Sanchez and Ozil score, Arsenal beat Middlesbrough

Two stars who are rumoured to be leaving in the summer helped Arsenal keep their top-four hopes alive with a 2-1 win over Middlesbrough on the evening of April 17.

Sanchez celebrates with teammates after opening the score. Photo: Reuters.

Goals: Negredo (50') - Sanchez (42'), Ozil (71').

The first half seemed to end without any highlights until Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring with a superb free kick. This was the 26th time Sanchez has had a direct hand in goals in the Premier League this season, including 19 goals and seven assists.

The home side responded early in the second half with Alvaro Negredo volleying home from Stewart Downing's high cross. Midway through the second half, Ozil made it 2-1 for Arsenal after a chest assist from Aaron Ramsey.

The win over Middlesbrough moved Arsenal back up to sixth place on 57 points. Wenger's side are seven points behind fourth-placed Man City with a game in hand.

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough continue to stagnate in 19th place, six points behind safety Hull. Despite having a game in hand, Middlesbrough appear to be losing out in the relegation race.

Arsenal's performance was not impressive but getting three points was important. Photo: Reuters.

This was only Arsenal's third win in nine Premier League games. Poor away form has seen the team drop out of the top four. Before the trip to Middlesbrough, Arsenal had lost four consecutive games away from the Emirates.

Wenger did not want to suffer a fifth consecutive away defeat, a feat that Arsenal had not repeated since 1984. The Portuguese tactician surprisingly deployed a three-man defence with Rob Holding, Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel. The unprecedented change since 1997 did not help Arsenal play more firmly, but only thanks to the weakness of Middlesbrough's attack that the visitors' goal was safe in the first half.

Middlesbrough had scored just 12 goals at home before hosting Arsenal, the lowest in the Premier League this season. That record was only equal to Sanchez alone for Arsenal and this was the difference that brought victory to the visitors. With better quality attacking players, Arsenal made the most of their opportunities. In the second goal, Middlesbrough's defense allowed Ramsey and Ozil to freely coordinate in the 16m50 box.

Ozil has scored 11 goals in all competitions this season, just two short of his career-best 13 goals in 2009-10 at Werder Bremen. The goals from Ozil and Sanchez, in addition to bringing home three points, also reassured the fans. The pair are both in the final stages of their contracts and could leave in the summer.

According to VNE