Taking cue from Mourinho’s defensive tactics, Karanka too was successful in keeping out Arsenal from their net. With a similar deployment of central defensive midfield adjacent to the defence making the backline as congested as possible.
Middlesbrough Player ratings-
Valdes (8.5/ 10)- The man has been the real difference between the two teams. Throughout the game Arsenal launched attack after attack at the Boro goal and Valdes kept collecting and pushing it away calmly.
Barragan (7/10)- It won’t be fair to say he was successful in keeping the flank protected as most Arsenal attacks came from the flanks. Nacho Monreal and Mesut Ozil often found space behind the defender, having ample area to shoot in crosses.
Ayala (7.5/ 10)- Scrappy but effective defending like most of the other defenders. Kept a low backline and congested making it difficult for Arsenal to find any significant space. However, his successfully winning 5 of the 6 aerial duels really made an impact in the game.
Gibson (8/ 10)- An ideal centre back, he maintained the order at the back giving very little space for Arsenal to unlock the defence. Very effective on the aerial duels winning 4 out of the 5 attempted.
Friend (7/ 10)- A very safe display from the defender yet again. Whatever little movement was seen by the Arsenal team in the first half was largely diminished after the interval. That paid off well as Middlesbrough came out of the game unscathed with 1 point, which was what Karanka had bargained at the end of the day.
Foreshaw (7/ 10)- A composed display overall, as he stayed with the defence line throughout, intercepting and clearing.
Stuani (7/ 10)- Had few breakthroughs when Boro could counter the match, but to no effect. Overall, played safe and assuring.
Ramrez (9/10)- Possibly the best player on the field for Boro. He was simply untouchable in the first half forcing a save from Cech and clattering the post with a superb free kick, which could have turned the game.
Downing (6.5/ 10)- Made some speedy runs on the breakthrough but the end product remained ineffective.
Clayton (7/ 10)- Although deployed up front, had to play defensively for most of the game and as a result committed 3 fouls. It helped their cause anyway.
Traore (8/ 10)- One of the few effective players at the Middlebrough side upfront. The pacy winger almost always found a way to go past Laurent Koscielny and even posed bigger threat with his decent shooting skills. On one occasion Traore forced a brilliant save from Peter Cech, which would have ended behind the net had he passed the ball to Negredo at the other end.
Negredo (7.5/ 10)- Ineffective at the front largely, his best chance to score came at the last few minutes when a defensive clearance by Arsenal fell into his legs and but he managed to squander it anyway. However, it is to be noted that the Spaniard won 10 aerial duels, which was tremendously helpful for the team.
