Lack of effort, concentration and luck reasons why Arsenal lost v Monaco. by MV
Arsenal v Monaco was a nightmare to Arsenal Fans around the world. Arsenal played horribly and even when Arsenal got back into the game, the team dug themselves into another huge hole. I was reading a lot of comments after the game and blame was given to a lot of players, but I believe that some criticism is unfair.
First of all, Ospina was not at fault for any goal. Maybe he could have done a bit better in the first goal but it was still very hard to stop that shot. Even if Ospina put a hand to it, the ball would have still touched the back of the net. As for the other two goals, he had no chance.
Arsenal’s defending today was absolutely horrendous. To start off, the gap between Coquelin and our defence was too big, therefore once Monaco passed Coquelin, our defence was played on one v one match ups. Bellerin provided throughout the game energy and good ball movement, I think he had a fantastic game even though his crossing was a little sub par at certain moments of the game.
Mertesacker was absolutely useless. He had very good passing but his lack of pace really caught up to him this time. The big German was actually playing great until he deflected Kongdobia’s shot. Personally, I was very disappointed with Koscielny. JustArsenal Fans say it was only Mertesacker’s fault, and even though the BFG played bad, Kos should also get some stick. Kos defended well though not great, and he could have done a little better on cutting counter attacks. He was not his usual aggressive self. In addition, Koscielny’s passing was horrendous at times. He struggles to pass under pressure and he put us under dangerous situations. Last but not least, Gibbs was horrible. He attacked well and supported the midfield nicely but his crossing was awful. Gibbs was also caught in the counter attack a lot of times and his reaction pace was not good enough. Honestly, Monreal deserved to play this game, and he probably would’ve played better.
Arsenal did indeed struggle in midfield and we were certainly overpowered by Monaco. Coquelin played well until he was substituted though that yellow card really limited him. Plus, Ozil and Cazorla never helped Coquelin out. Next up, Cazorla. What can we say about his performance, at times he looked like he was trying to do too much, and at times he let go of the ball to fast. Cazorla looked nervous throughout the game and he was very inaccurate.
Finally, people say Ozil was useless but I have to disagree. Even though Ozil never did anything amazing, he did open up spaces for Cazorla and Sanchez by dragging Moutinho and Kongdobia out of position. Ozil was also put in very hard positions where he received the ball surrounded by 3 Monaco players. I think that Ozil struggled because there was a lot of moments where Welbeck and Cazorla invaded his space, forcing Ozil out of the play. What really disappointed about Ozil today was that when he lost the ball, he did not have the will to go get the ball back. None the less, Arsenal’s midfield got over-run my Monaco.
The Arsenal forwards today were an absolute disappointment. Welbeck was constantly bullying Monaco but he never got into real rhythm. His first touch also let him down. Sanchez, apart from Bellerin, was a good player today. He did not score but he created a huge amount of chances for players like Walcott, Welbeck and Giroud. Sanchez also defended well, plus he showed effort and hunger (like always) while other players showed they did not care. Walcott was also huge when he came on but he was unlucky not to score. It proves he is still a bit raw. Lastly, Giroud. We all know about Giroud. He may be amazing against small teams but this was his chance to prove he belongs to the Costa, Aguero, Bony, etc. class. Giroud blew that chance and he blew Arsenal’s chances of getting the lead or drawing the game. Even though Arsenal was playing bad, the team should have scored at least once before injury time.
This was a team loss, and Arsenal loss, because they did not want this win enough. Monaco simply wanted it more. An example? When Ox lost the ball at the end which led to Monaco’s 3rd goal, no Arsenal player came to help keep possession of the ball. Meanwhile, Monaco players pressured the Ox into giving the ball away.
All in all a VERY disappointing night….
Mauricio