Arsenal have drawn Monaco in the Champions League last 16 draw, a favourable draw to say the least and one which Arsene Wenger will be very happy with.
Without any disrespect to the French side, they were certainly one of the easier options Arsenal had available to them.
After finishing second in the group, Arsenal could have faced the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. Wenger will no doubt be delighted to draw his former club Monaco.
The Gunners have been drawn against Bayern Munich in the last two years, so some luck was definitely due in the draw – especially when you consider the tough group we advanced from. Below is the draw in full
Monaco finished top of their group, but only scored four goals. Their defence was what got them through the group, having only conceded one goal in all six group games. Arsenal’s attack will have something to say about that I’m sure. Monaco’s group consisted of Russian side Zenit, Benfica and Bayer Leverkusen – who finished runners up. In the group everyone took points off of each other and Monaco topped it with 10 points. Arsenal managed 13 points and came second of their more star-studded group.
Let’s hope we get the bulk of the job done when Monaco visit the Emirates on the 25th of February. A win would book us a place in the last 8 of the competition, where in the best case scenario – we could face the winner of FC Basel vs. Porto.
Wenger had said on Sunday that he fancied playing his former team Monaco.
Arsenal fans will now see the benefit of dropping that 3-goal lead at home to Anderlecht as Borussia Dortmund (the winners of our group), were drawn against Italian champions Juventus.