Arsenal should not get too carried away with their win over Middlesbrough, warns Gary Neville

'If Arsenal lose the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Sunday, I think you can forget about their victory against Middlesbrough', warned Neville

Arsenal recorded their first away league win in over three months when they beat Boro (Getty)

Gary Neville has warned Arsenal not to get too carried away with their 2-1 win over Middlesbrough, claiming that the victory will be instantly forgotten if they lose their forthcoming FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.

Arsenal have been struggling for form in the league, with five defeats in their last eight league matches, and until Monday night they had been without an away win since mid-January.

But against Middlesbrough they battled hard to end that dismal run, with goals from wantaway pair Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil sealing a 2-1 win, which moves Arsenal to within seven points of the top four with a game in hand.

However, former Manchester United defender Neville says that the victory will ultimately mean nothing if Arsenal lose to City on Sunday, a result which would no doubt inspire more protests against Wenger.

“Tonight was all about preparation for Sunday,” Neville said on Monday Night Football.

Former Valencia boss Neville thinks Wenger has to win on Sunday (Getty)

“It was about making sure the preparation wasn't about another defeat and that run continuing. It would have been a really dark week. If they are to win Sunday then the confidence really would rise.

“If they lose Sunday, I think you can forget about that victory because it will just return back to difficult moments and I think that's where Arsenal are at the moment, they're so finely tuned in terms of one win isn't going to help them.”

Wenger used to a new back-three system against Middlesbrough (Getty)

Neville also thinks that Wenger will be able to briefly pause all of the speculation over his future should Arsenal win against City, which would put the club in their third FA Cup final in four years.

“It will be tough again because ultimately people will say ‘You're not going to win a trophy’, ‘You're not going to finish in the top four’, everything then will come onto Ozil, Sanchez and Wenger,” added Neville.

The Wenger Out protests continued this week (Getty)

“What [winning on] Sunday does is let him concentrate towards the end of the season in terms of winning a trophy, he can almost batter those [contract] questions off.

“Lose Sunday and I still think those questions will be at the forefront of every single person's mind.”