The Malaysian Insider

LONDON, Nov 21 - Ending 13 years of frustration against Manchester United suddenly doesn’t seem so daunting for Aston Villa after winning at Arsenal for the first time since 1993.

Manager Martin O’Neill wants to ensure the 2-0 victory in north London is the spark to ignite the challenge for one of the four Champions League spots.

“The result allied to the performance was really terrific,” O’Neill said. “It has certainly given a big boost of confidence to the players. From start to finish the team was electric. The performance was full of energy. It was full of really good football.

PARIS, Nov 21 - Arsenal captain William Gallas has called for the team’s coveted young stars to toughen up and accept that having the stomach for a fight is just as important as silky skill if they want to win the Premier League title.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Gallas raised concerns that Arsenal’s highly rated youngsters may not always have shown the necessary bite when it mattered this season. He also revealed there have been recent arguments among team members on and off the pitch.

“We have to understand that to be champions, you have to play big matches every weekend and fight,” Gallas told the AP. “We are coming up against teams who are not scared to play football against us, who are not scared to take us on at our place, and this is becoming dangerous for Arsenal.”

ROME, Nov 21 - Rival coaches Jose Mourinho and Claudio Ranieri will meet for the first time when Serie A leader Inter Milan hosts resurgent Juventus this weekend.

Besides the personal battle — Mourinho succeeded Ranieri at Chelsea and the pair have been trading verbal jabs since the beginning of this season — the match also has important implications for the standings.

Inter leads the league with 27 points, followed by AC Milan with 26 and Juventus with 24.

MADRID, Nov 21 - Barcelona’s best-ever league start isn’t helping under-pressure Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster.

Barcelona has won nine straight to sit five points ahead of its classic rival, whose recent stumbles could see Schuster become the seventh Madrid coach to be fired in five years if it loses this weekend.

Barcelona, which has 28 points from 11 games, plays Getafe on Sunday, while defending champion Madrid hosts second-last Recreativo Huelva on Saturday.