Arsenal Vs Middlesbrough: Recap, Highlights And Analysis

Arsenal faced Middlesborough on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League. Here is the full recap, highlights and analysis.

The first half was in and of itself a game of two halves. The first 20 minutes were dominant from Arsenal. Mohamed Elneny marshalled proceedings wonderfully – without ever playing a particularly incisive pass – Alex Iwobi saw much of the ball and Hector Bellerin pressed forward well on the opposite wing. However, not many chances were created. Middlesbrough stayed resolute, disciplined in their assignments, tightly packed and extremely difficult to break down.

Then, in one moment of Laurent Koscielny madness, the game changed. Adama Traore, Boro’s biggest threat throughout the 90 minutes, closed down the centre-half, picked his pocket and drove forward with real pace. Skipped past the sliding challenge of Shkodran Mustafi and should have scored when Petr Cech spread himself big and suffocated any goal scoring chance. The rebound fell to Alvaro Negredo, but his scuffed shot was saved once more by Cech and the threat, for the moment, was gone.

Only a minute later, though, Gaston Ramirez struck a wicked free-kick from the left-hand side. With him stood to the right of the ball, set to whip a cross with his left foot, Ramirez instead curled a shot round the wall, towards the near post and struck the upper part of the post with Cech straggling over, stretching and straining every sinew of his limbs to cover.

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Boro later had an even better opportunity with the same trio, Traore, Negredo and Ramirez causing Arsenal problems. Traore down the left-hand side, with his back to Bellerin who had cornered him well, jinks and jives, switches his feet with speed and trickery, makes a yard of space and then whips in a vicious cross. Negredo flicks it on to a wide open Ramirez at the back post who then heads it straight at Cech who once again deserves great praise for making himself big and closing down the angle.

Nonetheless, heading into the break, the Gunners were not enjoying proceedings as comfortable as expected, and while they were to enjoy an upturn in fortune in the second half, they would find the going tough. Defensively, Arsenal were far more solid in the second half. Other than a stray Musafi pass that forced him to take out Ramirez and accept the ensuing booking, Boro weren’t able to create many meaningful opportunities.

At the other end, Arsenal huffed and puffed without ever creating an overwhelming quantity and quality of opportunities. Victor Valdes suffered a couple of lairy moments; once failing to collect a simple deflected cross, hampered by two defenders, palming the ball to Alexis Sanchez who very nearly found an onrushing Koscielny to head into the empty net, and another when he strayed too far out of his area, was forced to head clear, rather than simply collect the ball, headed it straight to Theo Walcott who couldn’t quite contort his body sufficiently to wrap his foot around a difficult volley and take advantage of a gaping goal.

Valdes earned his pay packet in this game, though, An excellent save down low to his left from a swirling Sanchez strike and then another save to his right when Walcott slipped Sanchez in down the inside right channel but the Chilean was unable to take advantage. Arsenal did have the ball in the back of the net

Arsenal did have the ball in the back of the net in extra time. A little Mesut Ozil flick from a fired in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain cross. It was a lovely finish to dink it over Valdes but the German was clearly offside. Then, only seconds later, Walcott suffered the same fate, only to shoot wide.

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Ultimately, Arsenal were simply unable to find that ruthless cutting edge that personified their battering of Ludogorets on Wednesday and will have to settle for what is nothing more than a disappointing, but probably deserved point.

Highlights

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