Arsenal failed to keep their run of eight wins in a row going after sharing the spoils with Middlesbrough at The Emirates. Despite numerous chances from both teams, the game ended scoreless with both defences in top form. Arsenal enjoyed
Arsenal enjoyed majority of the possession throughout the game but it was the away side that had the better chances.
Aitor Karanka will be delighted to leave London with a point after a disastrous run in recent weeks. The Gunners were frustrated by an organised and brave Boro team and lost a chance to go top of the league table.
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Arsenal
Petr Cech: 8/10
Arsenal needed Cech to be at his very best and the Czech stopper did not disappoint. An impressive double save in the first half from Adama Traore and Alvaro Negredo were the first of a string of impressive saves.
Cech then somehow kept out Gaston Ramirez’s header from point-blank range to keep the scores level. The 34-year-old was also on hand to cut out any threat from Boro in the second half.
Hector Bellerin: 6/10
The Spaniard was given a tough time by Ramirez although he looked up to the challenge on most occasions. Bellerin used his pace to bomb forward and support Arsenal’s attack at every chance that he got.
Laurent Koscielny: 8/10
Koscielny has been one of the best defenders in the league so far this season and put in yet another top-class shift in the centre of the Gunners defence. The Frenchman judged his tackles to perfection and rarely put a foot wrong.
Shkodran Mustafi: 7/10
Like his centre-half partner, Mustafi was also rock solid at the back. Some careless play, followed by a slip in the second half caused him to bring down Ramirez for which the German received a booking.
Nacho Monreal: 5/10
Despite his own impressive pace, the Spanish full-back could not keep up with the brilliant Traore. Monreal was left for dead on more than a few occasions by the winger and will be glad that his side could see out a clean sheet. The left-back moved forward with intent but couldn’t deliver a meaningful crossed.
Mohamed Elneny: 5/10
Elneny was drafted into the first-team to replace the injured Santi Carzola, operating deep in the centre of midfield. He didn’t hesitate to move further up the pitch when his side attacked but was guilty of being out of position a few times when Boro hit Arsenal on the counter. The Egyptian was replaced by Oxlade-Chamberlin for the final 15 minutes.
Francis Coquelin: 6/10
Coquelin was the deepest of the Arsenal midfielders and the Frenchman rarely went up the pitch. He was tasked with breaking up Boro’s play and did a fairly good job at that.
Theo Walcott: 6/10
After a poor opening 45 minutes, Walcott came to life in the second. The Englishman has been in fine goal-scoring touch in recent weeks but was unable to find a way past the Middlesbrough defence. He missed the chance to capitalise on a Valdes error after he scuffed his effort.
Mesut Ozil: 5/10
Fresh off a hat-trick in midweek, the German will be disappointed with his performance. Ozil was invisible for majority of the game and was largely ineffective when did get involved. He managed to put the ball in the back of the net towards the end of the game, only for the flag to be raised for offside.
Alex Iwobi: 6/10
The youngster enjoyed a decent outing and was excellent whenever he had possession of the ball, although, the Nigerian was often invisible for most of his time he was on the pitch. He was subbed off for Lucas Perez just after the hour mark.
Alexis Sanchez: 6/10
The Chilean provided the main threat for Arsenal in attack and had a number of good efforts on goal. Valdes’ superb form accompanied by a resilient Boro back line denied Sanchez a goal on the day.
Substitutes
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin: 5/10
The midfielder replaced Elneny, as Arsenal pressed forward for a winner, but struggled to get into the pace of the match. Dropped deeper as the game neared its end.
Lucas Perez: 4/10
The Spaniard did not threaten the Boro goal on even a single occasion and is evidently finding it more and more difficult to break into this Arsenal side.
Middlesbrough
Victor Valdes: 8/10
The former Barcelona stopper was at his very best and he needed to be to keep out the Arsenal attack. He made a number of top quality saves and picked out aerial balls that the Gunners fired into the box.
Antonio Barragan: 5/10
The right-back was often guilty of giving away possession too easily with a few mistimed clearances. Other than that it was a disciplined performance from the Spaniard.
Daniel Ayala: 7/10
Ayala was brilliant at the back along with Gibson. The centre-back was quick to cut out Arsenal’s threat in the final third of the pitch and martialled the Arsenal attackers superbly, rarely allowing any of them to get in behind.
Ben Gibson: 8/10
Much of the credit for Middlesbrough’s defending on the day must be given to Gibson. He made crucial interceptions and frustrated the Arsenal attackers, providing no space for them to manoeuvre. Gibson also showed a calmness on the ball that is not seen among most defenders as he guided Boro to only their second clean sheet of the season.
George Friend: 7/10
The Middlesbrough skipper managed to keep the in-form Walcott quiet for most of the game and was a vital part of the well organised defence. Friend was provided limited freedom to move up the pitch and was restricted to keeping a watchful eye on Walcott.
Marten de Roon: 7/10
De Roon was part of a midfield three solely responsible to stop Arsenal’s slick passing in midfield. He rarely got up the pitch but did his defensive duties with diligence.
Adam Forshaw: 7/10
Similar to de Roon, Forshaw was also forced to defend for the majority of the game. He sat deeper and deeper as the game progressed, with the home team coming at them with wave after wave of attack.
Adam Clayton: 6/10
Completing the central midfield trio, Clayton was one of the many Boro players who was assigned the task of neutralising Arsenal’s midfield, of which he did a par job.
Gaston Ramirez: 7/10
The former Southampton man was brilliant, especially in the first-half, and on any other day could have easily grabbed a goal. His thunderous free-kick in the opening half unluckily came crashing out of the post, while his header from close range was aimed straight at Cech. Barring his attacking threat, he also worked tirelessly to track back and help out his defenders.
Adama Traore: 8/10
The former Barcelona youth prodigy showed immense pace to cause all sorts of problems for Monreal. His speed and strength were the few positives for Middlesbrough going forward. He was a bit hasty with his attempt in the first-half and arguably should have done better but judging by his overall performance it will now be hard to keep him out of the starting XI.
Alvaro Negredo: 5/10
The former Man City striker was guilty of missing a good chance in the first-half and should have done better to beat Cech with his effort. The 31-year-old was clearly lacking the pace to keep up with Ramirez and Traore, although he was well martialled by the Arsenal centre-backs.
Substitutes
Stewart Downing: NA
Downing replaced Ramirez for the final five minutes to provide fresh legs as his team looked to protect a point.
Christian Stuani: NA
Stuani came on for Negredo in stoppage time but it was too late to warrant a rating.
