Gunners thwarted by Boro

Arsenal dropped two more points as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Middlesbrough at The Riverside.

Aliadiere returns to haunt former club

Arsenal dropped two more points as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Middlesbrough at The Riverside. Emmanuel Adebayor broke the deadlock in the 17th minute but Jeremie Aliadiere returned to haunt his former club 12 minutes later as he equalised for Middlesbrough. Boro had a confident penalty appeal turned down before half-time and continued to pose problems after the break, with Manuel Almunia pulling off a splendid save to deny Stewart Downing. Arsenal pushed forward in the closing stages but they were unable to force a winner and remain a long way adrift in the title race.

Commitment

Arsene Wenger had brought back his big guns after the dismal midweek UEFA Champions League loss in Porto with Emmanuel Eboue dropped to the bench - although he was given a cheer by Gunners fans when he warmed up on the touchline. Boro, whose own form this season has been almost as topsy-turvy as their visitors', bristled with commitment and forced a succession of early corners, Adebayor heading one of them inches over his own bar. And from another Boro set-piece, the ball eventually fell to Adam Johnson on the right side of the Gunners box but the midfielder blazed his shot high into the visiting fans behind the goal. Almunia also had to race to the edge of his box to snatch a long ball away from Tuncay Sanli before Arsenal forced their first chance in the 11th minute, Abou Diaby setting up Robin van Persie who bobbled a low shot inches wide. Wenger's men were slowly coming to life, largely thanks to the persistence of Adebayor who saw a goal-bound effort blocked by Robert Huth in the box before Ross Turnbull parried an effort from Abou Diaby. But from the resulting 17th-minute corner the Gunners grabbed the lead when Adebayor stooped to meet captain Cesc Fabregas' set-piece in front of goal and sent a low header past Turnbull. Tuncay tried a low long-range effort in the 25th minute that was easily gathered by Almunia down to his left while at the other end Diaby's effort from another Fabregas corner was gathered by Turnbull. But French striker Aliadiere drew the home side level in the 29th minute with a superb glancing header from Tuncay's driven cross from the right which gave Almunia no chance.

Appeal

Boro had a strong penalty appeal turned down in the 35th minute when Johnson claimed he had been tripped by Gael Clichy just inside the Boro box but referee Peter Walton waved play on. Van Persie missed a golden chance to put his side back in front in the 38th minute when he mis-kicked completely in front of goal after Adebayor had crossed low from the right. There was plenty more spirit coming from Southgate's men after the break as they continued to press without quite fashioning clear-cut chances, with the excellent Tuncay at the centre of everything. And Boro came close to grabbing the lead on the hour when Downing out-paced Bacary Sagna chasing an Arca ball down the left before rifling a left-foot shot which struck Almunia's arm and went out for a corner. Just when the Gunners were starting to look worryingly lightweight again, they had a fine chance of their own when Diaby sent through Van Persie who saw his left-foot shot slide across the face of goal from a tight angle.

Upper hand

Diaby sent in a long-range drive which was gathered by Turnbull much to the exasperation of Wenger, who was living every moment of a match his side needed to win on the edge of his technical area. As the action began to tighten, Boro continued to hold the upper hand and Wenger sought to freshen things up in the 81st minute with the introduction of Nicklas Bendtner in place of Diaby. And Bendtner almost made a big impression in the 86th minute when he sprang the Boro offside trap and hit a shot from the right side of the box which was well blocked by Turnbull in goal.

Middlesbrough	Team Statistics	Arsenal
1	Goals	1
1	1st Half Goals	1
3	Shots on Target	6
6	Shots off Target	7
1	Blocked Shots	9
5	Corners	10
8	Fouls	11
1	Offsides	2
0	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
71.3	Passing Success	81.5
19	Tackles	21
89.5	Tackles Success	90.5
41.9	Possession	58.1
48.3	Territorial Advantage	51.7