A really entertaining 0-0 draw, but what a missed opportunity for Arsenal. They huffed and puffed, but too many of their attacking players weren’t at it, and Boro might have won all three points, having spurned three clear chances in the first half. Still, an excellent point for Aitor Karanka’s team, who defended with tenacity and concentration. And Adama Traoré was superb.
Thanks for reading. Liverpool v West Brom is up next.
Full-time: Arsenal 0-0 Middlesbrough
It’s over!
90 min +4 A minute left. Nerves!
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90 min +3 Walcott, surely … oh, he’s missed it! From eight yards. He was offside anyway.
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90 min +2 Boro’s big wall of navy blue standing firm. But Oxlade-Chamberlain works a yard of space, shoots for goal, and it’s in! No, offside! Özil. Good decision from the linesman. He was a yard off.
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90 min +1 Lifted in towards Alexis, but Boro defend well. Negredo is replaced by Cristhian Stuani.
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89 min Five minutes of stoppage time!
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87 min Boro lined up on the edge of their penalty area. But Traoré wins it, streaks clear, and feeds Negredo, who’s clean through … but Koscielny comes back to block! What a great chance for Negredo, but he tried to cut back on to his right foot when he should have blasted it with his left. Big moment. More outstanding play from Traoré.
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86 min Boro look to have given up on attacking, which is fair enough, considering they’re minutes away from a terrific point. Walcott tries to release Lucas, but it’s overhit, and it’s another Boro goal kick.
85 min Alexis knocks it behind for a goal kick, and the Emirates erupts in groans.
83 min Boro getting deeper and deeper. Arsenal really pushing them back. Özil crosses, and Friend hammers clear. Downing replaces Ramirez, who’s played very well.
82 min Walcott and Lucas combine, but the England man is just crowded out, and Valdes saves comfortably.
81 min Middlesbrough just look as though they’re tiring slightly. They’ve been excellent.
80 min Oxlade-Chamberlain looks for Lucas Perez, but Gibson with another header clear. And then Valdes claims as Alexis went flying in.
77 min Alexis with the ball in, but it’s just too long for Walcott. Time running out.
75 min Boro have had so many players back, there’s just been so little space for Arsenal’s creative players to work in. I think the hosts have missed Giroud.
73 min Arsenal send on Oxlade-Chamberlain for Elneny.
72 min Valdes is off limits to head clear, but he didn’t do much with the header, and it drops to Walcott … who can’t make a proper connection, and Valdes is back to collect.
70 min Arsenal pushing Boro back, but they just can’t get beyond. Monreal wins a corner off Barragan, but it’s cleared.
66 min Boro get the ball in the box, but Arsenal do just enough to head it clear. And now Alexis with a chance at the other end … but Valdes saves! Good pass from Walcott down the side, but Alexis didn’t catch it cleanly, and it was an easy stop.
Arsenal sub: Lucas Perez on for Iwobi.
64 min Mustafi gives it straight to Ramirez, and is then booked for a cynical foul to stop him.
62 min This game has really warmed up since half-time. The crowd much more involved now.
Charles Antaki writes: “Is Arsenal’s ineffectiveness due to the absence of Santi Cazorla? Elneny is a more primitive sort, prone to the occasional Hollywood ball. Cazorla’s more of the subtler Almodóvar creative type.”
Could be!
60 min Oh, Negredo held on to it instead of releasing Traoré, who would have been clean through. Shame.
58 min Cech saves from Traoré! Brilliant run from the Boro player, right through the centre-left channel, and Cech tipped his effort round the post! Should he have passed? He had options in the middle, who were maybe better placed. But he hit it well, and it was another terrific save from the Czech.
56 min Now Boro attack, and Bellerin does really well to stop De Roon from Barragan’s cross. Forshaw to deliver, but the ball curled out of play, and it’s an Arsenal goal kick. A waste.
55 min And Valdes catches the ball from the corner.
54 min Great save from Valdes! He made an error a couple of minutes ago, but that’s a super save: Alexis hit a fizzer from the edge of the box, and Valdes, at full stretch, turned it round the post! That was going in.
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52 min Boro concede another free kick in a dangerous idea. They need to stop diving in. Alexis shoots … and it flashes just wide of goal. Good hit, but not quite on target.
51 min Great defending from Gibson to stop Iwobi having a free shot at goal 15 yards out. Arsenal pumping it up in this second half.
49 min Valdes got lucky then: he just let Koscielny’s first header slip through his hands. Then Alexis got underneath his cross, which meant Koscielny couldn’t reach the second header.
47 min Iwobi tries to release Alexis down the left, but Barragan is there to ease him off it. Now the Chilean is down holding his face – I think he took a slap in the face from Ayala. Oh, chance! Özil played it in, Koscielny looped a header, Valdes dropped it, Alexis stabbed it back across goal, but it was just too high for Koscielny at the second attempt!
46 min We’re back. Arsenal need to improve; Boro are doing well, but will they regret spurning those chances?
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Annoyance for Arsenal. They’ve dominated possession, but haven’t created anything of note, and Boro really should be ahead: considering they’ve rarely been out of their own half, they had three excellent chances, and at least one of them should have been taken. After a wobbly first 20 minutes, Boro are really in this game. Just a shame they haven’t scored.
See you in 15.
Half-time: Arsenal 0-0 Middlesbrough
That’s the whistle.
44 min Corner to Arsenal, their sixth. Again, it’s cleared easily by the Boro defence.
43 min Walcott flashes one across the six-yard box, but Özil just can’t quite stretch to reach it. Better from Arsenal.
40 min Aside from the Sanchez free kick that Valdes saved comfortably, Arsenal haven’t really created much. Wenger looks irritated.
37 min Mustafi is back, and he looks OK. Bellerin crosses from the right, and Barragan puts it behind. No joy for Arsenal from the corner, though.
36 min Mustafi is down. It looked as though he rolled his ankle.
35 min Ramirez has been terrific so far, but that was a big chance. He found himself free in the box, and got good contact with his header, but he planted it straight at the goalie.
33 min What a save from Cech! Traoré’s cross from the left this time, and Ramirez is unmarked about four yards out, but Cech makes a reaction stop! Brilliant save from the keeper, but Boro should be ahead. That was the best of three excellent chances.
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32 min Özil chips it in for Koscielny, but he’s offside.
Here’s Tim Martin: “I like the hype and the form of the Gunners, but caution should be applied. Apart from the 3-0 humiliation of Conte’s Chelsea, who have Arsenal actually beaten? Swansea, Watford, etc. I’m just saying there are harder games to come.”
31 min Traoré has got considerable pace, and he’s worried Koscielny and Monreal on the few occasions Boro have managed to feed him. At the other end, Coquelin wins a free kick after a late tackle from Clayton. Again, no card.
29 min Just a little lull from Arsenal. Boro growing in confidence.
26 min This is better from Boro. They’re still not seen much of the ball, but they’ve at least been able to get Arsenal going the other way. Ramirez skins Bellerin on the left side, and is brought down. Inexplicably, Bellerin escapes a booking.
24 min Alvaro Negredo goes down after an aerial challenge from Mustafi, and Mike Dean just steps over the prone Boro striker in magnificently contemptuous fashion. That’s Mike!
22 min Two really big chances for Boro. The first one was just a long ball, and Koscielny dallied, and Traoré tackled him cleanly on halfway – suddenly he was away, and he perhaps took one touch too many, and Cech managed to block. Then Ramirez with a magnificent dead-ball strike, which was just really unlucky. Now Victor Valdes with a good save from Alexis’s free kick.
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21 min And now Ramirez hits the bar! That’s so unlucky. It was Ramirez with a free kick on the left, and everyone expected a cross, but Ramirez went for goal, and it smacked back off the bar! Cech was beaten. Boro should be ahead!
19 min Arsenal have had nearly all the ball, but they haven’t actually created a clear chance. And Traoré is clean through … but Cech saves! And Negredo on the follow up … saved again! Gah, what a huge chance for Boro, and they spurned it.
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16 min Özil with Arsenal’s third corner, but it’s hammered clear. Unfortunately, Negredo is all alone in attack, and Arsenal have the ball again.
14 min Arsenal firmly in control here. Boro defending stoutly, but we’ve seen very little from them in attack. Özil goes down in the box under pressure, but Mike Dean says no. It looked like the right decision.
12 min Ramirez receives a talking-to from Mike Dean for a raised-studs challenge on Nacho Monreal. No yellow, though.
10 min Elneny, who’s never scored in the Premier League, tries a shot from the edge of the box, but it’s well wide.
9 min Monreal wins a corner on the left. Elneny takes, and Ramirez heads clear, but Boro can’t keep it, and Arsenal have the ball again.
7 min Ayala goes through the back of Alexis on the edge of the box on the right side. No card, but a chance here. Maybe it’s just too wide for a a shot, but Özil goes for goal anyway, and it’s over the bar.
6 min Boro are already sitting very deep, and they’re finding it difficult to keep it when they win it back.
4 min Cleared by Boro, albeit not wholly convincingly. Arsenal on the front foot.
3 min Boro have just stiffened their midfield with the selection of Clayton – he’s playing alongside Forshaw and De Roon in the centre of the park. Traoré is wide on the right and Ramirez has started from the left side. Bellerin wins a corner off Friend.
1 min We’re off! Arsenal, in their traditional red and white, get us going. Boro are in navy blue, and Mike Dean is in aquamarine with black shorts.
JR in Illinois writes: “Hey Tim, So just the three players with hyphenated last names on Arsenal’s bench then? That’s a bit disappointing. If they all come on, your fingers are in for a workout.
“Hopefully in the next transfer window Arsenal will go after Fosu-Mensah, Robson-Kanu, Reo-Coker, Taylor-Fletcher; St Louis-Hamilton to back up Cech, and the Wright-Phillips brothers as striker depth.”
Ward-Prowse, Borthwick-Jackson and Loftus-Cheek to complete the set.
Arsenal haven’t lost in eight Premier League home games against Middlesbrough – they’ve won six and drawn two. Boro’s only victory in their last 31 top-flight games at Arsenal came in April 2001, when they won 3-0, almost inexplicably. The goalscorers that day? Edu and Silvinho through their own net, and Hamilton Ricard. Names to conjure with!
Here’s the match report from Dean Court:
Today’s hot prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Middlesbrough.
Tottenham were unable to beat Bournemouth earlier, so Arsenal stay second: they can go three points clear if they win today.
So the big team news for the Arsenal is that Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny will form their midfield axis: that’s because Granit Xhaka is suspended after his red card against Swansea, and Santi Cazorla has an Achilles injury. Alex Iwobi keeps his place, as does Theo Walcott, who’s already scored as many league goals as he did last year.
Middlesbrough pick Adama Traoré and Adam Clayton from U2 to start the game, and Callum Chambers can’t play against his parent club. Stewart Downing and Cristhian Stuani start from the bench.
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Arsenal are second in the league, have won six league games in a row, and are arguably playing like the best team in the country at the moment. Boro are fourth from bottom, have only one victory to their name, and struggle to score goals. It looks for all the world like a comfortable home victory for the Arse on Wenger’s 67th birthday, but stranger things have happened, I suppose. Kick-off is about 35 minutes away.
Today's teams
Arsenal: Cech, Bellerín, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Elneny, Walcott, Özil, Iwobi, Sánchez. Subs: Gibbs, Gabriel, Lucas Pérez, Ospina, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Reine-Adelaide, Maitland-Niles.
Middlesbrough: Valdés, Barragan, Ayala, Gibson, Friend, De Roon, Forshaw, Clayton, Traore, Negredo, Ramírez. Subs: Da Silva, Bernardo, Guzan, Stuani, Downing, De Sart, Nugent.
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)
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Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Arsène Wenger talking God:
Nobody lives a whole life by being motivated by the next game, stops suddenly and goes to church every day. If God exists and one day I go up there and he will ask: ‘Do you want to come in? What have you done in your life?’ And the only answer I will have is: ‘I tried to win football games.’ He will say: ‘Is that all you have done?’ And the only answer I will have is: ‘It’s not as easy as it looks’
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