I am sure that all the Arsenal fans have all been made well aware of the excellent record, especially in defence, that our Champions League opponents Monaco will be bringing to north London on Wednesday. Just once conceded from their six group games and just one from their last 11 games in all competitions is worrying for us.
But there are a few reasons for us to feel reasonably confident that the clash on Wednesday will not be a tense and nervous war of attrition and that there is a good chance of seeing some goals flying in for Arsenal. First of all, A Daily Star report has revealed that the French League 1 club are suffering from a bit of an injury crisis, with real doubts over the availability of six first team players. And among them are some key defenders like Carvalho, Kurzawa and Raggi.
The other side of the equation is of course our own creative and attacking options which are numerous and impressive, with the likes of Ozil, Giroud, Alexis, Cazorla, Welbeck and Walcott all in good form. Even with their strongest defence, Monaco would find it difficult to hold Arsenal, especially in front of our own fans at the Emirates. So far this season the Gunners have scored at home in every game in all competitions. The last team to stop us doing so was Bayern Munich over a year ago, when we were in poor form.
And assuming Arsenal continue our recent run and score a goal within 30 minutes for the 10th game in a row, they will have to try to attack us and that should lead to more. So is Monaco´s defensive record set to take a sudden turn for the worse?