Middlesbrough will head into their Premier League encounter with Arsenal having witnessed each of their relegation rivals already play over the weekend but regardless of those results, Steve Agnew's team need to win on Monday night.

The same can be said of the Gunners, who are now off the pace in the race for a Champions League spot, and Arsene Wenger cannot afford to drop points at the Riverside Stadium.

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough have shown slight improvements since parting ways with Aitor Karanka in March, but it has not been enough to improve their position in the relegation zone.

The North-East outfit have kept two clean sheets from four games, but they remain without a win under the caretaker boss and face the prospect of playing Arsenal at least six points away from safety.

It felt imperative that they defeat Burnley last weekend with a win at least bringing them back into contention with the likes of Swansea City and Hull City, but failure to get on the scoresheet has extended their winless run in the top flight to 14 matches.

With Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool all to come before the end of the campaign, it is difficult to see how Agnew and Boro get out of trouble, but that can start if they can find a way to get past Arsenal.

Crystal Palace showed that there are ways to exploit a team low on confidence and although Boro do not necessarily possess the firepower to record a result as emphatic as the Eagles, they do have matchwinners in their team.

Adama Traore and Alvaro Negredo were both dropped - somewhat surprisingly - for the meeting with Burnley, but if restored to the team, the Arsenal defence will not relish a bombardment of pace and physicality, based on their showing at Selhurst Park.

Recent form: LLLDLD
Recent form (all competitions): LLLDLD

Arsenal

After fighting back to draw with Manchester City and easing to victory over West Ham United, Wenger would have felt comfortable that his players had come through their rocky patch, but those results only served to paper over the cracks at the Emirates Stadium.

Both the manager and the first-team squad were justifiably lambasted for their capitulation at Selhurst Park, and Theo Walcott's acknowledgement that they did not match their opponents' desire has only led to more calls for mass changes at the club.

Wenger still looks likely to remain in the dugout, despite five defeats and seven points from eight Premier League games, but responsibility still lies with the players who appear to have downed tools for much of the past two months.

Unless two of Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United underperform over the next five weeks, Arsenal will not be playing Champions League football next season but regardless of the results of their rivals, they have a duty to give their supporters hope ahead of one of the most important summers in the history of the club.

Lose to Middlesbrough and Wenger's position would almost become untenable, despite reports suggesting otherwise, but win and they are able to head into an FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City with a small window of opportunity to at least give their fans something to cheer for ahead of a testing run-in.

Recent form: WLLDWL
Recent form (all competitions): LWLDWL

Team News

Wenger has said that he is hopeful of being able to name both Petr Cech and Laurent Koscielny in his squad for the game on Monday night.

The Frenchman has claimed that there is an "80%" chance of the pair making a return after injuries, but David Ospina and Lucas Perez are again ruled out.

There could also be optional changes from the Gunners boss, with Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Olivier Giroud all possible starters.

After drawing a blank against Burnley, Agnew may feel obliged to include at least one of top goalscorer Negredo or pacey winger Traore in his team.

Marten de Roon will also expect to be involved after dropping down to the bench after scoring against Hull City in the previous match.

Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Valdes; Barragan, Ayala, Gibson, Downing, De Roon, Clayton, Leadbitter, Stuani, Traore, Negredo

Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Cech, Bellerin, Koscielny, Gabriel, Monreal, Elneny, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Alexis, Giroud

Head To Head

Monday's fixture represents the 132nd meeting between the two sides in a competitive match, with Arsenal claiming 64 victories in comparison to 34 triumphs for Middlesbrough.

The clubs have only played each other twice since 2009 due to Boro's time in the Championship, meaning it has been five matches and 10 years since they got the better of the Gunners.

That success came in December 2007 when Stewart Downing and Tuncay Sanli helped their side to a 2-1 win in the North-East.

We say: Middlesbrough 1-3 Arsenal

There is enough evidence to justify giving Middlesbrough a chance in this match but with a draw no good to them, we are backing Arsenal to take advantage in the closing stages. A few of their side need to deliver a big performance and although we expect them to be troubled in the North-East, they should have enough to prevail relatively handily.