Middlesbrough (2) – (1) Arsenal
Rosicky (90’+4)
The Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough

Arsenal lost 2-1 this afternoon at Middlesbrough, and on the performance Arsenal deserved nothing.

With injuries to key midfielders Cesc, Flamini and Hleb we couldn’t get our passing game going at all. The story was the same at St James’ Park, where Newcastle dominated for the majority of that match.

The key to Arsenal’s success on the pitch this season is the quick, one-touch passing in midfield which no-one in the league has been able to defend against this season. Another reason Arsenal have been so successful this campaign is that they push high up the pitch, and put the opposition under constant pressure.

Without Hleb, Cesc or Flamini, Arsenal can’t play their normal game. This was shown in the second half at Villa Park, and for most of the game against Newcastle and then Middlesbrough.

But the ironic thing was that despite these injuries, Arsene had enough options to compensate for their absence.

Gilberto is a passenger in this team.

He is too slow, cannot pass the ball and only succeeds in giving the ball away, was fouling everywhere and is just not in tune with the current style of play. He struggled against Newcastle and today he was second rate.

He was completely lost.

It was like Arsenal were playing with 10 men for the entire game.

Arsene should have played Diarra and Denilson who are much quicker on the ball and have much better passing ability.

Arsenal’s passing and ball retention is usually excellent but too many times moves broke down in midfield. This only served to give Middlesbrough more confidence as the game progressed and gave Arsenal an uphill struggle from the start.

Gilberto has played against Sevilla, Newcastle and Middlesbrough in recent games and it’s safe to say those 3 games have been the worst we have played all season.

A midfield of Rosicky, Diarra, Denilson and Eboue (or Walcott) would have given Middlesbrough a totally different game.

And unfortunately, Eduardo is another player who has cost Arsenal dear.

Against Newcastle he was anonymous and at the Riverside he was worse. He hasn’t settled as yet to the Premier League and Arsene really should have started Bendtner who would have caused Newcastle and Middlesbrough problems.

People say you can’t start two big players upfront but Bendtner was the more sensible option. And if Arsene was so opposed to starting the two tall men he could have played with a 5 man midfield – but to do so with both Eduardo and Gilberto was a liability.

Arsene really has to think about his team selection for the next league game against Chelsea.

The Arsenal defence of Sagna, Toure, Gallas and Clichy who have been excellent this season were exposed far too many times. And the players themselves knew our midfield was not strong enough. Clichy didn’t push on down the wing as much as he usually does, and Kolo decided to bypass the midfield area completely with long ball after long ball.

And once again Adebayor was isolated in attack.

Wenger has been ruthless in dropping Jens, and he has to do the same with Gilberto.

Newcastle United (1) – (1) Arsenal
Adebayor 3′
St James’ Park, Newcastle

Last night I was frustrated.

Arsenal took a stunning lead when a perfect cross from Eboue found Adebayor in the centre, who chested the ball and emphatically smashed the ball into the net. It was a beautiful goal and came after only 3 minutes.

But after that Arsenal only threatened to score another, with Shay Given only making one save all night after the opening goal.

Without Hleb, Fabregas, Flamini and Van Persie in particular of the current absentees, Arsenal lack creativity and Rosicky was left to try and make things single-handedly.

So for me anyway, what followed was a frustrating and nervous game which was partly due to Arsenal’s lack of cohesion in the final third and Newcastle’s rough house tactics spearheaded by the direct Joey Barton and Alan Smith, two of England’s finest.

Credit to Newcastle, they took the game to Arsenal after the goal and at times Arsenal held on. Without any sort of imagination or creativity from the Geordies they resorted to the direct approach, something Allardyce is much more comfortable with from his days at Bolton.

I wonder how the home crowd will respond to seeing that game after game.

We had to defend cross after cross, and set-piece after set-piece.

But in the end, Arsenal held on for a point.

So what do I think a day after?

Well the fact was Arsenal had an off day, which is understandable after the amount of injuries we’ve had as well as our fixture schedule. And Arsenal have blessed us with some awesome football this season so they’re allowed to put in a poor performance or two.

Gilberto in particular looked rusty, and Eboue, Adebayor and Rosicky looked out of sorts without the influence of Fabregas’ passing and Hleb’s ball retention.

But the defence was resolute as ever, with Gallas, Toure, Sagna and Clichy digging deep for the cause. Almunia made a good save from a corner in the second half, and was exposed for the equaliser which he couldn’t really do much about.

So in the end, to be 4 points clear of Manchester United in December is an excellent position to be in.

It’s a sign of how far this squad have moved forward, when we’re disappointed with a point which puts us clear of the reigning champions.

If we played Newcastle a few weeks ago, when Liverpool and Portsmouth did last night’s starting eleven would have beaten them – easily. Unfortunately for us, the pressure was on the Geordies and they were always going to be hard to play against. I’ve seen Newcastle a few times this earlier this season and yesterday was one of the most impressive performances they’ve had this campaign. Which obviously doesn’t bode well if THAT was the best they can produce. For them it will be a long, long season with an extremely overrated manager.

I’d be surprised if he’s still there at the end of the season.

For Arsenal, they have a chance to put that performance behind them and kick on in December to fight for the top of the Premier League.