Darren Fletcher was robbed of his place in the European Cup final after the referee in the semi-final wrongly judged him to have fouled Cesc Fabregas in the penalty area.

Barcelona’s midfield ripped us to shreds and we will always be left to wonder what would have happened if Fletcher had been playing. The fact that Michael Carrick was playing with a broken toe only adds to the shambles that was our midfield that evening.

Fletch has revealed in United We Stand that after the Arsenal game he had to console his distraught family with promises of reaching another Champions League final.

“I try not to dwell on it and it has made me more determined to get there again,” said Fletcher. “When I got sent-off against Arsenal, I had my little sisters and mum crying on the phone. They were not at the game but I called them straight after. I saw the missed calls on my phone. Mum and dad and my three little sisters – they were distraught. They are 10, 16 and a year younger than me. I had to put a brave face on it and promised that I would drag the lads to another Champions League final. I said, ‘what’s meant to be will be’, and then I decided to concentrate on winning the league with United. I had to take it on the chin and not let it affect me.”

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