Arsenal 1-3 Monaco: A painful slap for Wenger and his team

Although rated higher than their opponents, the Emirates Stadium team suffered a shocking defeat in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 on February 25.

Giroud shot six times in this match but all missed. Photo: Reuters.

Arsenal are considered to have been lucky in the round of 16 this year, compared to other runners-up or compared to themselves in recent seasons. It is clearly easier to face a team that has lost many key players like Monaco, instead of Barca or Bayern.

However, Arsenal still received a tragic result in the first leg of the round of 16. At home at Emirates Stadium, coach Arsene Wenger's team unexpectedly lost, playing both ineffectively and unluckily. The "Professor" had a reunion with his old team in a way that could not be more disappointing. The British media was also embarrassed when just 24 hours before the match, they painted the Gunners as the "Dark Horse" of the Champions League and even placed the championship bet on Arsenal.

The Round of 16 is still a difficult curse for the Gunners. For four consecutive seasons, Arsenal have stopped here and it is likely that this number will increase to five.

For Monaco, scoring three away goals is a huge advantage. The team currently fourth in Ligue 1 has one foot in the quarter-finals.

Making up for the lackluster performance of both teams in the first half, the final result was dramatic, especially in the extra minutes. Monaco played defensively and were lucky to open the scoring thanks to Geoffrey Kondogbia. Arsenal were forced to push forward in search of an equalizer but were counter-attacked, with the finishing touch coming from Dimitar Berbatov.

In the first minute of injury time, substitute midfielder Oxlade Chamberlain reduced the score to 1-2, rekindling hope for the Gunners. However, in the last minute of injury time, from a quick counter-attack, Ferreira Carrasco put an end to the match with a decisive shot.

Not only did Arsenal play poorly, they were also unlucky. Oliver Giroud was very unlucky with a series of shots that went wide. Especially in the 57th minute when the French striker kicked the ball into the sky from very close range even though the goal was empty.

Danny Welbeck had a shot from 5 meters away, the goal had no goalkeeper but the ball hit Theo Walcott.

Seeing his team struggling, the French coach could not hide his disappointment outside the field.

Coach Wenger covered his face because of his players' deadlocked play. Photo: Reuters.

Arsenal were in control of the game, while Monaco played a defensive counter-attacking game. It is no coincidence that the French team has only conceded one goal in six games in the Champions League group stage this season. Faced with such a well-organized defense, the Gunners played at a slow pace, leading to a deadlock in finding a way into the goal.

Monaco occasionally organized counter-attacks but they were not very dangerous. But luck smiled on the away team's players. In the first half, Arsenal did not have any shots on target, Monaco scored a goal once. In the 38th minute, Geoffrey Kondogbia took a lucky shot, hit Per Metersacker, changed direction and flew into the net, leaving goalkeeper Ospina helpless.

In the second half, the home team increased the speed and played faster. There were more chances but no goals because the strikers were unlucky.

In the 53rd minute, Monaco had a perfect counter-attack. Only three away players defeated more than six Arsenal players with reasonable passes. After a few moves, the ball came to the feet of Berbatov, who was in an unmarked position, and the experienced Bulgarian striker shot decisively to double the gap.

Berbatov is still effective in one-on-one situations with the goalkeeper. Photo: KQ.

Coach Wenger replaced Walcott and then Chamberlain to take advantage of the speed of the two English players. In the first minute of extra time, Chamberlain had a beautiful shot from outside the box, reducing the score to 1-2.

The English midfielder lost the ball again a few minutes later when Arsenal were attacking, allowing Monaco to launch a quick counter-attack. Ferreira was able to shoot diagonally, beating Ospina.

According to VNE