Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain says Arsenal have taken responsibility for their terrible run of form as they look to claw their back into the race for the top four.

The Gunners won away from home in the league for the first time since January 14 at Middlesbrough on Monday evening to move within seven points of where they want to be with seven games remaining.

Their focus immediately switched to Sunday's FA Cup semi-final showdown with Manchester City at Wembley, and Oxlade-Chamberlain is hoping for more of the same after something of a reshuffle ahead of the battling 2-1 win at the Riverside Stadium.

Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Brad Guzan – 6 out of 10 Dealt with most that Arsenal threw at him but should have done much better with Sanchez’s free-kick. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Antonio Barragán - 6 Solid if unspectacular night on the right side of defence. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Ben Gibson – 7 Marshalled Giroud well and handled the Frenchman’s physicality without too much trouble. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Daniel Ayala -7 Capable in defence but should’ve done better with second-half header. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings George Friend - 6 Exposed by Oxlade-Chamberlain at times but solid enough in relief of the injured Fabio. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Adam Clayton – 5 Typically workmanlike in defence but a poor challenge cost Boro dearly from the resulting Sanchez free-kick. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Marten de Roon – 6 Failed to really assert himself on the game. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Grant Leadbitter – 6 Ugly first-half tackle on Ozil could’ve earned him more than just a yellow but showed well in attack. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Stewart Downing - 7 Rolled back the years with an inch-perfect ball for Negredo’s goal. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Alvaro Negredo – 7 Quiet night as the home side’s focal point but took his goal with a poacher’s instinct. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Gaston Ramírez – 7 Boro’s brightest attacking threat and looked the home side’s most likely to break the Gunners back line down. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Petr Cech - 6 Not tested a great deal and deserved better from his defence for Negredo’s goal. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Gabriel – 6 Always on the edge of an utter calamity the Brazilian managed to avoid any tonight and looked better in a three. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Laurent Koscielny – 7 Arsenal’s best defender but will have wanted to do better with Negredo’s goal. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Rob Holding – 7 Definitely a player for the future if not right now. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 7 Pushed on well down the right flank and offered positional discipline going the other way too. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Aaron Ramsey – 7 Neat and tidy as ever and added a dash of quality with a deliciously composed chested knock down for Ozil’s goal. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Granit Xhaka – 7 Doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going but plenty of energy if not so much discipline from the Swiss. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Nacho Monreal – 7 Added some good balance on the left and thrived with the added attacking responsibility. Still a little clumsy in the defence. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Mesut Özil – 7 Took his goal with the composure required and added the class when the Gunners needed it most. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Alexis Sánchez – 8 Not one of the Chilean’s best games yet was still the outstanding performer scoring one and creating another. Getty Middlesbrough vs Arsenal player ratings Olivier Giroud – 7 Didn’t threaten as much as he would’ve liked but added the focal point that Arsenal lack with Sanchez up top. Getty

He told the club's official website: "What we've done previously in the last few games hasn't been good enough. We needed to take responsibility for that and we've done that this week between ourselves.

"We knew it didn't matter how we won, we needed to go out there and get back to the basics, and that's making sure that our commitment levels were right to play for this football club.

"It's a massive honour to play for a team like Arsenal. You've got to give it 100 per cent week in, week out, and maybe that had been slipping in the last few weeks.

"That was the first thing we needed to get back to and we did that. The three points were massive."

Goals from Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil either side of Alvaro Negredo's equaliser secured the points on Teesside, but under-pressure Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger took a calculated risk ahead of kick-off.

Fearing that opposite number Steve Agnew might throw the muscular Rudy Gestede in alongside Negredo in a two-pronged attack, he employed a three-man rearguard for the first time in his 20-year reign.

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It was something new with which his players had to contend, but ultimately, it paid dividends.

Oxlade-Chamberlain said: "It was something new for us. We worked on it this week. It was a change and new for a lot of us, but I think we've adapted really well to it.

"Especially in the first half, I thought it worked really well for us. In the second half, Middlesbrough came out and made it a lot more difficult. They went direct at the end, but all in all, it was a new system and we've got the three points with it - that's all that matters."

The victory came as a relief to the 2,995 travelling fans among a crowd of 31,298 with the club's only successes on the road since their 4-0 league win at Swansea coming at Southampton and non-league Sutton in the FA Cup.

Oxlade-Chamberlain added: "Look, it's a massive club and that's one thing that as players it's an honour to play for.

"To see them come all the way up here and support us after a tough time means everything and we need to keep fighting for them."