Arsenal bow out on away goals

For the fifth season in a row Arsenal have failed to qualify for the last eight of the Champions League. Time and time again it's been so close yet so far and it doesn't seem to matter who the opponents are. I was very angry after the final whistle went, simply because of the naivety of the performance in the first leg. We went into this tie full of positivity; at last we had dodged the bullet of a Barcelona or Bayern Munich but because of our first leg performance we were left ruing what could have been after beating Monaco 2-0 in the second leg last night. Yes it was a very good display last night but I was struggling to find words when people were claiming it was a spirited performance.

Santi Cazorla tried to work his magic on a night Arsenal crashed out of Europe

Of course Arsenal did well to score two goals against a side that rarely concede this season but how long is it until we do actually advance beyond the last 16? For me that's the main concern here. We consistently do well in the league to reach this competition but at the end of the day what's it been for? To be knocked out in the last 16 for five years in a row? That shouldn't be the case at all. This team are a lot better than that and we should expect a lot more.

It remains to be said that there were plenty of positives to take though. I can't say I'm proud because at the end of the day the tie was over two legs and in my opinion the right team deserved to go through on the balance of 180 minutes of football. I perhaps overreacted at the final whistle, after all we have the FA Cup semi-final to look forward to whilst we're in great form in the Premier League. We have set ourselves up very well for the back end of the season so to go out at this stage in the Champions League is hugely frustrating.

Arsene Wenger's tactics in the first leg were questionable. At 2-1 down we were fine in terms of leaving something for us get at it the second leg. However, had we not conceded a simply ludicrous third then we'd be in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. In the return leg yesterday we were of course a lot better. Not that he had much choice though as we attacked from the off. We were perhaps a little timid in our approach in the opening 20 minutes or so but once we got going Monaco found us very hard to deal with. Danny Welbeck once again proved his selection and he was very lively down the right, he set up Giroud for the first goal and showed good pace to beat Kurzawa at left back on a few occasions. Aaron Ramsey's exclusion was the only doubt as only one change was made from the first leg; Monreal in for Gibbs.

Olivier Giroud certainly atoned for his first leg performance to some extent. Since his awful night in front of goal that night at the Emirates he's been in great form and he added to his tally for the season with an emphatic finish last night. It was his first and only Champions League goal of the season after being injured earlier in the campaign. Welbeck sent him through and after Giroud saw his shot saved he fired home the rebound into the roof of the net.

This Arsenal performance was exemplarly of us under Arsene Wenger in the last couple of years and was almost predictable. Score a goal at a vital time, go for it in the second half, score with little time remaining to give us hope and then fail to score the most crucial goal that would've taken us through. Because of that it remains hugely frustrating as it's an all too similar feeling. Aaron Ramsey's introduction in the second half gave us a bigger impetus from which to perform from. He completely changed the game when he came on and gave us an extra drive from midfield. He scored at the weekend and added the second in this game, comfortably slotting home after a lapse in defence from Kurzawa. The return of the Welshman from injury who looks to be firing on all cylinders is a huge positive and he will produce a real selection dilemma going into Newcastle on Saturday.

The most disappointing aspect of the second leg last night was the performances of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil; neither really offered a considerable goal threat throughout the tie. Sanchez was trying his best but on too many occasions he tried to overplay and instead of passing the ball ran into the man and wasted possession. It's harsh to lay into him but for me he didn't have a good game and when you pay that sort of money for a player you expect them to be able to play a bigger role in the tie than he did. Sanchez has looked to be tiring recently and he is due a rest. On his day he's an exceptional talent but in the last few matches, excluding QPR, he's looked off the boil.

A similar sort of thing can be said for Mesut Ozil who didn't come alive until the final quarter of the game. Some begged to differ over the German's performance and said he played well. It wasn't his worst game but he repetitively gave the ball away in certain situations when an easy ball was on. He did however offer something we haven't seen from him in the past, and that is why many are saying he had a good game. Instead of petering off in the latter stages of the game he was willing to track back and work hard for the team. His body language for a change was a very positive one and you can tell he loves this competition. Lets hope he can now transfer that into Arsenal's domestic games.

The defence were improved from the first leg, but they didn't have much to do. Mertesacker against the pace of Martial and Carrasco still seemed to struggle whilst Monreal wasn't always as solid as we've come to expect of him in recent months. Laurent Koscielny however was outstanding again and he played a similar role to the one against West Ham.

As said, it is very annoying to go out at this stage but there's plenty to remain positive about. We're in the semi-final of the FA Cup whilst we remain just a point of second placed Manchester City in the Premier League.

The team's line-ups:

Monaco: Subasic, Fabinho, Abdennour, Wallace, Kurzawa, Toulalan, Kondogbia, Moutinho, Dirar(86), Martial(59), Berbatov(69).
Subs: Stekelenburg, R.Carvalho, M.Carvalho, Silva(69), Ferreira-Carrasco(59), Elderson(86), Toure.

Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal(83), Coquelin(63), Cazorla, Welbeck(71), Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud.
Subs: Szczesny, Gabriel, Chambers, Gibbs(83), Flamini, Ramsey(63), Walcott(71).

My man of the match: Laurent Koscielny.

Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR).
Attendance: 17,263.

Arsenal suffer first leg defeat to Monaco

It’s almost impossible to begin to think of what to start with when writing this. To put it simply though, it was the worst Arsenal performance I have seen in a very long time. To make matters worse, I was in the ground for this game and from the very beginning we didn't even look like a side that wanted to win the game. The whole match was littered with errors but we must give credit to Monaco who played very well. Arsene Wenger was tactically outdone by his ex-club who showed exactly why they've been in such solid form this season. We only breached their defence late on in a game that saw our defence more naive than I've ever seen them be.

Arsenal players stand dejected after another poor performance in the last 16 of the Champions League

Monaco came to the Emirates and set up brilliantly well, their midfield out did ours, they were sharp on the break and resilient at the back. If this sort of result had happened once you could forgive them but this error stricken game is something that has happened for numerous seasons now. We’re on the verge of crashing out of the Champions League last 16 for the fifth year running. Arsenal’s lack of progression is quite staggering, as is their inability to turn up in the big games. At the moment the victory over Manchester City seems a freak result, we played well but Manchester City didn't really trouble us. Something at the club desperately needs to change.

We went into this game being given the easiest draw we could've hoped for. We’d finally dodged the Barcelona and Bayern bullet that has so often seen us falter. AS Monaco would offer a different proposition but it was a challenge we fell desperately short of. None of our big players turned up and no one looked as though they believed they could win the tie, you could see it on the players faces. It was a desperate performance from a side that has actually been in pretty good form of late. The performance was as frustrating as it was disappointing and it was the naivety of the defence that cost us the game, not to mention Olivier Giroud’s shocking finishing.

I mentioned at the weekend how Giroud’s conversion rate had become higher this season, and how he was in good form. After the Monaco game on Wednesday night I have nothing but criticism for him. He missed a great chance in the first half before skying an open goal into the stands in the second. His night was summed up by being brought off on the hour mark to a chorus of boos. It’s hard to work out why the belief wasn't there, but you have to look to one man in the equation and that is Arsene Wenger. Until he goes I can’t see this club progressing much further than the FA Cup victory last season. A triumph that seems years back now. After the Man City game I thought the defence had learnt, and I know you have to be attacking at home but the amount of space we continuously gave Monaco's wide-men and central midfielders was ridiculous. Their midfield completely overran us and Kondogbia was at the heart of that. He scored a deflected effort to open the scoring and it was all downhill from then on.

The line-up Wenger played has worked to some degree in the past but it’s far too attacking and that was seen on Wednesday night. Coquelin seemed to get dragged into going towards the man too often and as a result their midfield players found pockets of space on regular occasions and were able to dictate the tempo. At the end of the day Coquelin does all the simple things right, but on a big Champions League night can he do it? From the looks of it the answer is no. The worrying thing to me is the lack of World Class players that were non-existent. Mesut Ozil was rarely in the game whilst Sanchez showed glimpses but on too rare occasions. I had genuinely forgotten they were even playing at points. Santi Cazorla was also poor in the middle of the park whilst Danny Welbeck offered little. 

It wasn't until Oxlade-Chamberlain came on that we had some urgency in attack. Up to that point there was nothing; no drive, no urgency, no impetus and most of the players looked disinterested. Chamberlain brought Arsenal back into the tie with a brilliant effort from outside the box but then gave the ball away as Arsenal conceded a farcical third in the dying moments. There was no defence and the substitute Carrasco ran in on goal and found the net via the far post. If you're looking for even more to moan about then Ospina's attempt at saving the ball was a pretty poor one. He seemed rooted to the spot rather than being ready for the shot to come in.

We were products of our downfall, and the defensive display was very alarming. Hector Bellerin had continued to give pacey winger Martial space down the left throughout most of the game and he was where the second goal came from. It was similar to Monaco’s third. Laurent Koscielny was the only defender back and they countered leaving Berbatov to fire home comfortably. Santi Cazorla’s reaction summed it up. He had raced back and was effectively last man as he tried to put the Bulgarian striker under pressure. As the ball rippled the net Cazorla proceeded to lean on the advertising hoarding with a face of frustration and dejection. It was an extremely sorry sight.

The incompetency of the defence was beyond belief. Why on earth where we chucking everyone forward in the first leg? It was beyond ridiculous and it’s hard to describe exactly how I felt as I walked out the ground. That third goal has all but put the game to bed. We’ll have to go to Monaco and score three to go through. That’s three against a team that rarely concede. I had an ounce of belief after the Ox’s goal but that third from Carrasco destroyed the fans, and will also have destroyed the player’s morale.

Dimitar Berbatov said after the game that Monaco wanted it more, and he couldn't have been more right. No Arsenal player looked in the game. Everton is at the weekend and I’m expecting a huge response. These are the months where our season has been known to slip. Please don't let it happen again Arsenal!

The team’s line-ups:

Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Coquelin(68), Cazorla(81), Welbeck, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud(60).

Subs: Szczesny, Gabriel, Chambers, Monreal, Rosicky(81), Oxlade-Chamberlain(68), Walcott(60).

Monaco: Subasic, Toure, Tavares, Abdennour, Echiejile, Santos, Kondogbia, Moutinho, Dirar(81), Martial(84), Berbatov(75).

Subs: Stekelenburg, Kurzawa(81), Diallo, Carvalho, Silva, Carrasco(75), Traore.

Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)

Attendance: 59,868