Middlesbrough 1-2 Arsenal: Mesut Ozil nets winner to hand Gunners hard-fought victory
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Arsenal finally ended one of the most miserable runs of form in Arsene Wenger’s managerial reign with a hard-fought victory at Middlesbrough.
Alexis Sanchez struck five minutes before the break with a superb free-kick which left 'Boro keeper Brad Guzan no chance to hand Wenger's side the lead.
Alvaro Negredo bundled home Stewart Downing’s cross to level for the home side in the second half, but Mesut Ozil’s goal with 20 minutes to go - volleying home from close range - handed the Gunners all three points in the north east.
(Photo: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
(Photo: Getty Images Europe)
Defeat deepens Middlesbrough’s plight second bottom of the league but gives Arsenal faint hopes now of a place in Europe.
The main thing for the Gunners was too end a run of eight games without a win which included five defeats.
Here are five things we learned at the Riverside...
1. Sanchez shows there's no substitute for class
(Photo: Ian MacNicol)
Arsenal were listless and lethargic going forward for much of the first half against Middlesbrough but Alexis Sanchez showed the value of having a world class striker to call on when your side is struggling with indifferent form.
His fabulous goal, five minutes from the break was a crushing blow for Boro and gave his side every chance of victory.
It was a goal of exquisite execution, a free-kick just outside the ‘D’ lifted over the wall and just under the crossbar. Goalkeeper Brad Guzan barely moved but no goalkeeper could have stopped a goal of such precision.
2. Middlesbrough are not going down without a fight
(Photo: Jan Kruger)
Boro went into the game with a couple of awful statistics to their name - no win in 2017 and the lowest goalscorers in all top four divisions.
Those are the sort of statistics which can slowly sap all spirit out of a side but Boro refused to throw in the towel against Arsenal after conceding a psychologically destructive goal five minutes before half-time.
(Photo: Jan Kruger)
Instead they rolled up their sleeves and got back into it thanks to the example of two of their biggest names - 32-year-old Stewart Downing’s lung-bursting run down the wing met by Negredo’s bravery in plunging in to bundle the ball home.
They are still favourites for the drop but if they go down they will try to go with a bang rather than a whimper.
3. Under pressure Wenger goes back to 1997
(Photo: REUTERS)
It’s a sign of the challenging times at Arsenal that a manager renowned for stubbornly sticking to his preferred style - whatever the outside criticism - should so radically overhaul his team at this stage of the season.
A horrendous run at a critical stage of the season - winning just two of their previous eight games and losing five of them - has set alarm bells ringing at the Emirates and called Wenger’s future at the club into question.
He responded last night by playing three at the back for the first time since 1997 when he was in his first year in the job.
The retro formation, threatened to produce a retro result: “1-0 to the Arsenal…” but then came Negredo’s equaliser and Ozil's subsequent winner.
4. The new boy done good
(Photo: Jan Kruger)
Twenty-one-year-old Rob Holding was making his first appearance since August 27 and only his third of the season but he performed as well as any of his senior team-mates.
Arsenal’s current form and the need for a clear out this summer can only strengthen his claims for a first-team place.
5. Time for Wenger’s senior players to stand up and be counted.
(Photo: 2017 Getty Images)
Arsenal have paid a fortune for superstar names that have too often failed to perform.
Two of them stepped up and one did not - Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil both got on the scoresheet with important goals which helped their teams; Laurent Koscielny though was guilty of dozing as Negredo gave Boro a life-line with a goal early in the second half.
Arsenal have endured a miserable season by their own standards but redemption of sorts can be found with a charge to the end of the season which could put a smile on the faces of the fans.
If it is to be done though, it has to be led by the highly-paid household names, too many of which have let themselves and their team down this season.