Pathetic. Shambolic. Naive. Arsenal departed to a chorus of boos after a deserved defeat by a Monaco side superior mentally, physically and tactically. It’s Monte Carlo and probably bust now for Arsène Wenger as he returns to his old home on March 17. The club that made him could be the club that breaks him.
Monaco did not park the yacht; they played with intelligence and elan, ripping Wenger’s team to pieces with precise counter-attacks, raiding into space vacated by Arsenal’s Awol defenders. Prince Albert looked on from the smart seats while Arsenal looked like they had spent an evening at the Queen Vic.
After watching his side suffer a collective paralysis in their biggest game of the season, Wenger bore the look of a manager who could hear the clock ticking. He clung to the hope that Arsenal could overturn the deficit at the Stade Louis II but he was drained, a man running out of ideas and excuses.
Arsene Wenger cannot bear to watch during Arsenal's defeat (AP)
Wenger heads to the famous casino town for what could prove his last throw of the dice in the Champions League. Arsenal’s board are very supportive of their manager – far too supportive as he needs challenging – but evenings like this really should erode their faith. The majority shareholder, Stan Kroenke, tends to attend the bigger games but he witnessed a humiliation here.
Wenger lamented his players being “a bit suicidal defensively” and accused them of losing their nerve, of playing with heart rather than head. It was difficult to disagree, barring the “a bit” part. Such criticism may not go down well in the dressing-room, a place that lacks strong characters at the best of times.
Arsenal’s distinguished manager must take much of the blame for this. He sets the mood, he shapes the tactics, he builds the squad and selects the starting XI and ultimately he must take responsibility. It is a familiar lament in this quarter but Wenger has failed to recruit sufficient leaders, warriors, those who will fight to turn around games, those who do not freeze as Arsenal invariably do at some point in Europe.
Sky Sports picked a poignant moment to screen Arsenal Media’s excellent “Invincibles” documentary, that celebration of a team that exuded mettle, balance and technical class. Sky Sports also showed the “Invisibles” on Wednesday night. Mesut Özil, a World Cup winner, was hardly seen. He is blessed with so many gifts but failed to impose them for his club in such a crux moment.
Arsenal were so sluggish for so long, especially their captain Per Mertesacker, who even lost out in a sprint to Dimitar Berbatov, who is more Agatha Christie than Linford Christie over 100 metres.
Olivier Giroud has been enjoying plenty of praise recently but is still too one-footed, not quick enough and missed a couple of good chances. He is not ruthless enough at this level. Only when Theo Walcott came on, and particularly Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, did Arsenal carry a threat.
Olivier Giroud was guilty of a dreadful miss during defeat (AP)
For all Arsenal’s collapse, Monaco deserved sustained lauding. There were 2,000 Monaco fans here, which cannot have left too many back in the Principality, who were chanting “We are at home” and “Olé” as Joao Moutinho was playing some superb passes, as Geoffrey Kondogbia was dominating midfield and scoring their first, as Anthony Martial was magnificent down the left.
They cheered, and did a brief Poznan, as Berbatov scored their second. Even when Oxlade-Chamberlain struck, Arsenal still dozed off, allowing Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco to sprint through to seize a third away goal and surely put this tie beyond Arsenal.
Former Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov, scored Monaco's second goal (AFP)
This was not in the script. Monaco are currently fourth in Ligue 1, managed only four goals in the group stage, and were missing the suspended Jérémy Toulalan and had lost Ricardo Carvalho to injury. This had appeared a straightforward, enticing draw not an ambush.
Monaco appeared far less forbidding opponents than Arsenal’s more recent knockout conquerors in Bayern Munich (twice), AC Milan and Barcelona as they bowed out of the round of 16 in the past four years. Yet Monaco had conceded only one goal in six group-stage games (to Benfica’s Talisca) and their defence was imperious here.
Aymen Abdennour, who was taking responsibility for Giroud, intervened early on to make two importance clearances. Wallace cleared as Kieran Gibbs threatened. It set the tone for Monaco’s resistance. They came hunting away goals. Monaco had Berbatov languidly leading the line, the 34-year-old former Spurs player being regularly booed. He responded in his usual unhurried, technical way, flicking one elegant pass to Martial. The French teenager was attacking down the left, keeping one eye on Héctor Bellerín’s excursions. Monaco’s captain, Nabil Dirar, was moving down the right while Moutinho was playing just off Berbatov, finding space to lace a shot wide after 20 minutes.
Yet Monaco’s most impressive performer was Kondogbia, the strong central midfielder, who was breaking up Arsenal moves, twice dispossessing Santi Cazorla and then Danny Welbeck. Monaco were playing with shape, with discipline, with threatening forays forward.
Geoffrey Kondogbia scored Monaco's opening goal (AFP)
Arsenal had a promising period. Laurent Koscielny tested Danijel Subasic. Then Alexis Sánchez exchanged passes with Özil, but swept his shot over the bar.
Monaco absorbed the pressure and responded in style. Seven minutes from the break, Monaco broke through. It all came from a long clearance from Subasic, who drilled the ball upfield towards Berbatov. The Bulgarian was leaping with Koscielny, contesting the ball, which fell towards the touchline. Welbeck hesitated as Almamy Touré stormed in, the 18-year-old right-back from Mali winning the ball and transferring inside to Moutinho. The Portuguese international, a one-time target of Everton during his Sporting Lisbon days, simply shifted the ball across to Kondogbia. Arsenal’s defence was all over the place, Mertesacker in particular in no-man’s-land.
Yannick Ferreira Carrasco celebrates after scoring his side's third goal (AFP)
Kondogbia, the France midfielder, took a touch and then let fly with his left foot, the invitation to shoot presented by the absence of opponents in his immediate vicinity. Kondogbia’s shot struck Mertesacker en route, the deflection completely wrong-footing David Ospina, who fell backwards in frustration as the ball raced into the net. Kondogbia sprinted towards the Arsenal fans, leaping in the air in celebration before pointing to the heavens as his team-mates embraced him.
Arsenal emerged early for the second half but Giroud’s struggles continued apace. From a Cazorla free-kick, Giroud headed over.
Then Monaco pierced Arsenal’s scrambled defence again with a brilliant counter-attack, the ball shifted from Fabinho to Martial, who squared the ball to the unmarked Berbatov. Mertesacker was nowhere. Bellerín sprinted across, so did Koscielny but it was too late. Berbatov thumped an emphatic finish past Ospina.
Arsenal fans were seething, especially when Giroud missed from close range after a Sánchez shot was stopped. They cheered when Walcott replaced Giroud, who departed to some applause and a few reverse Churchills.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gave Arsenal a glimmer of hope (PA)
Staring indignity in the face, Wenger then sent on Oxlade-Chamberlain for Francis Coquelin, then Tomas Rosicky for Cazorla. Oxlade-Chamberlain gave Arsenal brief hope, scoring a magnificent, curling goal from 25 yards.
But the shambolic nature of a defence was encapsulated as Ferreira-Carrasco ran through, placing a right-footed shot past the exposed Ospina. The inquest will be painful for Wenger as he heads to his old home.
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