TWO years ago it was Leicester City, last season it was Sunderland – now Steve Agnew wants Middlesbrough to take up the title of the Premier League’s ‘Great Escapers’.

Boro host a misfiring Arsenal tonight looking to kick-start a survival push that has stalled in recent weeks, despite Agnew’s elevation to the role of head coach following the departure of Aitor Karanka.

The Teessiders are still to claim their first victory with Agnew in charge, but weekend defeats for Hull and Swansea mean their position in the relegation zone would be far from catastrophic if they were to claim all three points this evening.

Boro currently trail 17th-placed Hull by six points, but boast two games in hand, the second of which will see them host rock-bottom Sunderland in nine days’ time.

A win in the Tees-Wear derby is surely imperative, but with matches against Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool still to come after tonight’s game with the Gunners, Boro are also going to have to beat one of the ‘big boys’ if they are to clamber to safety.

They haven’t been able to do that all season, but Agnew has flagged up some recent Premier League history to prove what is possible. Two years ago, struggling Leicester won seven of their last nine games, while last term, Sam Allardyce’s Sunderland saw off Chelsea and Manchester United as part of their survival charge. Strange things can happen at this stage of the season, and Agnew wants Boro to engineer a shock of their own tonight.

“It’s happened in recent seasons with Sunderland and Leicester,” said the Boro boss. “That one win we’ve been waiting for, it can literally change lots of things, and it can affect other teams as well, so that’s what we aim to do.

“There is no fear within the group – they’re ready for Arsenal and we know we need to win a game sooner rather than later. All our efforts continue to be geared towards that.”

Boro will be boosted by the return of George Friend and Gaston Ramirez tonight, although a fit-again Calum Chambers is ineligible because he cannot face his parent club.

Friend will replace Fabio da Silva at left-back, while Ramirez is expected to return to the starting line-up despite having struggled to regain his best form since his attempts to force through a January transfer were thwarted.

“It’s a big positive because we’ve missed people like Gaston, Calum and George,” said Agnew. “They’re big players for us, and it’s great to see everyone back in the squad and fighting for a place in the team.

“Gaston is massively important because he’s a really talented footballer and we’ve seen evidence of that on numerous occasions this season. You miss players like him when you’re struggling to win games and score goals. Technically-gifted players are missed in that situation, and we’ve missed him.”