It is Ronaldo's magic

United had been authoritative in every aspect, even if Cristiano Ronaldo stole the attention with two goals. On this showing, he would be a drastic loss should a move to Real Madrid take place in the close season. If this triumph is any guide, his mind is at least fixed on United's affairs for the time being. By Kevin McCarra.

Manchester United found a shortcut from London to Rome with two goals in the opening 11 minutes that sped them to the Champions League final. The holders, in the process, made this a prolonged night of suffering for Arsenal, who were incapable of competing. When United did wince at the Emirates it was the referee, Roberto Rosetti, who inflicted the pain.

Darren Fletcher made contact on the ball when challenging Cesc Fï¿½bregas, but the Italian official believed the Scot had merely brought down his opponent and showed the midfielder a red card. Robin van Persie converted the penalty in the 78th minute. Fletcher will be suspended from the final.

Arsenal must brood far longer than him on their experiences. Beforehand, Arsï¿½ne Wenger had seemed to believe that the club was about to regain its old status. Instead there is now more evidence than he can bear of inadequacies yet to be addressed. The excitement in the third minute, when the ball ricocheted off Rio Ferdinand and went narrowly wide of the visitors' goalpost, was utterly misleading.

Some of the Arsenal defects reflect the absence of injured players such as William Gallas, but the home support will not find a satisfactory explanation in that. Hope vanished and when United scored their third in the 61st minute a significant number of fans also disappeared into the night.

The victors themselves could never have anticipated disposing of Arsenal within 11 minutes. Sir 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, entailed misfortune for the young left-back Kieran Gibbs, who was deputising once more in the absence of Gaï¿½l Clichy. United, however, had found it elementary to get behind the rest of the opposition's back four as well.

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 at Old Trafford, but even he needs some protection.

Almunia might carry a trace of blame for the second goal, which began with a disputed foul by Robin van Persie on Ronaldo. While the Portuguese's free-kick from more than 30 yards was a tour de force, the goalkeeper was not even fully extended as he leapt, a fraction late, for an effort that beat him at the near post.

Almunia's athleticism had preserved Arsenal as contenders in the away leg, but a 1-0 defeat is still a bad result when sides of this calibre clash. Wenger's optimism about the fixture had been far more than dutiful.

There was a disconcerting aspect to his call for the Arsenal supporters to create an invigorating atmosphere.

They briefly did so, but the venture into populism looked odd coming from a man of such detachment. It could be that he knew in his heart that a barnstorming spirit would be essential if inadequacies were to be hidden.

The visitors, predictably, put the accent on dynamism, just as they had a week ago. Ferguson did not pick the stylist Dimitar Berbatov in the starting line-up then and he was on the bench at the Emirates. Even the hyperactive nature of Carlos Tevez was not sufficient for the Argentinian to begin this match.

United's lone striker was Ronaldo, who returned to the role in 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 was greater still, considering the set-up work for Park's opener, even if Arsenal fans will insist he had cheated to get that free-kick.

There was no cavilling over the next goal from Ronaldo. Park found Rooney on the left in the 61st minute and Ronaldo converted his pass with ease. Soon, 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.

The deepest dejection on that night was still Wenger's. His attack was contained with few problems and his defence could not cope. He and his employers must ask how much is yet to be done before Arsenal re-enter the elite.