Arsene Wenger has claimed that Arsenal did well to overcome a "big test" from a Middlesbrough side fighting for their Premier League lives in their 2-1 win at the Riverside Stadium on Monday night.
Alexis Sanchez gave the Gunners a 42nd-minute lead, which was cancelled out by Alvaro Negredo early in the second half, but Mesut Ozil made sure of all three points with the winner in the 71st minute.
Anything other than a win would have been another major blow to Arsenal's ailing top-four hopes, and Wenger was delighted with how his charges responded to being pegged back by the Teessiders.
The Frenchman is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "We responded well. I think it was not perfect but the commitment and focus was there. At 1-1 we found a response and managed to win.
"It was a big test, Middlesbrough gave everything. It's one of their last chances to stay in the league.
"[The top four] is mathematically still alive. We knew we needed to win. Now we have a little break with the FA Cup and then we come back again to the league."
Arsenal's win, their first on the road for more than three months, lifts them back above Everton and into the top six of the table.
Giuseppe Labellarte
