Arsenal and AS Monaco are two teams eager to stay where they are in the UEFA Champions League table, as one has to give away in the encounter at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta was not in the squad as a player when Arsenal last played AS Monaco in the UEFA Champions League in 2015, as he was recovering from ankle surgery. The then-Gunners skipper will have memories of the way his team went out of the competition against the French outfit, and this game at the Emirates on Wednesday might be a good way to avenge that loss many years ago.
Heading into this crunch clash with the French giants, Arsenal are in a healthy position in the Champions League standings following a stellar win over Sporting CP the last time out. The Gunners put five goals past the Portuguese champions, who had already seen their former manager, Ruben Amorim, depart by then.
That win took the Gunners into seventh and within the automatic qualification places, and Arteta will want to stay there or improve their position after this Monaco clash. Arsenal did suffer a setback in the Premier League on Sunday, as Fulham managed to hold them at Craven Cottage, that does add to the pressure on the North Londoners to get a win in the Champions League and build further momentum.
Adi Hutter would have rued the most recent result in the Champions League against Benfica, as a topsy-turvy game was eventually influenced by a red card to defender Wilfried Singo. The Ligue 1 giants were in control of proceedings until halftime as they carried a lead into the second period when Benfica came crawling back through a Vangelis Pavlidis equaliser.
Despite going down to ten men before the hour mark, Monaco managed to take the lead once more through Soungoutou Magassa. However, Benfica responded late to snatch the winner, as goals from Arthur Cabral and Zeki Amdouni helped Benfica collect all three points. Had Hutter’s men managed to win, they could have climbed up to third in the standings. But for now, they are still in the automatic places as Monaco sit in eighth.
Their overall form has been a bit mixed heading to the Emirates, as they ended a two-game losing streak at the weekend with a win over Toulouse. There is plenty at stake ahead of this visit to North London, as Hutter, much like Arteta, would want to keep his current place in the standings or improve to consolidate their place in the top eight.
Team News & Tactics
Arsenal
Mikel Arteta will assess the fitness of some of his key players ahead of the clash with AS Monaco, as there could be further alterations to his backline. At the weekend, the Gunners boss fielded his ninth different defensive setup this season following the late injury to Oleksandr Zinchenko before the game against Fulham.
The left-back is not expected to return for this fixture, meaning Arteta may have to choose between using Jurrien Timber there once again or trusting one of Kieran Tierney or Myles Lewis-Skelly to do a job. The presence of Timber at right-back probably gives the team more balance, and that will play on the manager’s mind.
There are still doubts about Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori’s participation in this clash, as a late test might determine if they are fit enough to feature. Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are the other players missing from action and are not expected to return anytime soon.
There is the element of changing some dynamics in Arsenal’s midfield and attacking third, although Arteta will field his strongest lineup if his two key defenders are fit. This means that Thomas Partey will return to the base of the midfield, while Gabriel Martinelli will feature on the left wing, as the other players are expected to keep their spots.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
AS Monaco
The loss against Benfica also came at a personnel cost for Adi Hutter, as he will miss defensive duo Wilfried Singo following his red card for two bookable offences and left-back Christian Mawissa after he was cautioned in the game. The latter did make an impact since coming on as a substitute just before Singo was sent off, and despite being a man down, he was one of the bright sparks for AS Monaco.
Caio Henrique will, therefore, keep his spot at left-back, while Mohammed Salisu is expected to replace Singo in the heart of the defence and play alongside Thilo Kehrer. Denis Zakaria and Lamine Camara are the preferred choices in central midfield for Adi Hutter.
Former Liverpool man Takumi Minamino will be operating in the attacking midfield role. Maghnes Akliouche and Eliesse Ben Seghir will operate in the wide areas, while Breel Embolo will lead the line. Key striker and former Arsenal man Florarin Balogun mises out with a shoulder injury for AS Monaco.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kohn; Vanderson, Kehrer, Salisu, Henrique; Camara, Zakaria; Akliouche, Minamino, Seghir; Embolo
Key Stats
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last six games across all competitions.
Arsenal are unbeaten at home this season in all competitions.
Arsenal have kept four clean sheets in their last six home games in all competitions while scoring in each of their last 11 here in the Champions League.
AS Monaco have not won back-to-back away Champions League games since their win at the Emirates back in 2015.
AS Monaco have five wins in their last eight away games across all competitions.
Player to Watch
Gabriel Martinelli
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Martinelli could have been the hero at the weekend when Bukayo Saka turned his cross into what could have been a late winner, only for VAR to rule it out with an offside on the Brazilian. Some Arsenal fans chose to criticise the winger on social media, and some arguments made sense as the attacker failed to maintain discipline with his line.
In any case, Martinelli will be distraught at being offside, and he will want to make amends with a big performance against AS Monaco this week when he is expected to start. The attacker has a lot of doubters to wrong, and the Brazilian needs to get back to the form of old and give Mikel Arteta a solid option on the left wing for the remainder of the season.
Prediction
Arsenal 2-0 AS Monaco
AS Monaco, as an attacking unit, tend to score a lot of goals and might come to the Emirates with similar ideas when they take on Arsenal. However, their chance of getting past David Raya will depend on Arsenal’s injury problems. Mikel Arteta will expect to keep a clean sheet if Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori are available for this encounter.
Arsenal might have taken a blow to their title chase with the 1-1 draw against Fulham, but their form remains on track to improve. Back on home soil, the Gunners are expected to take three points as well as keep a clean sheet, as the manager will want a repeat of the sort of performance they put against PSG earlier this season and keep Monaco at bay.