Eventually, Arsenal delivered what looked like a comfortable 3-0 scoreline after Monaco’s trip to the Emirates Stadium in the Champions League.
Unfortunately from an Arsenal fan perspective, former Hale End Academy striker Folarin Balogun wasn’t fit for the trip, still recovering from a recent shoulder dislocation.
That being said, Balogun might have actually made haste of a flurry of chances Monaco produced at the beginning of the second half, when Arsenal were under pressure.
Of course, Mikel Arteta’s side were able to weather the storm – mostly because Monaco kept missing.
But in terms of squandered opportunities, Arsenal could have also been three or four goals up before the half-time whistle even came.
Adi Hutter thought Arsenal deserved their Champions League win over Monaco
Immediately after full-time, Monaco boss Adi Hutter spoke about both of those themes, in turn admitting how ‘lucky’ his side were to still be in the game when they earned a few chances.
Hutter admitted that Arsenal deserved the three points, and stated that he was disappointed with aspects of his own team’s performance.
Head coach of Arsenal FC Mikel Arteta, celebrate the victory after the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between Arsenal FC and ...
Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images
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He said: “First of all, Arsenal deserved this win, they were the better team.
“I was happy with the first 20 minutes and especially after half-time, how we came on the pitch, this was what I expected.
“I don’t want to say dominate but we were much, much better in the game – had three opportunities to score [the] equaliser with Thilo Kehrer, Breem Embolo and Takumi Minamino.
“With some changes of Arsenal, they brought their… in this decisive or crucial moment was the second goal of Arsenal.
“Today also, we gave them lots of gifts and we were really lucky at half-time that the result was 1-0 for Arsenal.”
Myles Lewis-Skelly makes the difference against Monaco
In terms of Arsenal taking a chance to go ahead in the first half – Myles Lewis-Skelly was instrumental in Bukayo Saka’s opening goal.
The 18-year-old was looking incredibly strong on the ball in the opening stages – he was doing a brilliant impression of Jurrien Timber at his best.
And then when he saw the opportunity, he quickly dropped his shoulder and changed the pace of the game in a second, a real sign of his quality.
Arsenal fans were blown away by Lewis-Skelly, a youngster who seems to have just as much ability as Ethan Nwaneri.
A shaky night at times for Arsenal, but one that will still be remembered well, particularly because of Arteta’s new star at left-back.
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