Boro huffed and puffed but were dumped out of the FA Cup by a top-class Arsenal side.
Gazette writer Jonathan Taylor offers five observations from the game:
1) Arsene Wenger clearly did his homework on Boro before the match. After watching Aitor Karanka pull off a tactical masterclass at the Etihad Stadium in the previous round, Arsenal came flying out the blocks and never let Boro find their feet. Santi Cazorla was playing alongside Mathieu Flamini in the holding role, and the two of them starved Lee Tomlin of any service. Wenger is under pressure to deliver trophies - and his decision to play Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud from the off clearly outlined his intentions.
2) Karanka clearly wanted to reward Kike for his recent substitute cameos, with the £2.7m summer signing scoring from the bench against both Man City and Blackpool. But that decision seemed to backfire with Gabriel and Laurent Koscielny never put under any real pressure. Against Man City, it was the runs of Jelle Vossen that caused Vincent Kompany and co a constant headache, and the Belgian's movement was something Boro greatly missed in the first period.
3) Olivier Giroud claimed earlier this week that he nearly signed for Boro following his time at French minnows Tours - and the Gunners' hitman was at his clinical best in the first half. Boro looked in a decent position after 25 minutes with Tomas Mejias having made a couple of good saves, but Giroud then stepped up to the plate. Two shots, two goals, and Boro's afternoon became a much more difficult one. How it could have been different if the French striker chose Teesside instead of moving to Montpellier...
4) Tomas Mejias put in another superb display to keep Boro in the game. The Spanish stopper started the season as Karanka's number one, but came under heavy pressure following a string of errors. He was subsequently dropped, but Mejias will be full of confidence after his FA Cup outings at Man City and now Arsenal. His second half save to deny Alexis Sanchez was one of the best you'll see all season. He's proved he can be a reliable understudy to Dimi Konstantopoulos.
5) Boro rallied in the second half and Kike hitting the woodwork rather summed up the Teessiders' afternoon. It just never got going - but it's been quite an FA Cup adventure. Now with three months to go in the Championship's promotion race, Karanka will urge his side to move on quickly and focus on Wednesday's massive match at Birmingham. Three points at St Andrew's would be the perfect remedy for a tough afternoon at the Emirates.
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