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Arsene Wenger pleased with Arsenal focus in cup win over Middlesbrough

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said he was satisfied with his side's all-round performance after a controlled display brought a 2-0 FA Cup win over Middlesbrough at the Emirates.

The cup holders were rarely troubled as they eased into the last eight against the Championship side thanks to two goals from Olivier Giroud.

Wenger told his news conference: "We controlled the game from the first to the last minute. They had one chance, and I'm pleased with the way we attacked and defended with good focus."

However, he was quick to warn players and fans not to take anything for granted, saying: "We still have some big teams in there. Let's just wait until the draw. Of course we want to defend the cup.

"It [the FA Cup] is difficult for everybody in the Premier League. We started well and played with pace, and that gave them problems. Our fluency was great, our movement was good, our technical control was very good.

"We lost a little fraction of urgency at 2-0, but we remained serious for the whole game."

He hailed the impact made by fellow Frenchman Giroud, who produced a close-range finish and a thumping second goal to all but seal the outcome before half-time.

"He is a different player to the one who arrived here," he said. "He understands what top-level football demands, works with a great concentration in training and has improved tremendously on his mobility and his technical quality.

"All the strikers we have can play in different positions. The only one who can only play centre forward is Giroud, so when Giroud plays the others have to move out wide.''

#INSERT type:image caption:Arsenal showed good focus, manager Arsene Wenger said. END#

And he admitted that he had taken a chance on Alexis Sanchez amid doubts about his fitness, adding: "He always wants to play. Everybody's like that, but he is a little more so."

Wenger said new defender Gabriel had "shown concentration, urgency to defend and good pace."

He added: "There's a lot to come from him, because he's technically very good at passing as well."

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka lamented his side's first-half performance, saying they had shown "too much respect" as Arsenal eased into control.

"Against Manchester City, we won all the 50-50 balls, we were more concentrated and organised," he told BT Sport.

"Today, the first half especially, was bad. In the first half, I didn't like anything. We had to play more aggressively, but we keep going now.

"What did I say at half-time? I cannot say. I had a lot of things to say -- to play with more organisation, more concentration.

"I'm a little bit disappointed because everyone was expecting another game like we played against Liverpool -in the Capital One Cup] or Man City.

"This is my biggest concern -- we didn't go out onto the pitch in the way we usually go.

"We knew we had to improve our intensity, but the second half was better. The league is our objective now."

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