The race for the Premiership is all over this evening after Arsenal suffered a shock 3-0 home defeat to struggling Middlesbrough. Arsenal needed to gain at least a point from today's clash to keep the race for the title alive but two bizarre own-goals in the first-half from Brazilians Edu and Silvinho and a second-half strike from Hamilton Ricard secured an unlikely victory for the visitors. This is the first occasion since last February that the Gunners have lost at Highbury and the first time in 62 years that their home defeat was at the hands of Middlesbrough.
Terry Venables' men signalled their intentions from the start when they lined out with three central defenders and six midfielders. Although they frustrated the North London club at first, the game began to open up as the first half went on. Arsenal created several scoring chances but it was Boro who took the lead in the 33rd minute with the first of two own-goals. A cross from Dean Gordon was headed away by Tony Adams but it could only reach the feet of Dean Windass. He mis-kicked the shot but it struck the back of Edu's foot and found the net despite David Seaman's desperate dive.
It was Arsenal who pressed forward for the equaliser before the break but it was Boro once again who found the net. This time, it was Edu's fellow Brazilian Silvinho who was the guilty party. Another cross from Gordon on the left deflected off Adams and the Brazilian full-back fluffed the clearance, volleying it past Seaman instead of to safety.
Although coming back from 2-0 down should not be an insurmountable task for a team like Arsenal, the Gunners seemed shell-shocked by the half-time scoreline. Not surprisingly, after the game resumed, Arsenal threw everything they could at the Boro defence in search of a life-line back into this encounter. However, despite all the chances they created, they failed to make any of them count and it was Boro who were celebrating yet again in the 58th minute when they added a third. A superb one-two between Ricard and Alen Boksic resulted in Ricard firing past a bewildered Seaman and securing all three points for the relegation-threatened side.
Check out the rest of today's Premiership scores by clicking here.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
