a James Harper goal in added time, while Sunderland were frustrated by Derby in a goalless draw at Pride Park.
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