Middlesbrough 1-2 Arsenal

He only came on as a late substitute, but by the end the travelling Arsenal fans were singing Hector Bellerin's name. What a contrast for the young Spanish defender, who was vilified by many of the same supporters who saw their team cave in so lamely at Crystal Palace. Bellerin was on the field for only six minutes here, and didn't do that much to turn favour his way. The difference this time was merely that Arsenal were winning. In football, 

This was an improvement, that's for sure. After a run of four away defeats in the Premier League, Arsenal finally managed to fall the right side of the line in a very tight game. It was tough on Middlesbrough. They competed well, and for a 20-minute spell at the start of the second half they played very well too. Had it not been for Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal, the home team could have won. But good teams are supposed to prevail in close games. That is often what makes the difference between, say, a top-four finish and a Europa League spot. It has been one of Arsenal's many failings during this dismal season. This is a team who have seldom had the knack of toughing it out, but they did here.

The winning goal came from Mesut Ozil with 19 minutes left and it was a good one. The German had not played particularly well. But he took his goal well, volleying in calmly at the near post after Aaron Ramsey had chested down an Alexis Sanchez cross in to his path.

It was a really bad goal for Middlesbrough to concede and was not typical of how they had played. On the whole Steve Agnew's team had been organised and high on concentration. But on this occasion substitute Adama Traore gave the ball away cheaply and then the defenders failed to pick up either of the two Arsenal players in the penalty area.