Arsenal vs. Middlesbrough: Tactical Preview of FA Cup Game
Arsenal face an examining challenge in the FA Cup fifth round when Middlesbrough come to town on Sunday, with a place in the quarter-final at stake.
The Championship outfit are flying in the league and, fresh from downing Manchester City in the previous round, will be hungry for another "Cupset" to add to their collection.
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Arsenal fans will be hoping to see their new January signing Gabriel in action for the first time on Sunday, though Arsene Wenger will need to decide if he's worth the risk. Per BBC Sport, his poor English is a foreseen issue and the boss believes it could cost his team goals.
Aaron Ramsey's injury is "a mystery," per Sky Sports, while Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Debuchy and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remain out. Jack Wilshere is closing in on a return but probably won't make it, according to WhoScored.
Alexis Sanchez missed the north London derby and returned against Leicester City but shouldn't be risked here in a game Arsenal should win—they are far stronger on paper.
Middlesbrough News
For Middlesbrough, they have very few injury/availability concerns, though Tomas Kalas is unavailable and Daniel Ayala picked up an injury midweek. The latter is very unlikely to make it.
Aitor Karanka will have his first-choice full-backs and central midfielders on the pitch, while the options up front will once again allow the manager to mix and match based on the game.
We could see Jelle Vossen ahead of Lee Tomlin—who famously schooled Vincent Kompany in the previous round at the Etihad Stadium—with Patrick Bamford in a forward role but able to go wide.
Key Point 1: Repeat of Leicester City?
Middlesbrough play a high line and squeeze up the pitch in the Championship where possible, but they may reduce themselves to counter-attacking here. Karanka, a disciple of Jose Mourinho, is incredibly reactive, and his side are difficult to anticipate, but they'll always be very well organised.
Most will bank on Boro defending in a low block and springing transition attacks, though, so in that respect, the key players for Arsenal become the same ones who emerged against Leicester City midweek.
The Foxes turned up in a 5-4-1 formation and barely budged from their own third in the first half, enlisting Esteban Cambiasso in a tackle-and-pass destructor role. It took the genius of Mesut Ozil to scythe through their rigid system, with his delicious passing and awareness eventually breaking the resistance.
Boro boast mobile, pro-active defenders in Kenneth Omeruo and Ben Gibson, while the midfield cluster—whichever form it takes—will protect the line and the wide players will get goal-side to help their full-backs.
Wenger should be wary of playing too many "runners" (Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck) at the expense of the true creators needed for this matchup.
Key Point 2: Battle of the Wide Men
That said, Arsenal's greatest strength since Wenger switched back to the 4-3-3 (and introduced Francis Coquelin as a sole anchor) has been transition-based attacks themselves. They may invite Boro forward and look to breach the space behind.
Neutrals will be in luck if this happens; it will make for a remarkable spectacle. Boro will play the high line if allowed (or lured into it), and this is where Welbeck and Walcott find their value: latching on to passes in space, fired by Ozil or Santi Cazorla.
Equally, as you may expect from a Mourinho-inspired team, Boro's Grant Leadbitter loves nothing more than to release wide runners Bamford and Albert Adomah on the counter; if we get a combination of both, it will be end-to-end stuff.
Boro's attack with runners can be just as fluid as the Gunners' has been in wins over Manchester City and Aston Villa in the last 30 days. It's an underrated unit that could cause a shock.
