A dismal 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, but it 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.
STATISTICS
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
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. Quick, clever,
hard-working.
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.
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