Arsenal vs Middlesbrough - Emirates Stadium, London - Sunday 26th April 2009

A game near the end of the season - in the sunshine, with nothing much to play for, can often be a bit of a lazy kickabout. This was one of those for sure, slightly surprising in that Middlesbrough at least did have a hell of a lot to play for. For Arsenal, this is probably the least important game between now and the end of the season, so the pedestrian nature of the play was understandable. But for Boro, needing points to avoid relegation, they didn't seem to show up - which really makes you think that they will be playing Championship football next season.

Arsenal rested some players with the Manchester United game in mind, so Adebayor, Song and Djourou all started on the bench. Still, there seemed to be plenty of creativity in the team, with Arshavin, Fabregas, Nasri, Denilson and Walcott making up an attack minded midfield. From the word go, they had the better of the possession, and seemed to making all the running without really even breaking sweat. Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring by finishing off a wonderful attacking move with Andrei Arshavin, with just under half an hour gone. Other than that, in the first half, I recall Almunia having one minor save to make, but that was about all that Middlesbrough offered. There was the constant possibility that Jeremie Aliadiere would do what he constantly failed to do when he played for Arsenal (i.e. score a goal), but any real threat along those lines never really materialised.

So the second half became a procession in the sunshine, it reminded me of a testimonial or preseason friendly game at times - and I think the tally of zero yellow cards showed just how much commitment there was around. Arsenal did not want to take any risks with a Champions League semi final coming up; and Boro will obviously think that there are easier chances to get the points they need to stay up - so may have been eyeing those up instead. Cesc Fabregas added the second goal that had looked inevitable for a while, with around 25 minutes to go - by rounding the keeper and finishing excellently. It was his last kick of the game, he was subbed before play could restart.

So, an easier 2-0 win at the top level, you would be hard pressed to see. Towards the end, Arshavin had a couple of wayward shots, to much amusement from the crowd. The introduction of Adebayor and Diaby obviously saw the workrate plummet, passes start to go astray, and clumisness creep into Arsenal's play. But, to be honest, it was too late for Middlesbrough to come back, even if they looked like they were trying to do so. An easy win in retrospect, taking Arsenal to 20 unbeaten in the league (although with Chelsea and Man U to come in our last 4 games). There are more important games to come, so this was a good one to get out of the way with the minimum of fuss. Unless Middlesbrough improve significantly and fast, we won't be playing them next season.