Arsenal vs. Middlesbrough: Score and Reaction from 2016 Premier League Match

Arsenal went top of the Premier League despite being held to a 0-0 draw by Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. The Gunners moved above Manchester City, but the limp stalemate will no doubt have soured manager Arsene Wenger's 67th birthday celebrations.

Yet Wenger should also feel grateful to goalkeeper Petr Cech for the point, after the former Chelsea man made a string of fine saves, particularly in the first half, to keep Boro at bay.

Even when Arsenal eventually put the ball in the net, Mesut Ozil's effort was correctly ruled out for offside in stoppage time on a frustrating day.

The newly promoted visitors sat deep and defended in numbers from the off, but Arsenal lacked the inspiration going forward to break them down. It's just the second time this season Wenger's team has failed to score.

Wenger rotated in midfield, where Granit Xhaka was suspended and Santi Cazorla not fit enough to start. Instead, Mohamed Elneny partnered Francis Coquelin in a functional yet not particularly forward-thinking duo, per Arsenal:

As for Boro, manager Aitor Karanka fielded some talent up front, with target man Alvaro Negredo supported by Gaston Ramirez, per the club:

Unsurprisingly, the Gunners owned the ball during the early exchanges, while Middlesbrough were content to pack midfield and get numbers behind.

BBC's Match of the Day illustrated the home side's initial territorial dominance:

Arsenal were bossing possession, but James Benge of the London Evening Standard felt the familiar pattern of attack against defence was ominous for the hosts:

His words were nearly proved prophetic when, for all Arsenal's dominance, Boro had the better chances. They first forced Cech into a quick-fire double save, before Ramirez struck the bar from a free-kick.

All Arsenal's passing had earned them was a routine Victor Valdes save from an Alexis Sanchez-hit set piece. In fact, the Gunners needed Cech again when Ramirez got free to meet a Negredo flick, but his header went straight at the 34-year-old stopper.

Middlesbrough were causing a host of problems, summed up by these numbers from Squawka:

The hosts were suffering without playmaker Cazorla. He missed out after being withdrawn early during the recent 6-0 win over Ludogorets in the UEFA Champions League, according to the London Evening Standard.

Without the Spaniard's vision and technique, Arsenal's passing lacked imagination and purpose. There was too much sideways distribution and not enough balls played between the lines.

Benge offered one other theory about why Arsenal's game was conjuring little in danger areas:

It's one of the issues of converting a roaming winger to centre-forward. Yet Sanchez's wanderlust should have been creating pockets of space for perceptive off-the-ball runs from his fellow attackers. The Gunners needed more from Ozil, Theo Walcott and Alex Iwobi.

Still, Boro worked Cech heavily after the break. He responded sharply to turn away a low drive from impressive winger Adama Traore, whose pace was giving Arsenal fits on the counter.

In fairness, the Gunners were also keeping Valdes busy, but some scruffy finishing from Sanchez was helping out the former Barcelona 'keeper.

Wenger introduced striker Lucas Perez and attacking midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Iwobi and Elneny, hoping to force some inspiration from his lethargic and frustrated team.

It never came, though, and it was left to centre-back Laurent Koscielny to prevent Negredo from finding a winner in stoppage time. Ozil then thought he'd won it, but he was rightly judged offside.

Post-Match Reaction

Afterwards, Wenger expressed his frustration at how his team couldn't add end product to all the possession:

Wenger was glad to have Cech between the posts, though. He lauded the veteran's performance, as well as referencing how well backup David Ospina had performed on midweek Champions League duty:

With Cech's performance in mind, Wenger ultimately appreciated at least being able to take a point from a difficult afternoon:

Meanwhile, Karanka took to social media to cite the point as proof his team can compete with the best in England's top flight:

As for Boro hero Valdes, he expressed his delight at delivering in a special atmosphere, per his official Twitter account:

"

Proud to play again at the Emirates against @Arsenal great atmosphere. Very good result for us, let's keep going @Boro ! pic.twitter.com/gMOTlZHeGb

— Victor Valdes (@1victorvaldes) October 22, 2016"

In contrast to Middlesbrough's delight, this is two points dropped for Arsenal, a missed opportunity to put real pressure on their fellow title chasers.