By Alan Duffy
Arsenal 1-3 Monaco – Champions League Last 16 First Leg – 25h February 2015
It was Groundhog Day at the Emirates on Wedensday night as the Gunners once again collapsed in the first leg of their Last 16 clash with Monaco.
After a bright start from the hosts, it was Monaco who started to dominate as the Gunners struggled to click into gear. And then, on 38 minutes and with crushing inevitability, Arsenal went a goal behind, this time from a deflected Geoffrey Kondogbia effort.
In the second-half, the Gunners continued to toil against Leonardo Jardim’s youthful Monaco side, with Mesut Ozil once again ineffectual and Olivier Giroud wasteful. And then, in true Arsenal style, they were caught on the break, with none other than former Spurs man Dimitar Berbatov firing home to make it 2-0.
The introduction of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain injected a bit of urgency into the north Londoners evening and eventually Oxlade-Chamberlain would score a late goal to put Arsene Wenger’s men right back in the tie. Until sub Yannick Ferreira Carrasco netted for the visitors after yes, you guessed it, another counter-attack.
So another embarrassing Champions League night at the Emirates leaves Arsenal needing to win in the French Riviera and score at least three goals. So much for the ‘easy draw’, eh?
Photos…
Highlights…
Photos: Getty Images
Highlights: Footytube