Arsenal all but confirmed their participation in the Champions League next season with a comfortable win over Middlesbrough in their Premier League encounter on Sunday.

With Aston Villa dropping vital points against Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, Arsenal were keen to tighten their grip on the final Champions League place and dominated the game right from the start.

Boro were clearly playing for a draw and were happy to sit back and let Arsenal have all the possession. The move backfired for the visitors as Arsenal took the lead with their first real chance in the 26th minute as Cesc Fabregas linked up brilliantly with Andrei Arshavin and the Russian striker crossed the ball into the area for Fabregas to slot home from close range.

The visitors were struggling to create any chances and while they pressed ahead in search of an equalizer, Theo Walcott almost doubled the lead for the Gunners but was saved comfortably by Brad Jones.

Boro stepped up the tempo in the second half but were unable to breach the Arsenal defense. Instead it was Arsenal who scored the killer second goal and wrapped up the points in the 67th minute when Emmanuel Eboue released Fabregas with a brilliant pass and the Spanish international made no mistake in slotting the ball past Jones to score his second of the night.