Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta must avoid repeating one particular mistake if the Gunners are to get the better of Monaco in Wednesday's "really, really crucial" Champions League clash at the Emirates.
That is the view of expert Charles Watts, who is anticipating an exciting battle between two clubs with much shared history in terms of personnel, as Arsene Wenger, Thierry Henry and current Monegasques striker Folarin Balogun have all been employed by both outfits.
Both Arsenal and Monaco have taken 10 points from their opening five UCL games of the season to sit inside the top eight spots of the 36-team table, which would earn them a ticket to the last-16 without the need for a two-legged playoff in the second and third week of February.
"It says a lot about the calendar doesn't it, that the carrot of having two less games seems to be more important than just going straight through to a quarter-final in the Champions League! We don't want to play as many games, but it is a big one," Watts told Sports Mole.
"I think the win at Sporting was massive for Arsenal in terms of how these final three games are set up in the Champions League. Had that result not gone their way in Portugal, top eight was probably looking quite unrealistic, but now they've got a real opportunity, especially with the next two games being at home. This is the toughest of the final three, no doubt.
'Arsenal have a hell of a chance to seal top-eight finish'
"Monaco have had a good season, had a good start in the Champions League, but if Arsenal could win tomorrow and then you go into those final two games, they've got a hell of a chance of guaranteeing themselves top eight. So it's a really, really crucial game in terms of the Champions League for Arsenal. Mikel Arteta will take it absolutely very, very seriously.
"I don't see him making any changes or resting his players for the weekend, for example. There might be a couple, but aside from that, I think it will be a very strong team that Arteta puts out. He will want to win this game. He will want to have two fewer games in the start of 2025.
"Really, really big game for Arsenal. Looking forward to it, actually. I think Monaco play some good stuff and they've had some good results. So it should be a decent night at the Emirates. A big, big game."
Arteta's side return to European duty on the back of a disheartening 1-1 Premier League draw with Fulham, which left them six points behind leaders Liverpool at the top of the table having played a game more than Arne Slot's side.
The Gunners were dealt a devastating injury blow before kickoff at Craven Cottage, as Oleksandr Zinchenko joined fellow defenders Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalhaes and Takehiro Tomiyasu on the sidelines with an unknown problem, which is also threatening his availability for the visit of Monaco.
Instead of trusting Myles Lewis-Skelly or Kieran Tierney at left-back, Arteta switched Jurrien Timber over to his less favoured flank and dropped Thomas Partey into the right-back slot, a change that Watts believed proved 'too disruptive' as Arsenal dropped two crucial points in the title race.
Arteta urged to make full-back change in Monaco showdown
© Imago
"I still think the big issue of Arsenal at the moment, which sounds mad in terms of how they're not creating as much from open play is the defence," Watts added. "The defence is just so disrupted every single week. It's just different things happening. Again, he did something I didn't like against Fulham. He did something I know that a lot of people didn't like against Fulham.
"When there was no Zinchenko, it went back to Timber being on the left and Partey going right back and bringing him out of midfield. It just felt too disrupted. As soon as I saw that Zinchenko wasn't getting off the coach, I immediately feared that that was going to be what he was going to do. And he did.
"Both of them played well. Timber played well. Partey played well. So they can play in those positions. But it takes so much away, especially down the right-hand side in terms of Arsenal's attacking intent, not having Timber over there, because Partey doesn't get on the overlap. He moves inside to the central areas, which is understandable. And that sort of clogs up that central area even more. But when Timber's there, he gets on the overlap. He takes players away from Saka. That gives Saka more space to exploit."
Tierney is yet to play a single minute for Arsenal this season after his Euro 2024 hamstring injury, and it is widely accepted that he will be on the move next year, while the teenage Lewis-Skelly has only started one game against Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Cup.
However, Watts - speaking before it was revealed that Partey and Timber were also doubts for the contest - would like to see Arteta field one of the duo on the left-hand side against Monaco, explaining: "You've got Tierney on the bench, you've got even Myles Lewis-Skelly on the bench. Who am I to tell Mikel Arteta what to do? He's obviously far more experienced than I am. But it just felt a much easier option just to play one of the two players that he sees as a left-back.
"Keep Timber at right-back. Keep Partey in midfield. And you're just going to look better as an attacking force. So I'd like to see him change that against Monaco. If there's no Calafiori, if there's no Zinchenko, I'd like to see him put a little bit of trust in Lewis-Skelly or Tierney if they're deemed fit enough to start and keep Timber on the right-hand side. I think it would make a big difference to how Arsenal look as an attacking side."
Will Arsenal have any injured players back for Monaco clash?
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Arsenal will definitely be without long-term knee victims White and Tomiyasu for the visit of Monaco, while none of Gabriel, Zinchenko or Calafiori were spotted in team training on Tuesday, suggesting that they will not be fit for the contest either.
As if Arsenal were not struggling enough in defence, Timber and Partey were also missing from Tuesday's session, meaning that Arteta could be forced to field either Josh Nichols or fellow academy graduate Josh Robinson at right-back on Wednesday.
"It's just the story of the season, isn't it? One week you suddenly get some players back. You think it's looking good. Then now you're without Gabriel, Calafiuri and Zinchenko in the blink of an eye," Watts added.
"Mikel was asked about it in the press conference after the game against Fulham and he wasn't really giving anything away. He never does. He said he hoped they'd be back, but it was more of a question for the doctors. The Zinchenko one is frustrating because he'd come back, he'd looked pretty good, got himself back in the team and then another muscle injury pops up for Zinchenko and that's just not ideal with him. It's a familiar story in terms of his career at Arsenal so far."
Arsenal and Monaco will be locking horns for just the third time in a competitive match when they go head-to-head on Wednesday evening, almost 10 years on from the Gunners' 2014-15 Champions League last-16 exit to Les Monegasques.
However, the French side will be missing ex-Arsenal striker Balogun, who is nursing a shoulder injury, while defenders Christian Mawissa and Wilfried Singo are both suspended.
Ben Knapton
