Arsenal XI vs. Monaco: Ospina – Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs – Coquelin, Cazorla, Sanchez, Ozil – Welbeck, Giroud. #ARSASM
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) February 25, 2015
Monaco XI vs. Arsenal: Subasic – Toure, Wallace, Abdennour, Echiejile – Fabinho, Moutinho, Kondogbia – Dirar, Berbatov, Martial. #ARSASM — Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) February 25, 2015
Arsenal have the easiest draw among all the teams in the last 16 of the Champions League this year. A Monaco team with the likes of Dimitar Berbatov shouldn’t be a tough tie for the gunners but this is the toughest club competition in the world and surprises are never far away.
Wenger will want Arsenal to be compact at the back and show pace,trickery and vision when they attack. Looking at the lineup,it seems like a 4-2-3-1 for Arsenal. The double pivot in midfield should shield the Arsenal defence. Especially with the likes of Joao Moutinho playing for Monaco,it is important that the Arsenal defence maintains a compact line and that they do not give away a silly away goal. A cleansheet and a win will go a long way in helping them win this tie. And also a big win in the first leg will allow Wenger to rest important players for the second leg as domestically they have a very fierce battle for Champions League spots. For Arsenal fans, the sight of Monaco will be soothing to their eyes as they have seen their team getting knocked out in the Champions League against the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich for the past couple of years.