After taking a while to warm up to the game, and adjust to the formation, Arsenal gained a 2-1 win over Boro in what was an intense, bristling second half, with good goals from both Alvaro Negredo, and match victor Mesut Ozil, in what was the Gunners' first win on the road in three months.
Arsene Wenger on Arsenal's hopes of finishing in the top four: "For us, the clarity is there - we have to win every game to have a chance to get in the top four, starting tonight". "We let them have the ball a bit more than we're used to".
'Koscielny was the central one, pulling the strings with us both and telling us where to go and that, so with someone like him and his experience it makes it a lot more comfortable'.
"Mathematically it is still possible even if it is hard, but we have to give it a go".
Arsenal remains in the hunt for a Champions League spot next season with a 2-1 Premier League victory at Middlesbrough, which left the hosts in deep danger of relegation.
"The first time in 20 years, ' he said of the formation switch".
"Yes, I did something I had not done in 20 years - but that just goes to show that even at my age I can still change", he smiled.
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"I felt that it added a bit more stability on the long balls", he said.
"That was the reason".
The first-half was a boring affair with the visitors, not surprisingly, having the lion's share of position but all too often lethargic with their passing.
A fairly pedestrian first half was defined by Sanchez's excellent set-piece goal three minutes from the break. "You could see the players have a good mentality, they wanted to win the game and they responded".
The Gunners had a number of chances to score again late on, with the superb Oxlade-Chamberlain at the centre of things, but the game would end 2-1 to the north Londoners. We need a win and I'm confident we'll get it.
Caretaker Boro boss Steve Agnew said: "This is a missed opportunity for us and we realise the size of the task ahead".
"I thought the players were unbelievable in terms of their effort, attitude and commitment". "They played with such intensity I couldn't have asked for any more from them". And second-bottom Boro had managed only 12 goals in front of their own fans before the game with Arsenal, so anything less than three points would have represented another humiliating evening for the London side.
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