Monaco 0 - Arsenal 2; 17th March 2015

Monaco 0  Arsenal 2

Monaco win on away goals (3-3)

17^th March 2015

Champion’s League, Last 16

It is typical of Arsenal that we were going into this away match, last 16 in the Champion’s League being already 1-3 down from the 1^st leg and all the talk before the game was how close would Arsenal get to over-turning the deficit. Everyone knew they had the potential to do it if they played their A game and this is what makes the manner of that 1^st leg home defeat more frustrating.  They threw that game away, so unprofessionally. There was a sense that they had to win the tie in the 1^st leg by two or three goals. Being conservative and keeping the game alive was out of the question. How different this tie could have been if they had not been so naïve in the first leg. 

Another issue with the pre talk press in England was that no one gave any credit to Monaco. They were written off as an easy touch when the draw was made and it was assumed that Arsenal would beat them tonight. Here was a team that had only lost two of their last 22 games, conceding just seven goals in the process and had not conceded a goal in three home games at the qualifying stage, a team that had shown, in contrast to Arsenal, some great professionalism at the Emirates in the first match. While revealing some limitations over the course of tonight’s 90 minutes they showed enough over the two legs to merit their place in the quarter finals.  

In the first half of tonight’s game Arsenal were very professional. They didn’t bomb forward seeking an early goal at the expense of their defence. They were patient, probing gently, seeking a measure of their opponents and they got their reward with a very strong finish to the half and that very important first goal. Giroud who had been held up as villain number 1 in the first leg seemed determined to make amends, on the end of most good Arsenal attacks he finally got his reward for his perseverance with an excellent finish high into the net with two Monaco players standing on the line. In fact, Arsenal should have had a second before the break with Welbeck having a driving effort blocked by Abdennour, who was lying prostrate on the ground, and Giroud shooting straight at Subasic in the Monaco goal with an instinctive flick.

Arsenal knocked out at the last 16 stage for the 5th year in a row.

Arsenal, began the second half on the front foot and after some early intense pressure Monaco began to drop off. Long balls sent forward found no Monaco player in the Arsenal half. However, as the game wore on Monaco began to get more a grip on the game, retaining possession and as a consequence setting up some good attacking plays. This pattern continued until the 79^th minute when Arsenal got their 2^nd goal. Walcott smacked the ball against the foot of the post with a controlled shot before a terrible clearance by Kurzawa allowed substitute Ramsey to gather and drill home from just inside the box. After that it was all hands to the pumps but even with 5 minutes of added time Arsenal couldn’t fashion a clear cut chance. In the end, it was a case of so near and yet so far again from Arsenal. As against Bayern Munich in past seasons they had given themselves too much to do from the first match.