Monaco
heap more Champions League agony on Arsenal
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[February 26, 2015]
By Mike Collett
LONDON (Reuters) - AS Monaco gave Arsenal
a lesson in patient, counter-attacking football to win their Champions
League last 16 first leg-match 3-1 in London on Wednesday, heaping more
European agony on Arsene Wenger.
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Arsenal boss Wenger, a former manager at Monaco, is now facing
elimination at this stage of the competition for the fifth straight
season after the shattering home defeat.
French midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia put the visitors ahead after 38
minutes, when he crashed in a long range shot that took a deflection
off Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker, leaving goalkeeper David
Ospina helpless.
Bulgarian veteran Dimitar Berbatov, continually jeered by the home
fans because of his past links with their arch-rivals Tottenham
Hotspur, added the second after 53 minutes after a devastating
Monaco counter-attack.
Arsenal pulled one back in stoppage time when substitute Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain curled home from the edge of the area, but Monaco
scored even later to restore their two-goal advantage when
substitute Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco scored with a shot that went in
off the post.
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Arsenal wasted several chances with Olivier Giroud spurning four
scoring opportunities to leave Arsenal with a mountain to climb when
Wenger takes his side back to the principality for the second leg on
March 17.
ROCK SOLID
Wenger's Arsenal, who had won eight of their last nine matches in
all competitions, flew out of the blocks against his old team,
testing the resilience of Monaco's rock-solid defence with a series
of early raids.
Giroud went close with a header during Arsenal's opening dominant
spell, and then wasted three chances after the break before being
substituted, but Monaco weathered the early storm, subduing both the
crowd and the home players.
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The visitors gradually played their way into the match with winger
Anthony Martial and Joao Moutinho looking particularly dangerous,
but it was still a surprise when they took the lead through
Kondogbia's long-range effort.
There was no real surprise, however, when they doubled their
advantage as they were playing the better football when Berbatov's
powerful finish ended a swift break.
The hosts were given a lifeline in the first minute of stoppage time
when Oxlade-Chamberlain pounced on a clearing header before curling
home, but their celebrations were short-lived as Ferreira-Carrasco
finished emphatically.
Monaco had scored only four goals in their six group stage matches
and it was not hard to see why as Brazilian defender Wallace and
Tunisian Aymen Abdennour were towers at the back.
Arsenal have shown plenty of resilience themselves over the years to
come back against the odds, but will have to surpass themselves to
save the tie now.
(Editing by Toby Davis)
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