Man of the Match: Arsenal v Middlesbrough

Oh to be a Gooner!

Middlesbrough came to Highbury on Saturday afternoon for the final time and after 90 minutes of football they probably wished they had never stepped off their team bus. The reason behind this response was the magnificent Arsenal performance which handed Boro an embarrassing 7-0 drubbing.

The rampage began on 20 minutes when Freddie Ljungberg's well-timed cross was met by Thierry Henry in the area; the ball was volleyed past Boro keeper Jones to give us the lead. Our lead was doubled from a corner two minutes later; José Reyes swung the ball into the box where it was met by an unmarked Phil Senderos who nodded the ball into the back of the net. Henry was back on the scoresheet 8 minutes later after José Reyes sent the Frenchman on his way with a great ball from the middle of the park. Henry slid the ball past an onrushing Jones to increase our lead. Robért Píres added another just before the break with a well-taken curling shot into the top corner.

15 minutes after the restart another Arsenal player got his name on the scoresheet. Gilberto connected with the free kick won by Reyes and taken by Henry to make it 5 despite Jones' best efforts. Thierry only needed one more goal to equal Arsenal legend Cliff Bastin's league goals record and get his first hat trick of the season.

And he did it on 68 minutes when he raced after a pass from strike partner José. Hleb was introduced late on, but had enough time to score his first Arsenal goal when a Henry cross fell kindly to him.

Here is how the team performed:

Defence Lehmann had a quiet match however looked in control when required. Lauren had a great game and provided support to youngster Djourou as well as the players upfront. Djourou himself looks like a very good prospect for the future and had a good Premiership debut in the place of Sol Campbell. Phil Senderos looked in control in the heart of our defence and also got his name on the scoresheet. Cygan played well until he had to depart due to injury; he was replaced by Ashley Cole, who looked good after months on the sidelines.

Midfield Freddie Ljungberg was great on Saturday and reminded everyone of the form he possessed before his injury. He was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet but I think he can be pleased to be playing well again. Cesc was good alongside Gilberto and they together controlled the midfield the way we need to. Gilberto however still made some mistakes in the opening stages, but got on the scoresheet when he nodded home Henry's free kick. Píres had a good match too, getting on the scoresheet and getting into the area a lot more.

Up Front Thierry and José worked really well together out there. They seem to understand each other a lot more now and that was highlighted with the assists from José for Thierry's goals. José didn't get on the scoresheet but his contribution was fantastic. Thierry was great throughout the match and looked to enjoy himself out there. His three goals were all well taken; my favourite was his first, the volley after Freddie's cross from the right.

Overall It was a brilliant team performance from the lads that reminds us gooners how lucky we are. This was by far our best performance of the season and hopefully we keep it up to the end of the season. Next up is Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.

The Official Arsenal-Mania Man of the Match for this game is Thierry Henry who was brilliant from start to finish, got a hat trick and equalled Cliff Bastin's league goals record. Thierry won the award with 72% of the votes, strike partner José Reyes came in second with 24% of the votes and Ljungberg, Senderos and Lauren shared 3rd.

Quotes from the MOTM voters:

"I'll go for Henry because that's one of his best performances since becoming captain of our great club. His body language was correct from the off and put in a faultless display."
Ice Berg legend

"Henry. But the whole team deserves a mention; we played football reminiscent of the unbeaten season and parts of last season."
LuKaZaN

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