Arsenal:
           Lehmann
   Lauren Toure Cygan Cole
Ljungberg (Pires 60) Gilberto Fabregas Reyes (Flamini 78)
   Bergkamp Henry

Just after 6 minutes in there was a great interception by Lauren near the halfway line as Boro tried to break. He fed Henry quickly and his pass forward found Bergkamp who tricked his way through into the box and forced a point-blank save from Schwarzer. It fell to ground and Freddie was quickest to react, his shot was cleared off the line by Colin Cooper and came back to Reyes whose shot hit the post.

Boro broke straight from our corner and Parlour fed Mendieta on their right who ran towards goal then chipped into Lehmann's hands when he had at least 3 teammates worth trying to play it to. Mendieta wasted a couple more attacking opportunities with very loose balls. He used to be soooo good. We saw even him as a potential Bergkamp replacement at one time! A few years on and Dennis looks 10 times as good as Mendieta (as do Reyes and Cesc, for that matter).

On 20 minutes Reyes laid the ball off to Henry in the middle of the pitch and set off for goal while Henry slipped it wide left to Cole. Ashley ran for the goalline then hit a superb low cross which Reyes met at the near post and if anything he got too good a contact on it, allowing Schwarzer to make another great point-blank stop. It only needed a glance to take it inside the far post.

Henry got the lead for us on 25 minutes thanks to a great pass from Reyes. Cole had won the ball inside his own box and passed to Jose just outside it. He lofted it 2/3 the length of the pitch. Colin Cooper gave chase but had no chance. Henry let it bounce then just lifted the ball over the outrushing Schwarzer, sending it high so it would bounce on he goal-line. Cooper did well actually to get back and get a foot to it before it hit the ground, but couldn't keep it out.

42 minutes gone and Mendieta held Fabregas back as he tried to get onto the second part of a 10-2 with Henry. Thierry beat Schwarzer with the free kick but hit the crossbar.

So, 1-0 and totally dominant with halftime approaching, and with the all-too-familar feeling that dominance not reflected in scoreline is dangerous. Then Queudrue goes on a great run down their left, evading about 5 tackles, plays a 1-2 with Hasselbaink then feeds it forward to Job who blasts high past Lehmann at the near post for 1-1 with such power that it was past the keeper before he could move. A magnificent goal, to be fair, out of absolutely nowhere.

Boro started the second half brightly, with a shot from Mendieta and then a strong run from Ray Parlour into the box that needed a good Toure tackle to stop it. Then 4 minutes after the re-start, Hasselbaink beat Cygan (although it was probably Cole's fault) and drilled a shot past Lehmann from just inside the box on their right.

Arsenal were behind. It's easy to forget, with all the euphoria and talk of unbeaten records, that this has not been all that rare an event of late. Been a while since we were 2 goals behind though, and that's where we were 3 minutes later thanks to an amazing swerving shot from distance by Quedrue. Lehmann was out of position but presumably anticipating a cross.

It didn't last long. A minute after the restart and the Boro defence backed off of Dennis Bergkamp. Big mistake. The Arsenal captain advanced through the centre and whacked a low shot inside the left hand post from just inside the D.

The ref gave yellow cards to Zenden and Bergkamp for nothingy tackles, and then let Riggott get away with a blatantly deliberate handball that stopped a Bergkamp attack. Half an hour to go and Freddie came off for Pires.

Dennis took a corner from the left which Cygan mis-headed back in his direction. Dennis blasted it back into the box - probably an intended shot that was way wayward. It ricocheted to Gilberto whose scuffed shot was turned past the keeper at a stretch by Henry, but just wide of the post.

Then with 64 minutes gone, Cesc started the equaliser with a great run from the centre circle skipping through 2 tackles then ending with a bit of miscontrol but it fell fro Henry who took the ball on into the box and whipped it across goal for Pires to tap in. And moments later we were ahead. Cesc started it again robbing the ball in the centre circle virtually from the restart. Bergkamp slipped it wide for Reyes and he hit a high shot past Schwarzer for 4-3.

Arsenal, typically, started playing a bit within themselves again. Gilberto came close with a running header from a Pires cross. Then the more defensive posture was confirmed with Flamini coming on for Reyes.

But we did wrap it up on 90 minutes when Bergkamp pounced on a bit of miscontrol on the halfway line, and passed forward into the path of Pires's overlapping run. He took it close to goal then clipped a short square pass for Henry who side-footed it home.

There was time for a nice Parlour moment with a shot from the halfway line which went wide.

Cesc had another excellent game, wearing Parlour's old shirt and his own new haircut. Parlour was one of Boro's better players, even nursing an injury as he was, and it was noteworthy that it was him that was pushing them to keep at us rather than sit back on their 2-1 lead - knowing full well that it would not be enough.

The record of 42 game sunbeaten has been equalled, and only Blackburn, on Wednesday, stand between Arsenal and yet another unique piece of history.