Arsenal was 2-0 winners on the night at Stade Louis II, but yet again we was unable to qualify as we bow out the Knockout Stages to a resilient Monaco side.
David Ospina: 6.5/10 – Didn’t have much to do as Monaco barely threatened in the game. With Arsenal having no option but to attack Monaco it left Ospina with very little to do, but it’s another clean sheet and dealt with the small dangers the opposition possessed well.
Hector Bellerin: 6.0/10 – Offered good support out wide, pace abuser always works a treat but aside a few, his crosses was not the best. Left ragged by Martial and you can see the amount of games he’s playing is beginning to get the better of him.
Laurent Koscielny: 8.7/10 – Lolo was back at his best today, winning the duels, getting stuck in and offering himself in attack. He hasn’t been at his best this season, but the game against Monaco showed he’s still more than capable if not already being one of the best defenders out there.
Per Mertesacker 7.5/10 – Was absolutely dreadful in the first leg but he made up for it tonight despite the team not making up the tie overall by advancing to the next stage. Stood tall and strong. Was slow to move the ball when the tempo was poor but can we really expect anything more.
Nacho Monreal 7.0/10 – Thought taking him off for Gibbs was a bit pointless, and that’s not just because of how well he was playing. Monreal was solid again and has really grown as a player. He was however a bit exposed when Carrasco came on who gave Arsenal something to worry about on the counter.
Francis Coquelin 7.2/10 – Kept the ball well and kept the defence steady with few issues to lockdown. Didn’t really deserve to be taken off given others performances, but the sacrifice was probably worth it when a certain Welshman came on. Passing wise he was impressive and distributed the ball well.
Santiago Cazorla: 8.5/10 – The Spaniard was a joy to watch not for the first time by any means. Comfortable on the ball and had his position not restricted him from playing off the striker he could have contributed even more in attack. When Coquelin was taken off he was given more defensive responsibility which he handled impressively. A classy performance.
Alexis Sanchez 5.1/10 – He’s been our star player this season by quite a distance but this was probably his worst game he’s had for Arsenal so far. It’s difficult to criticise a World-Class player who works his socks off but against Monaco he passed the thin borderline of his style of play. Became too selfish on the ball and tried to make the impossible possible instead of just making the easier pass to a teammate. Was arguably fortunate to have played 90 minutes as he did look like he was struggling, did not get a lot of help from the referee either. The boy who cried Wolf, kept huffing and puffing and the Monaco wall didn’t come down for him at all.
Mesut Ozil 6.0/10 – I’ve seen some fans say he was poor tonight and others say he was MOTM. Well he wasn’t the worst but he wasn’t the best either. He dictated the game, great. He set the tempo of the team. However for most of the game the tempo was slow and for a team that needed to go all out it felt like we were the ones in control of the tie. He made lovely passes in the game but the speed wasn’t fast enough from him and I would have thought Rosicky would have offered better for this sort of game, where patience hasn’t got a place. Unfortunately he was injured.
Danny Welbeck: 8.0/10 – Worked his socks off and was encouraging in attack. He wanted to make things happen and had the strength and pace to do so. His energy pushed the side forward and he was slightly missed when he was taken off in the 71st minute.
Olivier Giroud: 8.3/10 – He put himself about the pitch and you could see the desire of him to get a goal for his team. Despite being rewarded for his efforts it wasn’t enough to produce a miracle in Monaco. He probably should have let Alexis have the free header though, golden chance.
Subs:
Aaron Ramsey 8.4/10 (on 62′)Â – He’s not a one-hit wonder after watching him today, he drove the side forward I think had he started the game things may have been different. I was bit sceptical with him coming on at the expense of Coquelin as we had no recognized defensive midfielder but the his forward thinking play was what got Arsenal’s dream almost becoming a reality. There was positives I saw in his performance that I didn’t see in Ozil’s, who I thought he should have come on to replace. But going all out for the 3 goals was worth it and Coquelin coming off turned out to work, just not enough to win the tie unfortunately.
Theo Walcott: 5.0/10 (on 71′)Â – Didn’t actually notice he was playing half the time and you can see his form has dropped. Was much better off keeping Welbz on. He’s becoming less and less of the talisman he once was and you can understand why he’s not playing after his appearance against Monaco and West Ham United. He’s not getting a run of games however and that does a player no favors. Hitting the post does not either.
Kieran Gibbs: 6.2/10 (0n 82′) – Banter of a sub but he didn’t do bad at all coming on. Considering that he was the closest player with attacking abilities left on the bench, it can be excused.
Feel the ratings are bit harsh? Too generous? Have your view on the side who faced Monaco tonight here.