After a shocking performance at the Emirates Stadium last night when Arsenal lost 3-1 to AS Monaco, manager Arsene Wenger has come under the microscope for the umpteenth time this season. Wengera s side were poor and just werena t able to find the back of the net on the night, while they continued to be poor at the back.
The defeat leaves the club on the brink of a fifth consecutive exit at this stage in the competition and the heat is certainly on the Frenchman who had said earlier that there will be no excuses for his team if they fail to go through this time.
The Gunners, actually, went two goals down with Geoffrey Kondogbia and Dimitar Berbatov getting on the scorecard. They then pulled one back late in the game, through a delicious Oxlade-Chamberlain strike from outside the box, however, the midfielder was also responsible for losing possession in the killer third goal scored by Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco.
The result means that Arsenal will now need to win either by three goals or score at least three to go to the next stage of the competition.
Former Liverpool coach and manager Graeme Souness who was a pundit for the game for Sky Sports, expressed his shock at the way Arsenal played last night.
“Arsenal were miserable tonight. Apart from the first ten minutes when they looked threatening,a
a Is it a case of Arsenal being that bad and them being that good? That is the answer – four goals in the qualifying games and three goals tonight in one game? Arsenal were so disorganised. It was if they just went out in the later stages in this competition and they were so disorganised.
a I have to [blame Arsene Wenger]. For that back four of Monaco’s, it was a dream. Zero threat [from Arsenal] other than the first 10 minutes.
“An average team has blown Arsenal away tonight.a
Rubbing salt into Arsenala s wounds further, Dimitar Berbatov, who has played in the past for North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, said that it was Monaco who showed more hunger and fight, resulting in this famous win.
Arsenal are a good team but today we wanted to win more than them. We were fighting all over the pitch, winning our challenges and scored the goals. Football is about goals and today we scored three and we won.
“For a team like Arsenal I dona t think they can allow themselves to underestimate, but if they did it then ita s bad for them because you can see in the pitch that we won.”