SOCCER/Arsenal 1 Man Utd 3: THERE WAS pathos as well as satisfaction as the holders returned to the Champions League final, where they will face Chelsea or Barcelona in Rome. The game contained no drama for Manchester United as, with two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, they took command, but there was regret in a red card for Darren Fletcher that ends his campaign in this tournament.
He had a lapse in concentration when Robin van Persie flicked the ball to Cesc Fabregas in the 76th minute. With United 3-0 in front, the Scot could have allowed a goal, but instead habit made him stretch to challenge and the Spaniard went down under his challenge.
Although replays made it clear Fletcher had fouled the player, he had also made contact with the ball, but the referee Roberto Rosetti awarded a spot-kick and dismissed the United midfielder.
Van Persie scored the penalty, but Arsenal’s misery over this anticlimax will still run far deeper than United’s ruefulness over Fletcher.
A night such as this is yearned for over the course of a season as a club works its way through the gradually rising demands of the knockout phase, but it is agonising to reach a match of this status and, almost at once, fail completely.
United themselves would never have anticipated claiming their place in the final after a paltry 11 minutes. Alex Ferguson will find irony in that. His men had been dominant at Old Trafford yet had to make do with a single goal. Here, they broke Arsenal with a couple of early ventures.
The opener, after eight minutes, did entail a piece of terrible misfortune for the young left-back Kieran Gibbs, who was deputising once more in the absence of Gael Clichy.
Anderson drove forward on the left and released Ronaldo to strike a low cross towards the far post. There, Gibbs lost his footing and Park Ji-Sung composed himself to plant a finish beyond the advancing Manuel Almunia. The goalkeeper had looked nearly unbeatable last week at Old Trafford, but even he needs some protection.
Almunia might carry a trace of blame for the second goal, which began with a Van Persie foul on Ronaldo. While the Portuguese’s free-kick from 35 yards was excellent, the goalkeeper was so deceived he was not even fully extended as he leaped, a fraction late, for an effort that beat him at the near post.
While Almunia’s athleticism had preserved Arsenal as contenders in the away leg, a 1-0 loss is still a bad result when sides of this calibre clash. Arsene Wenger’s optimism about this fixture had been far more than dutiful, even if it was hard for neutrals to tell how an Arsenal line-up still under development was supposed to rout United.
There was a disconcerting aspect to his call for the home support to create an invigorating atmosphere. They briefly did so, but the venture into populism looked odd coming from a man of such detachment. He is, however, a realist. Arsenal would have had to be galvanised to an unusual extent if the disadvantages were to be overcome.
The visitors, predictably, put the accent on dynamism, just as they had in the first leg.
United’s lone striker was Ronaldo, who returned to the role from which he had already scored the goal in the 1-0 away win over Porto that took his club into these semi-finals. His impact last night was greater still, considering the set-up work for Park’s opener, even if Arsenal fans will claim he had cheated to get that free-kick for the next goal.
There was no cavilling over the next goal from Ronaldo. Park found Rooney on the left in the 61st minute and the striker converted his pass with ease.
The fixture had been hotly anticipated by Arsenal followers, yet for significant numbers the anguish of this loss outweighed loyalty and they made an early exit from the Emirates.
United had departures of a different sort in mind. Within four minutes of that goal, Ferguson had taken off Anderson, Patrice Evra and Rooney. The manager would have had in mind the fact that the Frenchman and the Englishman were merely a booking away from being suspended from the final.
There could also have been some attention to be paid to preserving players for Saturday’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
ARSENAL: Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Djourou, Gibbs (Eboue 45), Walcott (Bendtner 63), Fabregas, Song Billong, Nasri, Van Persie (Vela 79), Adebayor. Subs not used: Fabianski, Silvestre, Diaby, Denilson. Booked: Nasri, Adebayor, Eboue.
MAN UTD: Van der Sar, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra (Rafael Da Silva 65), Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson (Giggs 63), Park, Ronaldo, Rooney (Berbatov 66). Subs not used: Kuszczak, Evans, Scholes, Tevez. Sent off: Fletcher (75).
Referee: Roberto Rosetti (Italy).
