Robson revels in revival of spirit

Pressure points: Riverside fans acclaim battling Boro in defeat while Armstrong marks return with winner

So where does Bryan Robson go from here? Old Trafford next Saturday, unfortunately. The theatre of the Middlesbrough manager's playing-day dreams is not exactly an enticing stage just now with his team on a losing run of five League and cup matches and in danger of sinking into the Premiership mire. At least the one-time Captain Marvel will go there, however, without the whiff of open mutiny in the air at the Riverside.

So where does Bryan Robson go from here? Old Trafford next Saturday, unfortunately. The theatre of the Middlesbrough manager's playing-day dreams is not exactly an enticing stage just now with his team on a losing run of five League and cup matches and in danger of sinking into the Premiership mire. At least the one-time Captain Marvel will go there, however, without the whiff of open mutiny in the air at the Riverside.

For the first time in five weeks, Middlesbrough's supporters went home happy. That they did so despite another defeat was a measure of the depths to which Boro have descended in recent weeks but, happily for Robson, calls for his managerial head were conspicuous by their absence.

Instead, the Riverside regulars rallied round their team as Middlesbrough fought in vain to overcome Thierry Henry's successful penalty conversion after Mark Crossley was sent off for balking Fredrik Ljungberg in the 25th minute. It helped that Arsenal were otherwise in blank-firing form, though the standing ovation at the final whistle must have been music to the ears of Robson and his No 1 supporter, the Middlesbrough chairman, Steve Gibson.

"I've just said to the players in the dressing-room that if they continue to commit themselves like that they will get the fans on their side," Robson said. "We'll get results if we continue like that. It's difficult when people are getting the knives out and sticking them in your back but I know I've got 100 per cent backing of everyone at the club. I've got to knuckle down, turn things round and I'm sure we will."

The indications are that Gibson will dig even deeper into his pockets before considering the prospect of handing Robson his P45. An expanded backroom team has been mooted and, while Terry Venables has been mentioned as a likely target (a report dismissed as "untrue" by Robson yesterday), it would be no great surprise to find Viv Nicholson working alongside Viv Anderson at the Riverside. The fortune Robson has lavished on new players has reached Spend, Spend, Spend proportions - some £78m, £18m less than it cost Kevin Keegan to transform Newcastle United from a team on the brink of the old Third Division into the second force in English football.

On Teesside the penny has long since dropped that Robson's Boro are never going to rival Manchester United or Arsenal, but the manager is not quite a spent force it would seem. In an interview on Middlesbrough's new website on Thursday Gibson could hardly have been more emphatic in his backing of the former England captain. Describing Robson as "the best man for the job," he said that the club's plight was "a collective responsibility, not an individual one". Sadly for Robson, however, the collection of players at his disposal yesterday was far from complete.

For a third week in succession Alen Boksic collected his reported £63,000 pay packet for nothing more demanding than sitting on the sidelines. Ugo Ehiogu was also on the Middlesbrough injured list, though Robson's two other recent recruits, Christian Karembeu and Joseph-Désiré Job, were absent from the starting line-up because of indifferent form. The cosmopolitan Karembeu made way for the prosaic Phil Stamp, whose abrasive presence in central midfield provided Boro with a promising platform in the opening 20 minutes.

As well as keeping Patrick Vieira on a tight rein with some snapping challenges, Stamp twice came close to scoring, with a thumping low drive that John Lukic failed to grasp at the first attempt and with a header that floated inches over the veteran goalkeeper's crossbar. Gary Pallister also had a header nodded off the Arsenal line but it was his blunder that left Boro battling against the numerical odds - on the pitch and on the scoreboard.

His woeful pass for Steve Vickers left Ljungberg bearing through the middle and Crossley with little option other than to send the Swede sprawling. Despite protests that Crossley had not been the last line of defence, his sending off was inevitable. Robson withdrew Hamilton Ricard and sent on Marlon Beresford but the goalkeeper dived the wrong way as Henry tucked away his ninth goal of the season. It could have been worse for Robson and for Boro, but Beresford thwarted Martin Keown, Tony Adams and Gilles Grimandi in swift succession before half-time.

Arsenal's lack or urgency after the break sustained home hopes of a salvage operation. Henry squandered three clear chances, clipping the post with his best effort, and Ljungberg and Parlour were also off target in front of goal. Fortunately for the Gunners, though, the one direct hit sufficed.