Wenger bangs drum but Arsenal look dead-beats

THE words were familiar, the speaker less so. “We have a young team and we do lack a bit of experience sometimes. We just have to stay strong at crucial moments.”

It was a refrain that has been uttered from any number of Arsenal players or their manager Arsene Wenger in recent months, but on this occasion it came from one of the club’s old boys, Jeremie Aliadiere, and referred to Middlesbrough, the latest side to snaffle points from Arsenal’s supposed title hopefuls.

Given the opportunity to play their vibrant brand of attacking football, the evolving Gunners are more than a match for the best the Premier League has to offer. It is the assumption that Liverpool will allow them to do just that on Sunday which so enthused Wenger and his leading goalscorer, the Togo forward Emmanuel Adebayor, in spite of another two points lost.

There was abject disappointment within the Arsenal dressing room in the immediate aftermath of this frustrating draw but nobody was in the mood to dwell too long on a potential setback, especially not with the visit of Liverpool looming.

“I think we can beat them,” said Wenger. “We just want to try to keep our dreams alive,” added Adebayor, before echoing his manager’s sentiment. “Liverpool will be a big test but it’s vital that we stay positive. If we can get everyone working then we have a great chance.”

Such confidence is well founded; it is a bizarre quirk of the current campaign that Arsenal have beaten both Manchester United and Chelsea in the same season they have lost to Fulham, Hull City and Stoke City.

So comfortable against quality, the Londoners cannot adjust their game to combat stifling endeavour.

In the diligent and determined Didier Digard, Middlesbrough boasted the game’s outstanding performer and such was his influence on a congested midfield that the return of Cesc Fabregas went largely unnoticed.

The Spanish international will surely play a more prominent role against Liverpool and it was almost as if Arsenal were looking ahead to next weekend’s mouthwatering Emirates fixture as soon as Adebayor had headed the visitors in front.

Certainly the fact that their first-half lead lasted just 12 minutes, Aliadiere striking against his former club with a sensational diving header, suggested wandering minds intent on revenge. Adebayor did little to dispel the theory.

“We dropped another two points and we’re all disappointed,” he added. “Now we have to get focused for what is a big game against Liverpool. If we think that just because we have beaten United and won at Chelsea that we will beat Liverpool then we are thinking in the wrong way.”

REFEREE Peter Walton (Northamptonshire) 7: Angered Gareth Southgate by failing to award Boro a first half penalty but controlled the game with a quiet authority.

MATCH RATING: **** The juxtaposition between Arsenal’s guile and Boro’s grit made for an unexpected treat on Teesside.