Plymouth piled further home misery on Middlesbrough by claiming a much-needed 2-0 win at the Riverside Stadium.
Frustrations grew on Teesside after failing to end a wait since before Christmas for a home victory in the Sky Bet Championship; a run that has stretched to five matches.
Matthew Sorinola’s opener in the seventh minute was followed by Ryan Hardie’s 13th goal of the season in the 31st minute to put Plymouth on track for only their second away win.
Plymouth deserved it too after a first half when Middlesbrough looked nervous in possession at times and defensively unable to thwart danger.
Considering Middlesbrough stunned leaders Leicester a week earlier, and Plymouth’s away troubles, it was the visitors who looked full of confidence and intent in the first half.
It did not take long for Ian Foster’s side to take the lead.
After the visitors were gifted possession on halfway, Plymouth attacked and Darko Gyabi was allowed to curl towards the far post where Tom Glover dived to stop.
The goalkeeper did not do enough to get the ball out of harm’s way and Sorinola was on hand to force beyond Glover and secure his first goal since moving to the Pilgrims from Belgium in January.
The only decent opportunity Middlesbrough created was when Marcus Forss was denied by Conor Hazard after moving to the near post to meet Lewis O’Brien’s cross. The flag went up anyway.
Otherwise Plymouth – who made three changes to the side which lost 3-0 to West Brom – put the red shirts under a lot of pressure defensively when they were on the ball and got their rewards.
Glover had already fumbled an effort from Morgan Whittaker before the second arrived just after the half-hour mark.
Hardie was picked out in too much space by the lively Gyabi. The striker’s first touch was perfect before he was allowed to cut inside and curl round Rav van den Berg and finish in the far corner.
As the boos and jeers got louder Plymouth kept pushing.
Adam Randell almost had a third soon after when he was allowed to run through the centre of the pitch and shoot. Glover stopped the first and then charged forward to block the rebound.
There was another save for Glover to make at his near post after Whittaker had been played in down the right and Middlesbrough reached half-time needing a complete reset. It did not come.
Plymouth were first to go close again after the restart. Gyabi’s pass into the area was collected by Hardie, whose first touch rounded Hazard but the angle was too tight to find the net.
Riley McGree missed the target from distance soon after and that was as close as Middlesbrough got. The Aussie was replaced, along with Finn Azaz, as head coach Michael Carrick looked for an injection from Emmanuel Latte Lath and Sam Greenwood.
Yet Jordan Houghton’s low drive was next to arrive and, despite plenty of possession, Middlesbrough could not create anything of real note.
When they eventually did, Sammy Silvera’s shot went for a throw-in when he was unmarked at the back post in the latter stages.
Arteta wants to prove supercomputer wrong as Arsenal prepare for derby test
Mikel Arteta is looking to prove the Opta supercomputer wrong as Arsenal prepare for perhaps the biggest test of their Premier League title credentials, in Sunday's North London derby at Tottenham.
Arsenal began the weekend one point clear of Manchester City at the top of the table, though Pep Guardiola's men have a game in hand and have been in ominous form lately, winning their last four league matches.
Five wins for City will ensure they retain their crown, and according to the Opta supercomputer, the champions started the weekend with a 71.7% chance of topping the pile, compared to 26.6% for Arsenal and just 1.7% for Liverpool.
Arteta hopes to see Arsenal's figure boosted by a derby win, saying: "I don't know what to say, hopefully we can trick that computer and make it a bit higher!
"Maybe it needs to update the software, we need to help it or give it more tools. Hopefully we can change that!
"We are there. We have to look at ourselves and try to perform in the best possible way to win our matches and I can't wait to see what happens.
"We had a big win in the last London derby against Chelsea and now we have another big one. I'm sure if we're going to win the league, we're going to have to beat Spurs as well."
Tottenham, meanwhile, need points if they are to overhaul Aston Villa in the battle for Champions League qualification, with fifth place now extremely unlikely to be enough.
Ange Postecoglou, though, is more interested in seeing how Spurs measure up to a side they hope to challenge in the future.
"We understand the importance of the game but ultimately, it's still about us measuring ourselves against the teams we want to be challenging on a more consistent basis," Postecoglou said.
"It's a great opportunity to do that on Sunday."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tottenham – Son Heung-min
Son scored twice for Spurs in the reverse fixture against Arsenal in September – a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium. In all competitions, only five players have scored more goals in the fixture's history than Son's seven.
The only player to score multiple goals in both north London derby matches in a league season was Arsenal's Ted Drake, who did so back in 1934-35.
Arsenal – Martin Odegaard
Odegaard has been involved in six goals in his last six away appearances in the Premier League, scoring three and assisting three.
The Gunners captain was in mesmerising form in Tuesday's 5-0 win over Chelsea, leading all players on the pitch for assists (two), chances created (eight), passes into the final third (34) and duels won (eight). A repeat performance would be huge for the visitors' title hopes.
MATCH PREDICTION – ARSENAL WIN
Tottenham have won just one of their last six Premier League games against Arsenal (one draw, four defeats), with their four losses in this span as many as they had suffered in their previous 16 against the Gunners (six wins, six draws).
They also lost this exact fixture 2-0 last season, meaning the Gunners could win on back-to-back league trips to Tottenham for the first time since enjoying a run of three victories there between 1987 and 1988.
Arteta's men know there is no margin for error with the title race in City's hands.
Even a draw could prove fatal to their hopes – at the end of the 2015-16 season, the North London derby was the most drawn fixture in Premier League history, with 20 of 48 meetings finishing level (42 per cent). Since then, only four matches between these rivals have seen the points shared (27 per cent).
Arsenal have kept six straight clean sheets on their travels in the Premier League, with only two teams ever keeping seven in a row – Chelsea from September to December 2008 and Manchester United from November to February in 2008-09. The Gunners should have enough to grind out a huge win.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Tottenham – 31%
Arsenal – 41.3%
Draw – 27.7%
Leicester City seal automatic Premier League return
Leicester City are once more a Premier League team, having bounced straight back after relegation last season.
The Foxes secured automatic promotion without kicking a ball, as title rivals Leeds United lost 4-0 away to Queens Park Rangers on Friday.
Marti Cifuentes' Hoops side gave their fans a reason to cheer in their final home game of the season, and the emphatic win means they are now seven points clear of the relegation zone.
The Hoops boss told BBC Sport: "I came here, perhaps I was crazy thinking we could manage the great escape.
"The atmosphere has been unbelievable since I came here. Everybody thought tonight could be a special night to achieve our target.
"Big players deliver big performances and our players all did that tonight."
Defeat ensured only Ipswich Town can now finish above Leicester, meaning the Foxes will be back in the big time.
Ipswich, who have three games left to play, face play-off hopefuls Hull City on Saturday.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Leeds boss Daniel Farke said: "It's not in our hands any more [automatic promotion], we need to be honest.
"The race is not over. If Ipswich win the next two games then I will say congratulations, but if they don’t win them then we will have a lot to play for.
"As long as we have a chance, I’m far away from giving up."
Leicester could be crowned champions if they beat Preston North End on Monday and if Hull beat Ipswich.
The Foxes are looking to break the 100-point barrier, despite a wobble from Enzo Maresca's side in recent months.
After they had been so far ahead and top for all but two of the 176 days between 23 September and 17 March, an untimely dip in form handed Leeds and Ipswich hope.
However, while Leicester celebrate their promotion, they face the daunting prospect of starting next season with a points deduction, after they were charged by the Premier League with alleged breaches of the competition's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
QPR 4-0 Leeds United: Shock loss for Farke's men seals Leicester's promotion
QPR thrashed Leeds United 4-0 in the Championship on Friday, ensuring Leicester City booked their promotion straight back to the Premier League.
Ilias Chair was the star for the Hoops as he scored the opener and assisted two more goals to ensure QPR will stay in the Championship for another season.
Lucas Andersen, Lyndon Dykes and Sam Field also got their names on the scoresheet in an emphatic win for Marti Cifuentes' side.
Leeds' heaviest defeat of the season was a huge blow in the race for an automatic promotion spot, with Ipswich Town just one point behind them in third place with two games in hand going into their away clash against Hull City on Saturday.
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