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<SPAN class=art-title2>Diaby marks Wenger milestone with victory</SPAN>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">(AFP)</SPAN> <SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">14 Mar 2007</SPAN>
<SPAN class=art-text>Arsene Wenger celebrated his 400th Premiership game in charge of Arsenal with a 1-0 victory at Villa Park on Wednesday night as his team maintained their unbeaten league start to 2007.
Abou Diaby's first half goal - after only nine minutes - ensured that Arsenal made up for the treble disappointments in cup competitions of late by moving into third place in the Premiership table for the first time this year.
Despite having to field a side weakened by suspensions and injuries, Wenger's recent claims that he will not have to add too many new faces to his squad this summer because he already has the foundations in place for another generation of title winners seemed well founded judging by the way they disposed of Martin O'Neill's struggling side.
Diaby is another of the member of the exciting crop of young players Wenger believes can emerge stronger next season and provide a Premiership title threat to Chelsea and Manchester United.
The French coach had been without the services of the 20-year-old graduate of the Auxerre youth academy in France with a badly broken and dislocated ankle suffered against Sunderland last May.
Diaby only returned to the first team for the 6-3 League Cup victory over Liverpool in January, but could not have wished for a better opening to his first Premiership start of the season, even if it involved a large slice of good fortune.
Arsenal needed something to lift their spirits after exiting the FA Cup and Champions League, as well as losing the League Cup final to Chelsea in the last 11 days.
He started the move with a powerful surge beyond Phil Bardsley, which set up a shooting opportunity for Julio Baptista.
Villa's Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen appeared to have Baptista's shot covered until Diaby, who had continued his run, deflected the on-loan Real Madrid striker's effort beyond the wrong-footed Sorensen.
Villa's record against Arsenal is desperately poor and their last victory came back in 1998 when the game was marred by an injury to a parachutist - who had to have a badly broken leg amputated after crashing into the roof of the Trinity Road Stand before the game.
Their chances of breaking that depressing sequence should have been more remote when Freddie Ljungberg's excellent cross picked out Jeremie Aliadiere - but the French striker squandered the simplest of opportunities, forcing his free header into the ground and over the crossbar from six yards out.
Arsenal's only real moment of discomfort in a first half which they controlled with embarrassing ease, despite suspensions for Gael Clichy, Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Emmanuel Adebayor, was when Justin Hoyte brought down John Carew, when the Norwegian international broke free.
Hoyte's challenge was adjudged to have been just outside the area by referee Martin Atkinson, despite Villa manager Martin O'Neill's demands for a penalty and Carew blasted the resulting free kick into the wall.
Villa certainly had a more spirited attempt at rescuing matters in the second half and Carew would have equalised when clean through - but his first touch saw him over run the ball with only Jens Lehmann to beat.
Ljungberg had to rescue Diaby with a goal line clearance when the youngster accidentally headed Gareth Barry's corner beyond Lehmann.
Villa's poor record of just two wins in their last 17 Premiership games is an ever increasing source of embarrassment to their manager O'Neill, especially given the funding he has been provided with by American owner Randy Lerner.
O'Neill should be grateful that he accumulated enough points in his impressive start at Villa Park to provide him with a comfortable cushion from getting sucked into relegation.</SPAN>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">(AFP)</SPAN> <SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">14 Mar 2007</SPAN>
<SPAN class=art-text>Arsene Wenger celebrated his 400th Premiership game in charge of Arsenal with a 1-0 victory at Villa Park on Wednesday night as his team maintained their unbeaten league start to 2007.
Abou Diaby's first half goal - after only nine minutes - ensured that Arsenal made up for the treble disappointments in cup competitions of late by moving into third place in the Premiership table for the first time this year.
Despite having to field a side weakened by suspensions and injuries, Wenger's recent claims that he will not have to add too many new faces to his squad this summer because he already has the foundations in place for another generation of title winners seemed well founded judging by the way they disposed of Martin O'Neill's struggling side.
Diaby is another of the member of the exciting crop of young players Wenger believes can emerge stronger next season and provide a Premiership title threat to Chelsea and Manchester United.
The French coach had been without the services of the 20-year-old graduate of the Auxerre youth academy in France with a badly broken and dislocated ankle suffered against Sunderland last May.
Diaby only returned to the first team for the 6-3 League Cup victory over Liverpool in January, but could not have wished for a better opening to his first Premiership start of the season, even if it involved a large slice of good fortune.
Arsenal needed something to lift their spirits after exiting the FA Cup and Champions League, as well as losing the League Cup final to Chelsea in the last 11 days.
He started the move with a powerful surge beyond Phil Bardsley, which set up a shooting opportunity for Julio Baptista.
Villa's Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen appeared to have Baptista's shot covered until Diaby, who had continued his run, deflected the on-loan Real Madrid striker's effort beyond the wrong-footed Sorensen.
Villa's record against Arsenal is desperately poor and their last victory came back in 1998 when the game was marred by an injury to a parachutist - who had to have a badly broken leg amputated after crashing into the roof of the Trinity Road Stand before the game.
Their chances of breaking that depressing sequence should have been more remote when Freddie Ljungberg's excellent cross picked out Jeremie Aliadiere - but the French striker squandered the simplest of opportunities, forcing his free header into the ground and over the crossbar from six yards out.
Arsenal's only real moment of discomfort in a first half which they controlled with embarrassing ease, despite suspensions for Gael Clichy, Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Emmanuel Adebayor, was when Justin Hoyte brought down John Carew, when the Norwegian international broke free.
Hoyte's challenge was adjudged to have been just outside the area by referee Martin Atkinson, despite Villa manager Martin O'Neill's demands for a penalty and Carew blasted the resulting free kick into the wall.
Villa certainly had a more spirited attempt at rescuing matters in the second half and Carew would have equalised when clean through - but his first touch saw him over run the ball with only Jens Lehmann to beat.
Ljungberg had to rescue Diaby with a goal line clearance when the youngster accidentally headed Gareth Barry's corner beyond Lehmann.
Villa's poor record of just two wins in their last 17 Premiership games is an ever increasing source of embarrassment to their manager O'Neill, especially given the funding he has been provided with by American owner Randy Lerner.
O'Neill should be grateful that he accumulated enough points in his impressive start at Villa Park to provide him with a comfortable cushion from getting sucked into relegation.</SPAN>