Middlesbrough hosted Arsenal in a must-win game for both teams. Boro needed the win in order to have any chance of staying up this year. Arsenal, on the other hand, needed the win if they wanted to close the gap on the top four. The game started relatively slowly. Neither side had any really good chances and Boro looked to be slightly more in control. However, Arsenal managed to nick a goal somewhat out of the blue in the 42nd minute to break the deadlock. Adam Clayton brought down Xhaka on the edge of the Boro box which allowed Sanchez to step up and convert his free kick.
Middlesbrough did respond well after the break. Downing wiped in a ball towards Negredo which Koscielny struggled to deal with allowing Negredo to score his 8th of the season.
But, Boro’s hopes of a shock win were eventually killed off by Arsenal in the 71st minute. Sanchez picked out Ramsey who headed down to Ozil who stabbed home the winner for the Gunners.
The win puts Arsenal slightly closer to the top four but leaves Boro 19th and almost definitely relegated.
Sanchez key for Arsenal
In a scrappy game, Alexis Sanchez provided the few bits of magic Arsenal needed to take home all three points. The Chilean was definitely Arsenal’s man of the match. He scored a good free kick which gave Arsenal the lead at a point when they had created very little going forward. He also helped set up Arsenal’s winner by picking out Ramsey with a superb ball into the box. Overall, he was one of the only Arsenal players to create any real problems for Boro. He once again showed why he is by far Arsenal’s best player.
Sanchez now has 19 goals for the season. If Arsenal does lose him in the summer they could be in serious trouble as he once again proved tonight that he is their match winner.
Time for Boro to find a new manager?
Since Aitor Karanka departed Middlesbrough Steve Agnew has been in charge temporarily. While Boro chairman Steve Gibson has said he would like to give Agnew the job full time, tonight may be an indication that Boro should look elsewhere in the summer for a manager.
Since taking over Agnew has managed five games in which Boro have lost three and drew two. This is a very poor record, especially given that three of those games in the form of Hull, Swansea and Burnley could and really should have been wins for Boro. If Gibson has been using these games as a chance for Agnew to showcase his managerial skills, he has not done well. Most notably in the home game against Burnley. This game really should have been a win for Boro as Burnley are yet to win away from home this season. Burnley also, generally concede 2-3 goals every away game. However, they managed to hold Middlesbrough to a 0-0 draw which shows just how poor Boro have been under Agnew.
Wenger in or out?
Wenger’s future has been widely speculated this season. After being humiliated by Crystal Palace last Monday, Arsenal fans were foaming at the mouth to have Wenger sacked.
Also, if Boro had beaten Arsenal today the majority of Arsenal fans probably would have demanded Wenger be sacked. Thankfully for the Frenchman, his side managed to pull out a win. But should he still leave in the summer?
Before today’s game, Arsenal had managed just two wins in eight and sat in 7th place. While the win against Boro has brought them closer to the top four, they are still unlikely to get 4th spot as all the teams above them are in much better form. Furthermore, although Arsenal won the game, considering Boro are the most out of form team in 2017, managing just six points this year, you would have really expected Arsenal to tear Boro apart. Instead, Arsenal barely scraped a win and looked very poor defensively.
Therefore, if Arsenal were playing a better side they would have probably lost. This does not bode well for Wenger. If he wants to keep his job he really needs to pull together a string of wins.
