Mesut Ozil kept alive Arsenal's hopes of a top-four finish as Middlesbrough slid closer to the Premier League exit door on Monday night.

The Germany midfielder fired home a 71st-minute winner to finally kill off battling Boro, who had dragged themselves back into the game when Alvaro Negredo cancelled out Alexis Sanchez's first-half free-kick five minutes after the restart.

The 2-1 triumph - the Gunners' first league away win for three months - lifted Arsene Wenger's men seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester City, with a game in hand.

However, the visitors had to fight all the way in front of a crowd of 31,298 at the Riverside, with Steve Agnew's Boro making up for what they may lack in quality with a committed display which for long periods looked like earning them tangible reward.