Arsenal: Raya, Partey, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Rice, Merino, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Jesus
Subs: Neto, Setford, Timber, Tierney, Robinson, Heaven, Monlouis, Jorginho, Nwaneri, Trossard, Sterling, Havertz
Arsenal moved up to third in the overall Champions League standings after beating Monaco 3-0 at Emirates Stadium, thanks to a brace from Bukayo Saka and another late goal from Kai Havertz.
Mikel Arteta made four changes to the side that drew against Fulham on Sunday, with Myles Lewis-Skelly, Mikel Merino, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus all coming into the side.
Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori remained absent from the matchday squad, while Jurrien Timber was deemed fit enough for the bench despite not being spotted in open training.
Arsenal started brightly and there was a sight of goal for Jesus within five minutes after good pressing from Odegaard and Martinelli, but his finish was tame and straight into the body of goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki.
Moments later, Martinelli found Merino making a smart run into the left half-space whose low cross was inches away from finding Jesus (on the stretch) in the middle. At the other end, Aleksandr Golovin flashed an effort inches wide after Jakub Kiwior lost the ball in a dangerous area.
The game settled after that eventful start and Martin Odegaard was the next player to try his luck, curling wide after finding space on the edge of the box, before Jesus should have put the Gunners ahead on 25 minutes.
Jakub Kiwior displayed his passing range with a great ball over the top, which played the Brazilian through on goal but his clunky effort was saved by Majecki who initially hesitated to come and claim the ball.
Jesus had another chance shortly after when Martinelli’s sharp pass played him through again, but his finish lacked conviction under pressure from Thilo Kehrer with Majecki forced into another strong save.
The Gunners’ first half pressure eventually told when Saka broke the deadlock, and it was a beautiful passing move that ended up creating the goal.
It was a long passage of sustained possession (which must have involved over 25 passes?), before Lewis-Skelly did well to evade pressure and punch a ball through to lines to Jesus, who crossed perfectly for Saka to finish at the back post. 1-0.
Odegaard should have doubled Arsenal’s lead after nicking the ball off Kehrer – who was sold short with a hospital backpass – but fired wide despite having the whole Monaco half to run into, and only the goalkeeper to beat.
There was another golden chance for Martinelli minutes later, who was found beautifully by Odegaard but curled wide with the visitors’ young side rocking defensively.
It was a dominant first half from Arteta’s men who looked balanced, threatening and could (should) have been three goals ahead with some better finishing.
Arsenal were almost made to rue those missed chances a minute into second half when Kehrer headed a free-kick wide after Thomas Partey played everyone onside.
The Gunners struggled to get going after the break and Monaco had two good chances to equalise when Caio Henrique found Takumi Minamino unmarked in the box – whose shot was straight at David Raya – before Breel Embolo fired another effort just wide after turning Kiwior in the box.
Those lucky escapes flicked Arteta into action who made a triple substitution, bringing on Timber, Jorginho and Leandro Trossard for Lewis-Skelly, Rice and Martinelli. Havertz replaced Jesus soon after as well.
It took until the 73rd minute for Arsenal to fashion their first real chance of the second half, but Trossard couldn’t find Odegaard despite a two-v-one situation against Monaco defender Mohammed Salisu.
The hosts would eventually get their all-important breathing room and it was Saka on the scoresheet (again) after a nightmare moment for the French side.
Trying to play the ball out from defence, Salisu underhit his backpass to Majecki which allowed Havertz to pressure the goalkeeper, whose pass deflected straight to Saka for an easy finish. 2-0.
All three points were secured in the 88th minute when Monaco switched off from a quick free kick, before the ball fell to Saka whose cross was diverted in by a mixture of Havertz and Kehrer from close range. 3-0.
It was a comfortable result for Arsenal in the end, who scored three goals from open play and moved up to third in the overall Champions League standings.
Their first half was significantly better than their second but wins are always welcome during this intense winter schedule.
Gabi Jesus gave me hope today that there is still life in the old dog yet. I really think he needs to be started against Everton and granted a bit of patience. A goal and an assist in a premier league match is all it would take to reignite him, it’s a mental issue in my opinion. Imagine a 2022 start of season Jesus firing our attack for the second half of the season. Could be the wildcard needed to reinvigorate our challenge. PS. Merino, another player I have been critical of, was wonderful today and seemed to unlock little… Read more »
Watched him carefully tonight. He was lively but he just seems millimeters away from doing what he wants to do. Nothing is going his way. Great assist though.
Lewis-Skelly unlocked! On to the next level.
Great result. Some fella on here said Saka is poor finisher. Also have to say I found the negativity and nonsense from some after draw with Fulham mental. Some were saying Arteta has taken us as far as he can go. I joined arseblog to get away from le grove as it was so toxic. Sunday on here felt like me grove. Still it’s online and why would I expect any different. Come on you gunners.
I get you but fans being disappointed in a manager isn’t toxic though. Disappointment is often difficult to hide and there’s usually a good reason behind it.
Much to play for this season so let’s see… I just don’t want the fans to go onto civil war mode over the manager like we did in the last days of arsene. The not respecting differences of opinion, that was the real toxicity.
There was valid criticism expressed after the Fulham game, none of which I found particularly “toxic”. There are times on here where if you dare point out why we have failed to really get going this year then you are deemed a “hater” that doesn’t deserve to follow the team etc etc…instead perhaps try and get out of the echo chamber and have a broader perspective when it comes to where we’ve gone wrong this season. You are allowed to be critical you know…
Saka is a bad finisher = valid criticism after Fulham. The commenter on saka which I remember well plus your outburst were hilarious
Lovely result, third in the table and two low-ranked teams to go. Great evening!
Also, shoutout to Kiwior. Not rated as highly as Cala, Tomiyasu, Zinny or Tierney. But the man is always available, always steady and never complains. Really really important squad player for me
Had a much better game than against Fulham
Players generally get better with more game time, don’t they?
he only really had that one slip up vs Fulham. It was a costly one, sure, but it’s not like Big Gabi or Saliba never make mistakes. Fine, very rarely, but it does happen, and Kiwi too has been great every game he’s started at CB other than that one mistake innit
He reacted very well in two similar situations
Loved that tackle in the second half where he held up their man and stepped in with purpose to take the ball and set up an attack. I want Gabi back asap but I am never overly concerned when Kiwior starts.
Absolutely!
abysmal win! 😑
We were not great I agree but abysmal? I saw no danger from Monaco and we made them pay for each mistake they made while controlling the rest of the game.
we saw no threat from monaco because they where incapable! today we could have put 7 or 8 past them… (scoring will make the difference…)
I’m assuming you’re being sarcastic mate. If not then you are a complete buffoon
good remark!
You sir, are an abysmal fellow.
Jesus frustrating, but a lovely assist. More himself where he’s actually moving around causing havoc but with poor finishing as opposed to whatever the past few months have been.
5… the less said about him at RB the better. Get well soon Cala/Zinny so Timber can move back over please
I don’t get the stick for Thomas. Maybe unspectacular, but tidy and calm on the ball, kept things ticking with much class when in midfield. Seems like the least of our troubles right now tbh
Have to say watching this game I do get the uneasiness around Partey at right back. And funnily enough the reason is probably the one I’d least suspect. He actually does the defensive side fine. But for someone so smooth and decisive in midfield, maaaan does he take an age to progress the ball from the right back position! So many chances to release Saka early and get an attack started, but for whatever reason he delays so much that he’ll often just abandon any attack and play the safe option centrally. Partey’s a class act in midfield, but him… Read more »
Honestly I think he’s fine at RB. We just miss him massively when he’s not in midfield.
MLS Is first team quality for me. Play timber right. MLS left and we’re good.
MLS looked pretty good tonight, I agree, give him a run.
My exact thought against Fulham last weekend. Timber RB and MLS LB. Partey back to middle.
Exactly. He’s been one of our best so far this season and yet he gets stick for doing what the manager tells him to do…
Funny how this game went. We missed chances we could have scored and then scored goals that were gifted to us. Balance
The ‘should have signed a striker’ sentiment would have been strong as hell if we didn’t win that game lol.
We got there in the end. A win, but a slightly frustrating one. We completely dominated the first half and should have been 4- or 5-0 up at the break. Then we were really tepid for most of the second period. An early Christmas present from Monaco sealed the win. The third was the icing on the cake. This game clearly demonstrated just why we won’t win either the CL or the PL. We just don’t have that edge up front. Jesus awful and Martinelli not much better. Big up to MLS: he had an excellent CL debut. But Saka… Read more »
Agreed, game should have been over at half time. Monaco were very good in second half up until 2nd goal. Martinelli not good enough for a team trying to win premier league or champions league. I get stick anytime I mention it but he must be the most clunky, poor technique, plays with his head down player ever to be paid 200k plus a week.
And really frustrated with Tros too. He had a golden opportunity to slip Odergaard in for a one-one-one and fluffed it. He has become greedy and lazy.
We desperately need a left winger.
When convincing 3-0 wins demonstrate to you we’ll win nothing you know you’ve got high standards.
He’s just saying what he sees. Think that’s the whole point of the comments.
Mostly agree although I do think this team can beat anyone on a given day; to do that consistently, though, they might have to stop relying on players whose best attribute is “work rate.” I know this is naive, but work rate should be the absolute floor, not ceiling. I feel like it’s been nearly a decade spent praising half of the attack primarily for defending well. That said, Arsenal have scored like 20 goals in the last six or seven games, so when things are clicking, they’re clicking.
Who tried to say that Saka was average in goal scoring?
Some idiot who will go quiet for a while on here!!
John C actually said saka was dreadful in front of goal 😂😂
i’m gonna get lynched by the mob for trying to defend him but he backed up his case with actual data, so it got me thinking at least, if not anyone else by the looks of it.
It’s easy to win the popularity contest here by saying “Saka is amazing” either before or after he scores two sitters, there you go, 85 upvotes. Which isn’t to say Saka isn’t amazing, course he is. But I much more appreciate someone trying to give a bit of nuance and going beyond the realm of purely subjective rah rah.
The stats did not surprise me – not because Saka is wasteful – but because a lot of the chances that Saka has are not easy chances. He is not missing easy chances, he is missing chances that are often difficult, and more often than not he has created for himself by beating players in tight positions and taking snap shots. The lad is 23 and is ridiculously consistent – he has had a lot of attempts at goal that have not gone in is but he makes most of those chances himself, and he will only get better with… Read more »
See, that’s also a good point. But neither I nor I think John C were trying to say Saka isn’t going to get better, in fact for me the main point is exactly that – this is where he can and probably will still get better despite how good he is already. Part of the fun of watching a player’s career develop is seeing the improvement, which is harder to see if we only keep saying how perfect he is as it seems is often expected here.
To state “Saka isn’t even in the level below world class” is plain stupid and disrespectful.
I would agree. Did he say that?
The definition of world class seems to vary a fair bit but I think even according to the strictest definition Saka would qualify at least for the level below that if not higher. For me he’s around top 5 or 6 in the world as a winger and I don’t think too far from becoming the best.
Have a big gripe to get out there- I’m reminded of it every time we’re subjected to TNT sports on European nights- Darren Fletcher: what the fuck is he?! Would someone at TNT mind telling him that as the main commentator, it’s not his job to constantly chime in with his own personal opinions throughout a game? Every match I watch on this channel feels like I’m listening to two co-commentators shouting across each other. In all his years working at TNT/BT/BNQ et etc etc, the only thing of note he’s done is confuse me by having the same name… Read more »
Agreed, he’s one irritating dude. McCoist too, though slightly less so. Love that you can just have the stadium noise on prime, which I automatically switch to everything they ask a former ref for their pointless opinion on something.
I think we all know we need to purchase an attacking player in January, or else dwindling title hopes will completely disappear, question is who could we possibly get in January? Any decent links to players?
There was a gulf in class between us and Monaco this evening. We had no problem carving them open throughout and if not for wastefulness could have put them to the sword. 3-0 is a great result but it doesn’t tell the story of just how many golden chances we created. Overall, despite not being as clinical as we should it was an enjoyable game and encouraging to see us be more free flowing. The style of competition provided by the Champion’s League is often what allows for this more expansive play but hopefully we can take confidence from what… Read more »
Those missed chances in the first half were really frustrating. I counted six big chances wasted. Jesus should have scored at least two, Martinelli, Ødegaard and Merino at least one each. The hype about our set piece/open play game seems to have gotten into our attackers in some way. Hopefully that mental block doesn’t persist. I do like the chaos Jesus creates in and around the opponent’s box but am not sure the 9 is really his position. He seems to lose his nerve every time he gets a chance to score. MLS is shaping up to be a great… Read more »
We can make excuses for performances like that second half.. but truth is we won’t win anything playing like that and that’ the reason why we are far from Liverpool. Sleepy second half displays have been a constant.. dropped points many times but we have learnt nothing. Monaco could ve been winning be4 they gifted us the second goal. There’s no excuse for us to be playing like that. Odegaard needs to sort out his shooting now. Needs to train harder and take responsibility. Gets into great positions but either passes it or takes a lame shot. Needs to get… Read more »
Well, stats wise, we are not far from Liverpool. Infact, they also had a lacklustre game in the CL on Tuesday, where they won via a lucky Salah PK. Similarly, I was looking a lot at the left side of our attack in this match and there was a lot of penetration from that side as well, esp in The first half as Merino, MLS and Martinelli played a lot of combos. So I don’t get the “shambles” situation. However, my issue will be with our strike force, all of them, even Saka as well. They all seem to have… Read more »
Gosh folks. We won rather easily. If the back 4 gets healthy the attac k will look better. Midfield is solid.
I think gj is going to show out in the near term.
❤️ this team.
Monaco seemed to have found an answer to Arsenal corner kick routine. I wonder if EPL teams will try to place players on the half way line