Arsenal

Arsenal were leading Leicester City 1-0 courtesy of a garbage can own goal when Alexis Sanchez decided to waste time by faking his own death. He did not do a very good job of that.

Before Arsenal vs. Middlesbrough, Arsene Wenger announced a formation change, which proved to be effective. Wenger chose to use a 3-4-3 formation, letting Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain roam to an offensive position while playing right wing-back to try to create going forward.

In previous matches, Arsenal players have been jogging back into their final third while defending, but this was far from the case in this match. Arsenal finally showed signs of life, holding the ball the majority of the game.       

Arsenal finally reminded everyone the depth within the squad that has been overshadowed by recent poor performances. A string of single-touch passes were connected with perfection to set up Mesut Ozil for the finish.

Mesut Ozil dedicated his goal to Erdogan pic.twitter.com/NiuAUXL4rv

— ㅤ (@Pepcatalonya) April 17, 2017

Middlesbrough came out of the dressing room in the second half with an extra spring in their step. On the contrary, Arsenal seemed lackluster in the first minutes of the second half. Brilliant work from Stewart Downing on the right flank led to a pinpoint cross to set up Negredo for the one-touch finish.

The Gunners were the first to strike in their match against Middlesbrough at Riverside Stadium. Frantic defending by Middlesbrough led to a clumsy challenge on the top of the box on Granit Xhaka by Adam Clayton. To any goalkeeper in the world, fear sinks in when the likes of Ozil and Sanchez are both standing over the ball for a free kick. Alexis Sanchez took initiative and placed the ball perfectly up and over the wall into the net. 

Arsenal lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace today, putting a real squeeze on their top four chances. After years and years of consistent success, it feels weird for the Gunners to be on the outside looking in.