Arsene Wenger admits his joy at returning to former club Monaco is tempered by his desire to help Arsenal progress to the quarter-finals against the odds.
The Gunners arrive in France knowing only one side (Ajax vs Benfica in 1969) have turned around a European Cup home leg 3-1 deficit, but the boss insists that if his side play with discipline and at ‘full power’ they can find the necessary goals to keep their Champions League dream alive.
“For me, personally, it’s a very special moment because I was a young coach here at Monaco and I stayed here for seven years,” Wenger told his pre-game press conference on Monday evening.
“It’s a Champions League game so I know the experience I have gained can help me make the right decisions. I’m able to separate the importance of the game from [my responsibility] to my club and the delight at being back in Monaco.
“Is it not as enjoyable [visiting when 3-1 down]? Well I wouldn’t say that, for me the way to enjoy it the most would be for us to do better and to turn it [the tie] around.
“My real pleasure would be to come back here and see my friends in a non-competition environment, but here I’m here for work and my actual work, my job, is to help my team win.
“Of course, I have a lot of respect and I want to thank the whole club who gave me the opportunity as a young coach.”
Asked how his side plan to score three goals at the Stade Louis II, Wenger underlined the importance of showing patience.
“I believe we just have to play with full power, but not forget our organisation and the structure in the team. The goals will come when they come.
“[We must] focus on the quality of our game on both sides, defensively and offensively, and nobody can predict when the goals come.”
Reflecting on the first-leg, he added: “We got it wrong in the first game. What you want in life is the chance to put it right. We have the opportunity to put it right and after, no matter what, we will be ready to give everything to do it.
“We are in a position where today Monaco is favourite. We can go there and create something special. I believe that we will have the desire to do it and give absolutely everything to do it.
“I’d prefer to be 3-0 up but we have no choice. We have to put it right. Sometimes in life, you make a big mistake, and there’s no comeback, no way you get the chance to put it right again. In football, you can do it, so let’s just give everything to do it.”
The Miracle in Monaco #COYG
Okay I’ve never heard Wenger this vocal about his optimism, but then again we didn’t have an absolutely on form Ozil. Yes we’ve got Ozil, Monaco beware. #COYG
He always says that we can win every game if we play to our potential.
If this is Ozil on form then we really should demand our money back from Madrid.
The Ozil that is currently wearing the Arsenal shirt is not the same Ozil that done so well with Madrid & Germany (pre 2014) but he still has bags of potential to be the player we need him to be.
Listening to Wenger, one can imagine him drinking from a glass of fine red wine, somewhere in a classy lounge by a fireplace with a bookshelf behind him stocked with the works of all the great poets, philosophers and thinkers of our time.
When Mourinho speaks I just envision a teary toddler clutching at his “my first big boy cup” moaning about him not getting a sweety.
with Mourinho, I imagine some really irritating washed up reality television star clinging to their last bit of fame. If Mourinho was a newspaper, I guess he’d be the Daily Mail. He enjoys a bit click-baiting, I imagine.
Hoping Wenger goes to the Monaco dressing room before the game and says
“Monsieurs, how about a shite performance tonight as a tribute to me?”
I ask myself if being eliminated of the champs league would actually improve our chances to win the remaining 9 league games and the additional 2 FA cup games (if we qualify to the final) and if that’s the case, really do not mind missing out on another q-finals spot, reason being, I can see progress yeor on year both in terms of points tally and also silverware (again, if we lift the FA cup). We never know where a point tally of 84 points could land us!
But a win at this stage will not only boost our confidence, but will also help people like Mou shit their pants, looking over his shoulder for a fast approaching Arsenal in the EPL.
History might be against us. It was against us at Etihad and Old Trafford. History dictates shit in football. It’s for people to just say “I told you so”
Let’s just win this, get qualified and then we can think about moving forward.
It would be nice to be the only PL team to get into the QFs.
Winning the leg will set us up nicely for the rest of the season.
Winning the tie will set us up nicely for next season as well.
What really excites me about this match is that everybody is fired up for it. It’s strange to see even Wenger speaking like this. More so, Its been ages I last saw Arsenal fans so optimistic like this. I think it’s very obvious that Monaco were not that great at the Emirates, we gifted them the result by 1) not taking our chances and 2) Bumping forward like headless chickens. I’m more than confident WE WILL TURN THIS AROUND. PLS Ozil, you deserve as many goals as your assist, so once in a while you might need to SHOOT THAT… Read more »
A change from the usual Ozil bashing from the media -http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/15118/9762572/mesut-ozil-arsenal-stars-stats-show-why-hes-back-to-his-best
I really really think we can do this. I’ve some weird kind of optimism going on. COYG!
46 years. By the Law of Averages, it is time. It is also time for the Law of Averages to become an actual thing.
By the Law of Averages, I’m due a thumbs up.
I gave you one or each.
Lol….and me!
I just hope that we go through, because I have had enough of this heroic losing nonsense; there is no heroic loss against Monaco. If we go out and beat them 0-2, so what? It’s not like we beat the team that’s going to go on and win the tournament, again no offence intended. The loss against Monaco hit me harder than even the 0-6 thrashing away to Chelsea last season; it was a horrible night and it seems to have equally hurt the rest of the fan base. No, I didn’t expect to beat Monaco easily at all, there… Read more »
i really wish they would get rid of the stupid away goal rule. A goal is a goal no matter where it’s scored. If Arsenal win 2-0 tonight, every neutral would say they deserve to battle in extra time. I can’t think of any other sport in the world where this nonsense exists.
but we will win 3-0.
This is my prediction… we will go 0-2 up, Monaco will then score and start thinking one more goal and the tie is dead… Theo will then come on, we counter and 1-3. We will then go into extra time, Monaco score 2-3… then we score (Ramsey) 2-4.
Arsenal do it on away goals. 😀
that would be a blockbuster, i hope that we will score 2 goals till 60 minute than we can go for it.
If Bradford can come back from 2 down to win 4-2 at Che£$ki in 50 minutes, we can surely overturn a 2 goal deficit in 90.
With our away supporters roaring, this could be one special night. Come on Arsenal!!!!
POSITIVITY !!!
My initial reaction to this headline was ‘nooooo sshheeeeiiittt’
Let’s do this. The Red Sea (Monaco) must be parted and we shall walk on dry land to eventually lifting the CL (Promise Land). #COYG
I think Monaco will crap themselves tonight when they see the lineup. We are not sending over a team of kids because we’ve already resigned this tie. They are getting demolished tonight, I hinestly couldn’t care less about any defensive record.
We have to be realistic. Monaco has only given up seven goals at home the entire year but if we can just go all out on offense you never know. The key will be we need to score at least one goal before half time, two goals would be great. We need to get them into a panic state. If we can go up by two goals it will change the entire complexion of the game. It may be wishful thinking but I just have such a weird feeling that we might actually be able to do this. We certainly… Read more »
The only thing that worries me which can affect our play is the shit pitch ground.
COYG!!!!!!
We can do this!
A big ask to see arsenal fc turn the tie around the last two seasons have been this sought of turnout with margin goals tp gain its not as though we are the first team out of c/lge tie, but a win v monaco can be good if we are knocked out we can learn from this season and go for f.a cup double coyg
This is the competitive mentality that most people do not have. Most will resign to fate or quote past performance. This is what the media pundit likes to do. They will remind us of 8 trophiless seasons therefore explain why we will never win a trophy again. When we go behind to Hull in the finals, they will feel justified that this is the natural course of things forgetting whilst we have a typical self destruct button, that we have also a come back button. Or the recent ‘can’t win against a big team’ mantra now of course answered by… Read more »
Let’s do it, this isnt bayern at the allianz, isnt Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park, is freaking Monaco!! lets beat this chelsea wanna be team
Monaco are a team we should be spanking, I don’t care about their defensive record they play in the french lge FFS.
We should of spanked them at home and if we want to be one of the top 5 or 6 in Europe we should be able to spank them at their place.
No fucking excuses gooners, get out there and set the record straight.