Champions League: Valiant AS Monaco suffer defeat to Arsenal
Despite putting in a brave performance against Arsenal in the Champions League, AS Monaco ultimately fell to a 3-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
The Match
Without a host of key players for this massive encounter, such as Folarin Balogun, Denis Zakaria and Wilfried Singo, Adi Hutter was still able to pick a quality line-up for this huge away-day.
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The clash began brightly, as Gabriel Jesus had an early sighter that was smartly saved by Radoslaw Majecki before Aleksandr Golovin came close to giving the 1400-strong traveling ASM fans something to cheer about courtesy of his decent attempt.
As the half wore on, Mikel Arteta’s superbly coached Arsenal gradually gained the upper hand, with further openings falling to Jesus. But the masterful Majecki expertly denied the Brazilian.
The Polish shot-stopper was powerless to deny Bukayo Saka from giving the Gunners the lead following a sharp move from the home team.
Matters were almost made worse for Les Monegasques when terrific opportunities came the way of Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli, but fortunately they fired wide.
Wanting to get back on level terms prior to the interval, Monaco weren’t far from doing just through Maghnes Akliouche, whose effort was saved by David Raya.
Recognising the need to switch things up at the break, it was interesting to see Hutter alter his formation to a 4-2-3-1 from his initial 4-3-3, plus bring on Takumi Minamino.
The signs were immediately positive, for Thilo Kehrer, Minamino and Breel Embolo all unleashed solid shots even though they didn’t find the back of the net.
Arsenal then punished Les Rouge et Blanc for missing their chances, as Saka capitalised on a mix-up between Mohammed Salisu and Majecki to double their lead. Kai Havertz proceeded to extend Arsenal’s advantage to put an end to any hopes of a Monaco comeback.
With 10 points in the bank and games vs. Aston Villa and Inter Milan on the horizon, the Principality club crucially remains in the race for qualification for the Champions League play-offs.
Hutter’s Debrief
“First of all, I have to say that Arsenal deserved this win because they were the better team on the pitch. I was happy with the first 20 minutes after we came back from the dressing room. I saw what I wanted to see, although I wouldn’t say we were dominating the game at that point,” reflected the Austrian tactician.
“But we were much better in any case, and we had three chances to equalise through Thilo Kehrer, Breel Embolo and Takumi Minamino. Then, the changes made by Arsenal brought freshness to them and we clearly offered them the second goal, which they did not need. At this level, it is not possible and not acceptable to make such mistakes that are downright gifts. And yet we were lucky that Arsenal missed a lot of opportunities. On the other hand, I am really satisfied with the way we attacked the second half, playing the courageous football that I want to see.”
Key Stats
By the numbers, the fact Arsenal held the ascendancy in terms of expected goals (1.89 to 0.38), total shots (16 to 7), shots on target (8 to 2), shots inside the box (14 to 3), big chances created (6 to 0) and touches inside the box (30 to 9) illustrated the Gunners were deserved winners even though ASM produced a credible showing.
Busy Schedule Continues
Monaco will now look to forget this result and shift their attention to their difficult upcoming match with Reims, where they’ll be eager to claim all three points to give them some vital momentum ahead of the visit of Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
“The schedule is very busy at the moment, as we will be returning from this trip very early tomorrow morning, before continuing with another trip to Reims on Saturday morning,” Hutter stated.
“We will then have another league match against PSG on Wednesday, before finishing with the Coupe de France just ahead of the break. So it’s a very tough sequence, but we have a few players who will be returning from suspension, which will allow us to rotate against Stade de Reims.”