It might take a few days for Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal players to be able to look back on last night’s win in Monaco with anything approaching positivity, because no matter what the result or how well we played, the harsh truth is that Arsenal are out of the Champions League at exactly the same stage that has been our downfall in every one of the last five seasons.
In the cold light of day, however, the Gunners should be able to take a lot from the game. Not only did we dominate an away game in Europe and score two goals against a notoriously strong defence, we managed the game well and had the strength to keep a clean sheet as well.
And the win keeps up our recent momentum. Five wins on the spin in three different competitions has got the belief flowing through the team and we need to keep that up to ensure Champions League football again for next season. Perhaps the painful memory of going out to an inferior side may even galvanise the Gunners to do better next time around.
For now though, Arsenal have a tough fight for the top four of the Premier League to think about, not to mention a certain FA cup trophy to defend, so even though our 2-0 win in Monaco was not quite enough to see us progress, it could be an important result for the rest of the season. Does anyone think Arsenal will fail to finish in the top four?