Date:03/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/03/stories/2007120356491900.htm

Sport - Football

Arsenal passes the Villa test

LONDON: Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal proved it has the character as well as the quality needed to win the Premier League after its 2-1 victory against Aston Villa on Saturday. Emmanuel Adebayor’s first half header sent Wenger’s side five points clear at the top after Mathieu Flamini had cancelled out Craig Gardner’s opener for Villa.

The Gunners produced a stylish performance in the first half but it was their resilient display as Villa pressed after the break that impressed Wenger more.

“The first half was amazing. It was a classy display,” he said. “In the second half we were resilient and showed a different side to our game. That means commitment and character.”

The results: English Premier League: Arsenal 2 (Flamini 23, Adebayor 36) bt Aston Villa 1 (Gardner 14); Blackburn 3 (Bentley 54 & 67, Tugay 90) bt Newcastle 1 (Martins 47); Portsmouth drew with Everton 0-0; Reading 1 (Kitson 54) drew with Middlesbrough 1 (Sanli 83); Sunderland 1 (Stokes 90) bt Derby 0; Wigan 1 (Scharner 25) drew with Manchester City 1 (Geovanni 1).

Spanish league: Espanyol 1 (Ferran Corominas 69) drew with Barcelona 1 (Andres Iniesta 6); Real Madrid 3 (Raul 4 & 70, Sergio Sanchez 10-og) bt Racing Santander 1 (Pedro Munitis 73); Almeria 1 (Santiago Acasiete 87) bt Sevilla 0. — Agencies