Arsenal secured a big 3-0 win over AS Monaco to move them 3rd in the UEFA Champions League table.
Mikel Arteta opted for a number of changes from Sunday’s frustrating 1-1 draw away at Fulham. Gabriel Jesus started upfront with Kai Havertz rested on the bench, Mikel Merino started in the left of the midfield three with Declan Rice moving back into the holding role. And it was a big night for 18 year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly who started at left-back, his first start in the Champions League.
Arsenal started with a big chance as Jeuss found space in the box, however his effort was tame and comfortably saved. Monaco then hit back with a chance of their own through Ben Seghir, with the shot curling just wide of the post.
Jesus was then presented with a big chance, racing one-on-one after a superb long ball from Jakub Kiwior, but the Brazilian again couldn’t find the finish. Hitting his strike straight into the path of the Monaco goalkeeper.
However, Arsenal would find the lead midway through the half as a superb ball from Lewis-Dkelly found Jesus, who’s ball across the face of the Monaco penalty area was finished calmly by Bukayo Saka for his third goal of this season’s Champions League campaign.
Arsenal missed another great chance soon after, Martin Odegaard robbed the ball off a Monaco defender and set off towards the goal with just the goalkeeper to beat, but the chance was again wasted with the captain dragging his shot wide. Despite going into halftime with the lead, Mikel Arteta would have been disappointed that the game was not out of sight by the time the interval came around.
Despite Arsenal’s dominance in the first half, it was the way side that came out of the blocks more at the start of the second period. Monaco began to see the majority of the ball and Arsenal continued to struggle in the opening stages of the second half. David Raya was forced into a save from close range and Tilo Kehrer headed just wide from a free-kick.
However, Kai Havertz came on from the substitute bench just over an hour in and injected some more intensity into Arsenal’s play. And it was the German’s workrate which forced an error from the Monaco goalkeeper on the 77th minute, and the ball fell straight to Saka who finished well into the corner to double the lead with the crucial second goal to all but seal the win. Two would become three in the very final minutes of the game as a shot from Saka deflected off a Monaco defender and into the net to make it 3-0 to finish the game off and give Arsenal the three points to move them into a commanding position in the Champions League with two games to go.
A big Premier League game is next up for Arsenal as Everton comes to N5.
Player Ratings:
David Raya: 6 – Made one save and got another clean sheet
Thomas Partey: 5 – Sloppy in possession on multiple occasions
William Saliba: 7 – Solid as usual
Jakub Kiwior: 7 – Responded from the Fulham game with a solid showing, played an excellent ball to Jesus in the first half
Lewis-Skelly: 8 – Was excellent on a big night for the youngster, deserves another start against Everton
Declan Rice: 7 – Moved deeper and was solid
Mikel Merino: 7 – Quietly strong in the midfield
Martin Odegaard: 6 – Should’ve scored in the first half
Bukayo Saka: 8 – Actually relatively quiet but still came up with two goals to win the game
Gabriel Jesus: 7 – A much needed solid performance from Jesus. Finishing poor but general play good and got a great assist
Gabriel Martinelli: 5 – Another poor showing and lucky to not be sent off