Arsenal v Monaco: Champions League – as it happened

http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2015/feb/25/arsenal-v-monaco-champions-league-live

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9.38pm GMT21:38

FULL TIME: Arsenal 1-3 Monaco

And that’s that. Oh Arsenal. A little chink of light courtesy of Oxlade-Chamberlain ... and then thanks to a mistake by the same player, Arsenal are in a worse position than they were before their goal flew in, away goals and all that. Can they become only the third team in Champions League history, after Ajax and Inter, to turn around a home deficit in the knockout stages? Yes, of course it’s possible, though they’ll need to be as brilliant in the principality as they were dreadful in London tonight. Giroud, Ozil and Mertesacker all suffered shockers. But for Monaco, Abdennour, Martial, Moutinho and - gallingly, for Arsenal fans - Berbatov were magnificent. They thoroughly deserved their victory, and by this thumping margin, too. “Could Arsenal fans argue that today’s issue of a certain tea-timely football-related e-mail perhaps baited Berbatov and Monaco?” wonders Sarah Rothwell, referencing the work of some clown who shall remain unnamed. “Of course, that would also suggest that Berbatov, much like myself, doesn’t have much of a life and actually reads the Fiver, so never mind...”

Updated at 9.46pm GMT

9.37pm GMT21:37

GOAL! Arsenal 1-3 Monaco (Ferreira-Carrasco 90 min +4)

No they can’t. And look what happens. Oxlade-Chamberlain gifts the ball to Bernardo Silva, just inside the Monaco half, while attempting to rake a pass down the left. Bernardo Silva clips the ball down the right wing for Ferreira-Carrasco, who romps towards the Arsenal box and whips a shot across Ospina, through his saloon-door of a hand, and into the bottom left, off the post.

Updated at 9.51pm GMT

9.35pm GMT21:35

90 min +3: Ferreira-Carrasco curls the free kick towards the bottom right. Ospina, after a fashion, gathers. Then launches long. Can Arsenal do something here?

9.34pm GMT21:34

90 min +2: That goal came in the first of four added minutes. Moutinho is booked for clock faffery. Rosicky bundles Ferreira-Carrasco to the ground, 30 yards from goal, just to the right of the target.

9.33pm GMT21:33

GOAL! Arsenal 1-2 Monaco (Oxlade-Chamberlain 90+1)

What a lovely goal this is! Sanchez earns a corner down the left with a shot from a tight angle. The corner leads to another corner, and that second one’s cleared. But Oxlade-Chamberlain picks up possession, 25 yards out, takes a touch, and curls a beauty into the top right! Arsenal still have it all to do in the second leg - the weight of history is against them - but the deficit has been halved!

Updated at 9.42pm GMT

9.32pm GMT21:32

89 min: Monaco rip upfield, two on two. Ferreira-Carrasco enters the area and shoots straight at Ospina. He had Bernardo Silva free in the middle. Bernardo Silva ain’t too happy.

9.31pm GMT21:31

88 min: Here’s why Arsenal need something, anything: teams have overturned a first-leg deficit in the Champions League knockout stages to go through 32 times. But only twice – Ajax’s defeat of Panathinaikos in the 1995/96 semi-finals, and Inter’s victory against Bayern Munich in the 2010/11 Round of 16 – has a side progressed after a home first-leg loss. Arsenal are in serious bother all right.

9.29pm GMT21:29

87 min: Ozil is booked for becoming irritated as Monaco faff around insouciantly, in the corner near Arsenal’s box.

9.28pm GMT21:28

86 min: A corner for Arsenal on the right. It’s flapped clear by Subasic, and suddenly Bernardo Silva is romping into the Arsenal half! Fortunately for the Gunners, the Monaco man is more interested in running down the clock, than running towards the Arsenal box with purpose. Having said that, he’s running down the clock, isn’t he, and Arsenal need something, anything here.

9.26pm GMT21:26

84 min: A final change of the evening. Martial is sacrificed for Bernardo Silva.

9.25pm GMT21:25

82 min: Sanchez makes off down the right and wins a hard-earned corner. Before the set piece can be taken, both teams make a change. Rosicky comes on for Cazorla, while Dirar is replaced by Kurzawa. And then the set piece, which is whipped into the six-yard box. Wallace flicks it on to the back post, where Sanchez contorts his body in an attempt to guide a shot into the top left from a tight angle. His effort bounces up and towards the corner, but ripples the side netting. Subasic had it covered.

9.22pm GMT21:22

80 min: Arsenal can’t get the ball at the moment. This is brilliant football from Monaco. There won’t have been a better performance in the Champions League this season. Arsenal have ten minutes plus stoppages to sully it.

9.20pm GMT21:20

78 min: Olé. Olé. Olé. Monaco are passing it round, flicking it hither and yon. Arsenal are frustrated. The travelling fans are ecstatic. Olé. Olé. Olé.

9.19pm GMT21:19

77 min: Martial cuts in from the left and belts a shot goalwards. Ospina, at the left-hand post, is on hand to catch without fuss.

9.19pm GMT21:19

75 min: The zippy Ferreira-Carrasco replaces Berbatov, who ambles off the field at popping-out-for-the-paper-and-pint-of-milk speed. He’s after a deserved ovation, and he gets one, albeit not from every paying punter from every section of the ground.

9.17pm GMT21:17

73 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain turns on the burners down the right. He reaches the byline and fizzes a clever ball to the near post, near Welbeck. But Abdennour sticks a leg out, again, to hook clear. Martial breaks upfield, and is upended by Bellerin, who is booked. This is top-quality end-to-end drama.

9.14pm GMT21:14

70 min: The increasingly confident Moutinho spins the confused Mertesacker down the left, and breaks into the area. He’s got Martial on his inside, but Oxlade-Chamberlain slides in to break up the move. A great tackle, seeing anything mistimed would have ended in all sorts of disaster for Arsenal. This isn’t over: the home side have a goal or two in them, for sure. But so do Monaco.

9.12pm GMT21:12

69 min: Another sliderule pass down the middle cuts Monaco in two. Cazorla the can opener. Walcott is free down the inside-right, Abdennour out of the game, but the ball’s a tad too heavy, and Subasic is out quickly to smother on the edge of the area. Walcott kind of gave up on that. He might have clattered the keeper, but he might have got a toe on the ball too.

9.11pm GMT21:11

68 min: Coquelin, already on a yellow, was lucky to escape a second and an early bath, sliding in late on Moutinho. It would have been harsh, maybe, but you’ll have seen them given. Wenger decides to play it safe, withdrawing the player in favour of Oxlade-Chamberlain.

9.10pm GMT21:10

66 min: Arsenal can take succour from those chances, but they’ll really need to watch themselves at the back; another goal for Monaco will surely do for them. Koscielny falls over while attempting a basic clearance. The ball squirts to Elderson, and he’s got a chance to shoot from the edge of the D, but Martial gets in the way, and Arsenal breathe again.

9.08pm GMT21:08

64 min: It’s not Arsenal’s night. Not yet. A ball’s slid down the inside-right channel to release Walcott into the area. He’s looking at Subasic’s eyes - and batters the ball against his trouser arrangement! A brave save, that’s for sure, but the ball rebounds to Welbeck, who must prod home from ten yards, the keeper prone again. But a combination of Wallace and, frustratingly, Walcott, deflects the ball over the bar! Arsenal have been a shambles, on the whole, and yet could easily have levelled this match through Giroud and now Welbeck. It’s a thin line all right.

9.05pm GMT21:05

62 min: And now Moutinho’s looping a glorious, dipping, swerving shot from distance, having cut inside Bellarin on the left. That wasn’t far away from slipping between Ospina and the crossbar. Two bits of skill within a minute, that can only truthfully be described as Berbatovesque. The man himself will have been proud to stand and watch that.

9.04pm GMT21:04

61 min: Dirar dances in from the right and slides the ball inside for Moutinho, who immediately executes a delicious backflick to the left wing, where Martial is clear! Luckily for Arsenal, Ospina smothers the resulting shot, and the resulting corner is cleared. What a piece of skill by Moutinho, though!

9.02pm GMT21:02

60 min: Giroud is hooked, with Walcott coming on. The Arsenal faithful are doing their level best to keep spirits high, but the cheers already have a desperate edge.

9.00pm GMT21:00

57 min: Sanchez takes matters into his own hands by picking up a loose ball to the right of the Monaco D and blootering a shot towards the bottom left. It’s a pearler. It’s met by Subasic, who can only parry the ball out towards Giroud. He’s got to score, six yards out, with the keeper prone. But he leans back and blasts over. What an appalling miss. This is painful right now for Arsenal; everything that could go wrong is doing exactly that.

8.58pm GMT20:58

55 min: And Berbatov, the erstwhile Spurs hero, on the scoresheet too. Ashburton Grove is in a state of shock right now. “Do you think Arsenal should change their emblem to a man shooting himself in the foot?” quips Ruth Purdue. The cannon’s already facing the wrong way, that’s a start.

Updated at 9.01pm GMT

8.57pm GMT20:57

BERBAGOL! Arsenal 0-2 Monaco (Berbatov 53)

Oh my. A long ball up the Monaco left. For some reason, Mertesacker romped into the Monaco half with a view to intercepting. Nope! Martial romps away in acres down the wing, then slides a pass inside for Berbatov, who enters the area, one on one with Ospina. He lashes his shot into the left-hand side of the goal, and Arsenal are in all sorts of trouble now. Monaco only scored four goals in the group stage, but they’ve got another two already within the hour!

Updated at 9.48pm GMT

8.54pm GMT20:54

51 min: Fabinho bundles Cazorla to the ground, ten yards in front of the Arsenal box, out on the left. A free kick in a dangerous position. Arsenal load the box on the right. Cazorla floats the ball in, and finds the head of Giroud, eight yards out. He should plant the ball into the net, but his effort flies harmlessly over the bar. Not good. He might have been offside there, actually, though I’m not sure the flag went up. No blushes saved, then.

8.52pm GMT20:52

49 min: It’s all Arsenal in these early exchanges. Welbeck flicks the ball delightfully down the left wing past Toure for Gibbs, who has space to break into the area. A miscontrol allows Wallace to stride over, blast the ball clear, and win a free kick by going over Gibbs’s leg. But again, this is better from the home side.

8.50pm GMT20:50

48 min: Bellerin attempts to burst down the right, but can’t find a team-mate in the middle. This has put Monaco on the back foot immediately, though, and the crowd are responding accordingly. Just what Arsenal need, though of course the firsts half began like this too. They’ll need to keep it up this time.

8.49pm GMT20:49

45 mins and 30-odd seconds: Sanchez stabs a pass down the inside-right channel and chases after it himself. He’s clear in the area, albeit at a prohibitive angle. He cuts a low ball into the centre for Giroud, who flicks - or does he shin? - a close-range effort wide right from the corner of the six-yard box. So nearly a blistering start to the half from Arsenal, who have been given the mother of all bollockings at half time if that pacy burst was anything to go by!

8.47pm GMT20:47

And we’re off again! Theo Walcott was out on the pitch warming up during half time, but he’s not been unleashed yet. Arsenal’s starting XI are out first, and they’re kept waiting by Monaco, who hang about in the tunnel, specifically to irritate. They’re booed as they take the field, like they’ll care. No changes, and the visitors get the ball rolling.

8.34pm GMT20:34

Half-time entertainment: Anyone for another reunion not quite going to plan?

8.32pm GMT20:32

HALF TIME: Arsenal 0-1 Monaco

... but it’s not very good. Way too close to the keeper. Pluckity catch! And that’s the end of the first half. Monaco’s goal was a preposterous deflection, but it’s hard to deny that they deserve the lead. The early exchanges apart, Arsenal have been poor. Poor Arsene’s big reunion is in danger of turning sour right now.

Updated at 8.34pm GMT

8.31pm GMT20:31

45 min: Elderson is booked for a rash slide on Welbeck, who, possibly fed up, had embarked on a jet-heeled sprint along the wing. Arsenal need more of that. A chance to load the box. Cazorla curls in the free kick ...

8.30pm GMT20:30

44 min: A few groans from the home crowd as Ozil and Sanchez lose communication links, as the pair attempt to carve out a move down the left channel. The ball flies out of play for a goal kick. Groan groan groan.

8.28pm GMT20:28

42 min: Sanchez tries to be a little cuter, zig-zagging down the left and into the area. A lovely run, direct and yet full of finesse. But Wallace steps across to nick the ball. Coquelin, in the middle of the Monaco half, tries to launch another phase of attack, but miscontrols and lunges in on Kondogbia in an attempt to retrieve the ball. Nope. And that’s a yellow card. He has the good grace to refrain from complaining too much.

8.26pm GMT20:26

40 min: Gibbs makes off down the left, the ball bouncing in front of him. He meets it at the byline, looping it back for Giroud, who plants a header over the bar from the penalty spot. The evidence so far suggests Arsenal need to be a little cuter than this.

8.25pm GMT20:25

GOAL! Arsenal 0-1 Monaco (Kondogbia 38)

Moutinho, down the inside-right channel in space. He’s got time to slide the ball to his left, where Kondogbia’s racing at pace. Kondogbia takes a touch, then belts the ball as hard as he can towards the top right. Ospina goes after it, but the ball takes a deflection off the rooted Mertesacker, and embarks on a different route, straight down the middle. Ospina’s made a micro-movement in the wrong direction, and can’t switch back. Monaco have the lead, and a precious away goal!

Updated at 8.42pm GMT

8.23pm GMT20:23

37 min: Sanchez makes ground in the Monaco half, before sliding a pass wide right for the overlapping Bellerin. The full back whips a low cross into the middle, where Giroud swings a fast-paced chip over the bar from 12 yards. That ball was moving, and wasn’t easy to keep down, so a decent effort by Giroud.

8.21pm GMT20:21

35 min: Martial jigs down the left, reaches the byline, and pulls the ball back into the area for Moutinho who, running at full pelt down the left channel, sticks out a leg in an attempt to welly the ball into the top right. Nope! Full marks for ambition, I suppose.

8.20pm GMT20:20

33 min: But they regroup quickly, streaming upfield, Ozil making a bit of space down the inside-left channel and sliding a pass across the face of the box for Sanchez. A bit of space, though the ball’s a smidgen behind him, and he’s forced to check before looking for the top left with a diagonal blast. Not bad, but not quite on target. Just over. The closest Arsenal have come, though.

8.19pm GMT20:19

32 min: The Arsenal back four backpedal to a man, Moutinho racing at them and towards the box with great intent. He should shoot, but confused by the presence of Berbatov just ahead and to his left, opts to play a clever pass. It’s not so clever, and Berbatov falls backwards on his buttocks in the comic style, unable to gather the loose ball. What a waste. Arsenal in a panic there.

8.17pm GMT20:17

31 min: Koscielny takes matters into his own hands, busting down the left wing with purpose. He cuts into the box and hits a low cross-cum-shot which bounces off Ozil and heads towards the bottom-left corner. Not at any particular speed, mind you, and Subasic is on hand to snaffle.

8.15pm GMT20:15

30 min: Arsenal are enjoying the lion’s share of possession, as a home side should do, but they’re not really hurting Monaco too much. Cazorla looks the main threat. He’s been excellent. Sanchez looks busy enough. Ozil has been erratic, Welbeck skittish. It’s been a mixed bag all right.

Updated at 8.32pm GMT

8.14pm GMT20:14

28 min: Cazorla embarks on a superlative slalom down the middle, then drifts a little to the right where space opens up ahead. He’s preparing to cock his leg and shoot from the edge of the box, when Kondogbia, on his shoulder for some time, slides in with a telescopic leg. That’s an exhilarating dribble, and an even better tackle. Applause all round.

8.12pm GMT20:12

25 min: Welbeck is bundled over, 40 yards from goal. Cazorla chips a fairly hopeless ball into the box. Abdennour guides it back to Subasic, and it’s just as well he’s aimed it to the right of goal, because the keeper leaps about in the morris dancing style, and slaps the ball out for a corner! Eh? And it nearly costs Monaco, because Sanchez’s delivery from the right nearly finds Giroud’s head, six yards out. He was preparing to batter home when Wallace eyebrowed the thing away at the very last second. Magnificent defending, though the same can’t be said about the goalkeeping.

8.09pm GMT20:09

23 min: Sanchez twinkles down the middle of the park, before flicking the ball right to Bellerin, who can’t quite get to it. But his presence is enough to panic Abdennour into conceding the corner. Sanchez swings the set piece into the mixer, in the time-honoured British style. Giroud gets his head on it, ten yards out, but can only waft an effort wide left of goal.

8.06pm GMT20:06

20 min: Moutinho has a dig from 25 yards. It’s not particularly good, bobbling apologetically out of play to the left of goal, but a shooting chance is a shooting chance. Monaco are now giving as good as they’re getting.

8.05pm GMT20:05

19 min: Arsenal have dropped the pace, so Cazorla bursts down the right with a view to speeding things up again. It nearly pays dividends, too. He can’t break clear, but lays off for Ozil, who shuttles one down the channel to release Bellerin into the area. The young full back allows the ball to clank between his legs and, half falling over, he fouls Elderson. Free kick to Monaco, releasing the pressure. But that’s better from Arsenal, a return to the approach of the early exchanges, which caused Monaco so many problems.

8.03pm GMT20:03

16 min: Kondogbia, down the left, curls a speculative ball towards the Arsenal box from deep. Berbatov, making good down the inside-right channel, battles with Gibbs and Koscielny to the right of the D. For a second he looks like breaking through, neither defender dealing with the situation. But the flag goes up. Offside? A foul for over-zealous contact? I’ll be straight with you, I’m not sure, but either decision would be kind to Arsenal. Monaco are getting a proper foothold in this, which will concern Arsene Wenger.

8.00pm GMT20:00

15 min: Dirar takes a free kick, 40 yards out down the Monaco right. It’s swung dangerously into the box, which is full of blue shirts. However most of those shirts are offside, and Giroud, running backwards at speed, muscles his neck to head clear anyway.

7.59pm GMT19:59

13 min: Toure, down the right, swings a delightful diagonal pass to Martial on the other wing. Martial is partial to a bit of box action, but can’t break into the area. He checks back and passes to Elderson, whose cross towards the far post for Berbatov is worse than useless. Monaco have settled a little bit now, though.

7.57pm GMT19:57

11 min: Sanchez lumps a bouncing bomb down the inside-left channel for Ozil. Wallace comes across the player to bundle the ball out for a corner, though he does so using his right arm. That didn’t look particularly cynical, as the ball reared up at the defender... but Wallace did move his arm towards the ball, and you’ve seen them given. It’d have been as cheap as they come, mind you. Ozil makes the claim, but not with any particular enthusiasm. The resulting corner is a waste of time.

7.55pm GMT19:55

9 min: Gibbs is a busy presence down the left. He nearly zips clear into the area, but has the ball stolen from him by Wallace. Then he’s looping a cross into the ball in the general direction of Welbeck, but Subasic comes to claim.

Updated at 8.22pm GMT

7.53pm GMT19:53

8 min: Berbatov puts himself about down the left, winning the ball off a snoozy Bellerin. He lays off to Martial, and wants the ball back, quickly, as he’s in space down the wing. But Martial faffs around, and when he eventually dispatches the pass, Berbatov is offside, with steam coming out of each lug, and little parps from his nostrils too. A quicker ball and Arsenal would have been in a little trouble there.

Updated at 8.02pm GMT

7.52pm GMT19:52

5 min: This is a bright and lively start by Arsenal. A raid down the left through Gibbs. His low cross is aimed for Welbeck in the middle, and Abdennour does extremely well to stick a leg out and hoick clear. But Arsenal are soon coming back down the same wing through Cazorla. He finds Welbeck with his cross, but only well past the far post. Welbeck recycles the ball to win a corner, though nothing comes of it. Monaco’s goal remains in tact, and Subasic hasn’t had a save to make yet, but there’s a sense that he’ll be having to do some sort of work soon. Impressive from the home side, who have come wheeching out of the blocks.

7.49pm GMT19:49

3 min: Another long hoick down the channel, this time along the left by Koscielny. Giroud is after this one, but he doesn’t have the pace to burn off Wallace. “Nice pool,” agrees Charles Antaki. “But I bet you wouldn’t find Fabio Cannavaro risking jail by swimming in it. Actually it looks awful - no wonder Glenn and pal are fully clothed.”

7.48pm GMT19:48

2 min: A simple, common-or-garden ball down the middle of the park by Gibbs. Welbeck spins Abdennour, to the right of the D, and breaks into the box! But he’s facing a fairly tight angle, and blooters the effort over the bar for three rugby points. Not much of an effort, really, but that’ll please Arsenal enough. Early signs that this makeshift Monaco defence won’t be quite as watertight as usual.

7.46pm GMT19:46

And we’re off! Arsenal get the ball rolling, kicking towards... eh, I can never quite get my bearings. Drayton Park train station? Anyway, the ball’s stroked around the back awhile, all the defenders getting a first touch. “That picture!” splutters Simon McMahon. “It’s like Johnny and June at the lake house, isn’t it? A case of the green, green grass of home for Arsene and Arsenal tonight, but will they walk the line, or get busted?”

7.43pm GMT19:43

The teams are out! A cracking atmosphere at Ashburton Grove, with the Uefa-commissioned bastardised version of this ...

... pinging off the curvy walls. The crowd are giving it plenty. Arsenal will be playing in their famous Herbert Chapman styled red and white. Monaco, who normally knock about in very similar garb themselves, are in bright blue. “I hope Monaco’s match programme for the second leg gives full homage to Arsene’s glory years with them,” writes Ian Copestake, “otherwise Brendan Rodgers will be on their backs as well.”

7.22pm GMT19:22

Let’s be polite and deal with the guests first. Monaco send Dimitar Berbatov out to lead their attack. He’s Monaco’s leading scorer this season with six goals. The exciting winger Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco - second in the French club’s scoring charts with four goals - sits on the bench, not considered fit enough to start. Monaco looking to keep it tight, then, as is their wont. They’re pretty good at it. As for Arsenal, Arsene Wenger’s gone gung-ho in search of a crucial win, naming Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla, Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud in his starting line-up. And a couple of defenders too!

7.07pm GMT19:07

Persons of the drama

Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Coquelin, Cazorla, Sanchez, Ozil, Welbeck, Giroud.Subs: Szczesny, Gabriel, Rosicky, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Monreal, Chambers.

Monaco: Subasic, Toure, Wallace Santos, Abdennour, Echiejile, Dirar, Kondogbia, Fabinho, Joao Moutinho, Martial, Berbatov.Subs: Stekelenburg, Kurzawa, Matheus Carvalho, Bernardo Silva, Carrasco, Alain Traore, Diallo.

Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)

6.30pm GMT18:30

Arsene Wenger and Monaco meet again! The Arsenal boss made his managerial name at Monaco back in the day, 1987 to 1994 if we’re being precise. It quickly became apparent that Wenger had that Riviera touch: he guided the club to a league championship in 1988 after signing Glenn Hoddle, Mark Hateley and Patrick Battiston, and added a cup in 1991, George Weah the star man by then. A side featuring youthful versions of Emmanuel Petit, Youri Djorkaeff and Lilian Thuram reached the final of the 1992 Cup Winners Cup. The French national team and Bayern Munich came sniffing around, but Wenger stayed loyal. Much good it did him: he was sacked after a slow start to the 1994/95 season, with the club in 17th place.

Wenger re-emerged at Nagoya Grampus Eight a year later, though Arsenal were keeping tabs on his career. Here’s a highly sympathetic take on Wenger’s sacking by Monaco in the Highbury club’s programme for a game against Crystal Palace in October 1994 (many thanks, in the form of a hat tip, to Karris Evans for unearthing the programme, sponsored by JVC, leaders in video and hi-fi, £1.50).

Monaco sacked coach Arsene Wenger because of their poor start to the season - a sad reward for the loyalty exhibited by the coach.. Not only had Wenger been with the club seven years - winning both the French championship and the cup in that time - but earlier this year he had rejected offers to manage the French national team then top German club Bayern Munich. On both occasions Wenger said he felt it would be immoral to walk out on his contract. However, club president Jean-Louis Campora clearly was not in such an honourable mood, saying: “Because of the club’s situation and because of our recent results, I was left to put an end to Arsene Wenger’s functions.”

Wenger - who of course was eventually snaffled by Arsenal, subsequently becoming the most successful manager in the club’s history - will be hoping to put an end to Monaco’s functions this evening. This is Arsenal’s 15th consecutive appearance in the last 16, though they’ve fallen at this hurdle in each of the last four campaigns. But those defeats were at the hands of Barcelona, Milan and Bayern Munich (twice). Monaco by comparison are less accomplished at this level of late, reaching this stage for the first time in a decade. And Arsenal are in the better form since the end of this season’s group stage, with 11 wins from 14 matches as opposed to Monaco’s nine from 14.

But Arsenal can’t take Monaco lightly. There are danger signs. For a start, despite Arsenal’s better recent record in the competition, the clubs have identical histories overall: one final reached (2006 and 2004 respectively), one final lost. Monaco had the best defensive record of the group stage, conceding just the one goal (though they only scored four). They’ve lost just the once on English soil, to Liverpool in the 2004/05 groups. Their last, and indeed only, competitive trip to London saw them claw back a two-goal deficit at Chelsea to make it to the 2004 final. They beat Arsenal in a pre-season friendly. And there is simply no predicting what former Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov might do.

This is Wenger’s first competitive match-up with his former club. He’ll be desperate to enjoy it. This promises to be a fascinating encounter. It’s on! Oh, and Palace beat Arsenal 2-1, a couple of first-half goals from John Salako, Ian Wright with the late consolation.

Kick off: 7.45pm at the Emirates, 8.45pm on the Riviera.

Updated at 8.36pm GMT