A terrible display from Arsenal, capped off with a goal from old foe Dimitar Berbatov, means they have it all to do against Monaco in the return leg.
Though Arsenal dominated possession in the first half, they failed to capitalise, and Monaco took the lead courtesy of Geoffrey Kondogbia in the 38th minute. His distance shot took a slight deflection off Per Mertesacker, which meant David Ospina was left entirely rooted to his line as the ball smashed into the net.
It was the first shot on target of the game – and the first time Monaco have scored in the first hour of a Champions League match this season.
The second shot on target came in the 53rd minute, as Berbatov – the former Tottenham man, who else? – lashed home a marvellous strike after a terrific cross on the break from Anthony Martial.
Arsenal did have some chances, but they were squandered. Olivier Giroud was the main culprit, notably firing over from six yards; however, he was not the only one who failed to take his opportunities.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s injury-time goal, a beautifully-taken curling shot from the edge of the box, had started to give them some hope for the return fixture; but the goalscorer himself was partly at fault for Monaco’s third, giving the ball away on the halfway line and allowing Yannick Ferreira Carrasco to gallop through and shoot past a despairing Ospina.
KEY MOMENTS
5’ ALMOST! There goes Cazorla, a diagonal run across the box, but Welbeck is blocked off by a pair of defenders.
35’ ACROBATIC! A blistering volley from Moutinho who’s falling to the floor even as he hits it, lashing high over the bar.
38’ GOAL! Well, that’s a thing. Kondogbia lets rip with a distance shot, left in so much space, and Ospina is rooted to the floor – it’s taken a deflection off Mertesacker on the way through.
53′ GOAL! And on the break, Martial runs through and squares beautifully to Berbatov, who smashes home from the edge of the box.
57′ SITTER! Another SITTER missed by Giroud! Oh, this is bad. Sanchez’s shot is parried by Subasic, and Giroud, on the rebound, leans back and fires high. Oh dear dear.
90’+1 GOAL! Beautiful from Oxlade-Chamberlain, tricking Kondogbia on the edge of the box and curling his shot home.
90’+4 GOAL! Awful defending from Arsenal. Oxlade-Chamberlain loses the ball on the half-way line, and Carrasco is more than happy to snaffle that and shoot past a despairing Ospina.
KEY STATS
Monaco scored with the first two shots on target recorded in the game.
Arsenal have kept only two clean sheets in their last eight Champions League knockout games at home.
Geoffrey Kondogbia is the first French player to score a Champions League goal for Monaco in more than a decade – since Gael Givet on 8 December 2004.
Olivier Giroud’s total of six shots tonight is the most he has ever recorded in a Champions League game. All were off target.
TALKING POINT
The irony of it all – It had to be Dimitar Berbatov, didn’t it, who put the boot in to Arsenal? A single goal deficit to take into the away leg, while not great news, would have been doable. Two goals? Three away goals?! That’s going to be tricky.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Anthony Martial, Monaco – Quick, clever, hard-working. If he plays like this in the second leg, it’s hard to see Arsenal putting the French side under enough pressure to turn this around.
Wenger slams players after Monaco defeat
Arsene Wenger was unhappy with the performance of his players after their defeat to Monaco.
PLAYER RATINGS
ARSENAL: Ospina 6, Bellerin 5, Mertesacker 5, Koscielny 5, Gibbs 6, Coquelin 5, Cazorla 6, Sanchez 6, Ozil 4, Welbeck 5, Giroud 4. Subs: Szczesny, Gabriel, Monreal, Chambers, Rosicky 5, Oxlade-Chamberlain 6, Walcott 6.
MONACO: Subasic 6, Elderson 6, Wallace 6, Abdennour 6, Toure 7, Fabinho 7, Moutinho 7, Kondogbia 7, Dirar 6, Martial 8, Berbatov 7. Subs: Stekelenburg, Kurzawa 6, Diallo, Matheus, Silva 6, Traore, Ferreira Carrasco 7.
