COLIN Cooper might have etched his name into the Middlesbrough history books on Sunday, but the veteran centre-half is devastated that he was unable to prevent former club Nottingham Forest from disappearing from the annals of the game.

Injuries to Gareth Southgate and Ugo Ehiogu meant that Cooper made his 400th Boro appearance in one of the most memorable games in Premiership history.

The veteran centre-half, who was also handed the captain's armband at Highbury, watched on in disbelief as Joseph-Desire Job, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Franck Queudrue fired Boro into a shock 3-1 lead over the champions.

But as Arsenal came roaring back to eventually win 5-3, he was powerless to prevent Arsene Wenger's side equalling Forest's record of 42 consecutive unbeaten league games.

Cooper played in 179 league games for Nottingham Forest during the mid 1990s, before making a £2.5m switch back to Boro in August 1998.

The 37-year-old retains a strong affinity for the City Ground and, while he was disappointed enough with Sunday's events from a Boro perspective, his inability to protect Forest's record added a further disappointing dimension to the defeat.

"Having been a Nottingham Forest player, it would have been lovely to have ended that run and kept the record with (Brian) Cloughy's team," said Cooper, who first joined Middlesbrough as a fresh-faced trainee in 1984.

"I know a lot of the lads who played in that great Cloughy side and it would have been great to have kept Nottingham Forest's name in the record books.

"But, as it stands at the moment, you can't see anyone beating Arsenal - you really can't. We weren't so great defensively at times, but they were something else in attack. They can turn anybody over, including Manchester United.

"When we were 3-1 up I think they were concerned, but they were able to step up another couple of gears and we made a couple of errors.

"The first ten minutes of the second half was stuff that you dream about as a footballer. But we made a couple of bad mistakes defensively and Arsenal got frightened into another gear. For 15 minutes, I thought they were awesome."

Cooper's Boro debut came in a 1-1 draw with Bradford City in October 1985 and, since then, he has endured a rollercoaster ride that has seen the club almost go out of existence before establishing themselves as one of the top ten sides in the country.

His 400 appearances have included some good games, some bad ones, and some that were downright ugly - but few can compare with Sunday's match for excitement and incident.

Thierry Henry offered his shirt as a memento of the day - the harshest of critics would argue it was the nearest any Boro player got to it after the break - but, while the pain of the defeat will eventually disappear, the memories of the day will not.

"At the end of the game I was hugely disappointed," admitted Cooper. "But I still take pride that after so many years I've now played 400 games for Boro.

"To be captaining the side at Highbury against the champions was a great honour for me, and it's something I'll always remember.

"For a 37-year-old to be still playing at this level is something quite special. The main positive I can take out of the day is that I know I can still do it.

"I'm always here. When you get to 37 you'd like to be playing regularly, but that just doesn't happen at this level.

"There are players who have won a lot more honours than I have and played for teams that are higher in the Premier League than me, but they're not playing Premier League football at the age of 37."

Cooper's Boro career looked to be at an end when he was loaned to Sunderland in the latter half of last season, but an injury crisis saw him recalled to the Riverside.

Many believe he is being groomed as a future coach of the club, and Cooper himself is already looking to his future involvement in the game.

But, while his legs will still carry him, he will continue to make himself available should Steve McClaren need him to do a job.

With Southagte and Ehiogu still doubtful for tomorrow's game at Fulham, that job could result in game 401.

"When you get to my age, every game at this level is a massive bonus," said Cooper. "As it stands, I may not play again this season, that's just the nature of the beast.

"But the gaffer knows that, if required, I'll always be there to come in and do as well as I can."