Monaco vs. Arsenal: Winners and Losers from Champions League
Monaco saw off an Arsenal comeback in the round-of-16 second leg in the Champions League on Tuesday night, with the Gunners winning 2-0 but going out on away goals, 3-3 on aggregate.
Olivier Giroud scored the opening goal of the match on a second attempt that rifled into the roof of the net in the first half. Theo Walcott hit the post just before Aaron Ramsey made it 2-0, leaving Arsenal needing one goal in the final 10 minutes to progress—which they couldn't find.
Here are our winners and losers from the game at Stade Louis II.
Winners: Aymen Abdennour and Wallace
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The two stand-outs for Monaco were, undoubtedly, central defenders Aymen Abdennour and Wallace.
Arsenal sent a huge number of crosses, corners and free-kicks into the box, and those two won the vast majority, especially Abdennour, who seemed to be everywhere in the area during the last 20 minutes or so. One tremendous block while he was lying on the ground also prevented a goal in the first half.
Credit should be given to Fabinho at right-back as well, though left-back Layvin Kurzawa didn't have one of his better games and gifted the Gunners their second goal.
Loser: Arsene Wenger
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Arsene Wenger takes credit for his team's approach tonight, and rightly so, given they gave everything to claw back the deficit. But he still has to shoulder the blame for yet another last-16 exit in the Champions League, one which was wholly avoidable.
The Gunners were naive, ill-prepared and, quite frankly, silly in the first leg—and it is that which has ultimately cost them a spot in the last eight.
Tactics, determination, most of the player selections, inspiration—all of it was right on the night from Wenger, but he's still out of the competition in March. The same goes for the Premier League title race, leaving a battle for the top four and an FA Cup semi-final appearance as the keys for the rest of the campaign.
Winner: Olivier Giroud
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The Arsenal striker was criticised after the first leg for missing a hat-trick of big chances as his side went down 3-1. But he was right on top of his game in the second leg.
From the start, he was aggressive, determined and ready to run into positions to give the Monaco defence trouble, getting a slice of luck for the opening goal of the game that came as a result of his own industry and anticipation. His right-footed finish lacked no small amount of composure, too.
A three-yard effort in the last eight minutes of the game almost grabbed a winner for his team—but it wasn't to be, and another chance didn't fall his way.
Loser: Mesut Ozil
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When a club is paying the sort of money for a creative midfielder that Arsenal is paying Mesut Ozil, they expect him to come up big in the most important of games—a Champions League fixture which requires a comeback, for example.
Ozil, though, was poor again for the Gunners.
He found space a few times in the first half but opted to pass early rather than run and commit a defender to move out of position. He also wasted the odd half-chance to shoot, none more memorable than a half-volley from the edge of the box in the second half.
He simply didn't offer anywhere near the standard required, very little indeed in the second half, and that's not good enough. The final minutes were symptomatic of his delivery: a poor pass on the edge of the box with two team-mates calling for the ball, and an aimless cross from the left in stoppage time which bounced through to the keeper.
Winner: Aaron Ramsey
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On a night when Arsenal were the superior side for 90 minutes and took a deserved two-goal victory, it wouldn't be right to talk primarily about their negative players and moments, so Aaron Ramsey's performance off the bench deserves mention.
The midfielder livened up a game which had fallen into a sticky patch for the Gunners at that point, bringing new energy and enthusiasm down the right channel as he made runs on and off the ball to push his team further up the field.
A well-taken goal gave them the hope they needed heading into the final stages, and Ramsey once more showed that he—not Ozil, Alexis Sanchez or Jack Wilshere—is the future of Arsenal and the player the team should be built around.
