LONDON (AP):

Manchester United reached the Champions League final for a second straight year yesterday after Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to lead his team to a 3-1 win at Arsenal.

Park Ji-Sung put the defending champions ahead following a slip by defender Kieran Gibbs before Ronaldo hit a swerving free kick from 35 yards to make it 2-0 after only 11 minutes.

Ronaldo then rounded off a 61st-minute counter-attack that he started in his own half.

Although Robin van Persie got a late goal back for Arsenal, United completed a 4-1 aggregate win in the two-legged semi-final.

The comprehensive victory mean United could now become the first team since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990 to earn the title of European champion for two straight years, although they will face Chelsea or Barcelona in the May 27 final in Rome.

"I've said it many times, we should have won this cup more times than we have," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "We've got the hunger and the quality."

Midfielder suspended

The only bad news for United was that midfielder Darren Fletcher, who was an unused substitute last year, will be suspended for the final after he was sent off for conceding the late penalty that led to Arsenal's only goal.

Fletcher brought down Cesc Fabregas in the area and Robin van Persie converted the resulting kick in the 76th.

"I think the red card was very harsh," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.

Until the penalty, Arsenal had laboured without success against a defence that earlier this season went a Premier League-record 14 games without conceding a goal.

Arsenal needed to overturn a 1-0 deficit from last week's first leg at Old Trafford but United's early burst of two goals in three minutes soon left the Gunners needing to score four goals to progress - something they never looked capable of doing.

"We do not have the feeling that we played a semi-final in the Champions League because it was over after 10 minutes," Wenger said. "The most disappointing thing is that the game was over before it even started."