Captivating

As irresistible Arsenal swept Middlesbrough aside with seven spectacular goals and a brand of football far beyond the capabilities of any of their premiership rivals, fans might have been forgiven for wishing that it had been their Highbury swansong, but the way things are going, this sort of exhibition could happen again before they finally say a sad farewell to the magnificent stadium which has been their home for over 90 years.

A hat-trick from the incomparable Thierry Henry saw him equal the great Cliff Bastin’s remarkable and enduring club record of 150 league goals. He started with an exquisite volley from Freddie Ljungberg’s pinpoint cross and followed up with two trademark finishes into the far corner, one in each half. Philippe Senderos thundered in a header from a corner and Robert Pires produced an elegant right foot curler from the corner of the box to secure a commanding four goal lead. In the second half Gilberto’s neat header from Henry’s precision cross and substitute Alexandr Hleb’s close range shot, his Highbury first, completed the rout – though but for a disallowed Pires header and a few close shaves it would have been more. And if Jose Antonio Reyes is tempted to regret the absence of his name from the scoresheet, he shouldn’t – because he left the pitch credited with no fewer than four ‘assists’.

Above all it was the quality of football which will be long remembered, on a day when referee Rob Styles had little to do but watch and admire. After the game, embarrassed Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren practised damage limitation, referring to the young and inexperienced players in his re-shaped team and insisting, rightly, that his players will have learned much from the experience – though his miserly praise of Arsenal as “a good side” betrayed his apprentice years as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Old Trafford. In truth, McClaren did not have a monopoly on youth at Highbury, as the presence of Djourou and Senderos at centre back and Fabregas in Arsenal’s midfield amply demonstrated.

Many will have left Highbury wondering how this Arsenal team can possibly be as low as fifth in the premiership playing magical football like this. And by the time they’d spent an hour or two in front of their televisions on Sunday afternoon, they – and countless others – were left wondering how it could be argued that Chelsea deserve to be 16 points ahead in the race for the premiership trophy, when they are so many miles behind in the quest for entertainment.