CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Manchester United did on Tuesday what they failed to do at Old Trafford last week, killing off Arsenal’s dreams of European glory by converting their chances in an outstanding display to clinch a ruthless 3-1 victory.
Arsenal could have gone into the Champions League second leg three or four goals behind if the European champions had taken their opportunities before halftime in the first leg.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Instead, United came to the Emirates protecting a slender 1-0 lead, but they did not let Arsenal dodge the noose a second time.
Although the home side, boosted by more than 50,000 fans, started brightly, the deafening atmosphere was silenced after just 11 minutes after United scored twice to take a stranglehold on the game they never relinquished.
Mistakes by teenage defender Kieran Gibbs and Spanish goalkeeper Manuel Almunia allowed Park Ji-sung and Cristiano Ronaldo to put United 2-0 ahead.
Arsenal’s young side then simply ran out of ideas against a superbly organized and hard-working United team, who did not face a serious threat on their goal until the 63rd minute.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s team selection and tactics were widely questioned last week when he played Samir Nasri as a holding midfielder and Fabregas in an advanced position.
But he was convinced that Arsenal would make up for their poor display at Old Trafford and score the goals that would take them to the final in Rome.
Instead of his young players coming of age in this game, however, they were simply brushed aside.
Even the return of Dutch striker Robin van Persie after injury failed to lift the Gunners and Emmanuel Adebayor had another largely anonymous game as the almost invisible leader of Arsenal’s front line.
In contrast, United were assured at the back, worked tirelessly in midfield and were aided by outstanding performances from World and European Footballer of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, the new favorite to be named England’s Footballer of the Year.
Ronaldo scored two outstanding goals, one a solo effort from a 40m free kick and the second to complete a devastating, sweeping counter-attacking move that instantly became a contender for goal of the season.
Arsenal have now gone four seasons without winning a trophy, while United remain on course to win four prizes in this campaign alone. The World Club Championship and the League Cup have been secured, while the Premier League title will be retained if they take just seven points from their last four games.
United are also on course to become the first team since AC Milan in 1990 to retain the European Cup and United head for the final in Rome unbeaten in 25 Champions League matches.
As a contest, it was all over in 11 minutes. As a soccer masterclass Arsenal’s youngsters were given a lesson that lasted 90 minutes.
The Arsenal fans must hope that players like Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Van Persie, whose contracts are all still to be finalized, follow their example and decide to search for silverware elsewhere.
■FAN HANGS HIMSELF
AFP, NAIROBI
An Arsenal fan in soccer-mad Kenya hung himself following his team’s 4-1 aggregate drubbing by arch-rivals Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final, police said yesterday.
Suleiman Alphonso Omondi, a 29-year-old Kenyan living in Nairobi’s Embakasi neighborhood, hung himself in his Arsenal shirt late on Tuesday after the match, police said.
“We were watching the match at Bamba 70 pub, and when Arsenal was defeated, Suleiman just walked out in protest and he was crying,” Calvin Otieno, one of his friends, told reporters.
“We didn’t know he was going to hang himself until this morning when we received the reports and came here to find his body at the balcony,” Otieno said outside the deceased’s home.
■NO HOPE FOR FLETCHER
AFP, NYON, SWITZERLAND
UEFA yesterday ruled out a reprieve for Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher over the red card he received on Tuesday that means he will be suspended for the Champions League final.
Fletcher was sent off in United’s 3-1 win over Arsenal for a challenge on Cesc Fabregas inside the penalty box. Television replays showed that the United player had played the ball before Fabregas tumbled over him.
But even if referee Roberto Rosetti accepts he made a mistake, UEFA’s rules allow for red cards to be rescinded only if the official acknowledges that he punished the wrong player, a spokesman for European football’s governing body confirmed.
“A club can file a a protest against a caution or a sending off, but under our rules it is only admissible if there is a case of mistaken identity by the referee,” he said.
Although Scotland international Fletcher is not an automatic first-choice player for United, he has been a regular this season in the club’s biggest matches and would almost certainly have featured in the final in Rome.
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