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Arsenal logo
Champions League | Round-Of-16
Feb 25, 2015 at 7.45pm UK
 
Monaco

1-3

FT(HT: 0-1)

Player Ratings: Arsenal 1-3 Monaco

Sports Mole rates how each player performed during Monaco's shock 3-1 victory over Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

AS Monaco put one foot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League this evening with a 3-1 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain appeared to have handed his side a late lifeline when he scored in the 90th minute after Geoffrey Kondogbia and Dimitar Berbatov had given the visitors a surprise two-goal lead.

However, Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco's strike in the final minute of stoppage time left the Gunners' European hopes hanging by a thread.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at how each player performed on a memorable night in North London.


Santi Cazorla of Arsenal is challenged by Almary Toure of Monaco during the UEFA Champions League round of 16, first leg match  on February 25, 2015© Getty Images

ARSENAL

Goal

David Ospina: Had little to do apart from picking the ball out of his own net. Made one good save to deny Martial, but had no chance with any of the goals. (6/10)

Defence

Hector Bellerin: Caught on the counter-attack on a couple of occasions as he tried to get forward whenever possible. (5/10)

Per Mertesacker: Left Martial to run clean through on goal for Monaco's second with a terrible decision to step up and meet the ball. Unfortunate deflection off him for the first goal, but an all-round poor display from the big German. (4/10)

Laurent Koscielny: Not quite as much of a liability as Mertesacker, but still had his shaky moments. Was untested for long periods as Monaco soaked up the pressure but could not deal with the quick breaks. (5/10)

Kieran Gibbs: Kept Dirar fairly quiet on his side but was virtually anonymous in an attacking sense. (5/10)

Midfield

Francis Coquelin: A comfortable second best to Kondogbia in the midfield battle and was AWOL when the Monaco man opened the scoring from 25 yards. (5/10)

Santi Cazorla: His side's best player in the first half and continued to try to make something happen throughout his time on the field. It just didn't work for him, though, and he ended up giving the ball away far too often. (6/10)

Danny Welbeck: Missed a glorious chance to pull a goal back when his rebound hit Walcott and went over. Could have done better in the build-up to the first goal and struggled to pose much of an attacking threat at all. (5/10)

Mesut Ozil: Dreadful display from the German. Wasted a number of good attacking platforms in the first half with wayward passing and drifted out of the game completely after the break. (4/10)

Alexis Sanchez: A rare off day for the Chilean. Never short of energy or desire but simply could not get any joy against this Monaco defence today. (5/10)

Attack

Olivier Giroud: A night to forget for the Frenchman. Missed a slew of chances and was hauled off by Wenger having blazed a sitter over the bar from close range. (3/10)

Substitutes

Theo Walcott: Provided more of a threat with his diagonal runs but missed one good chance and pulled out of another when he could have perhaps beaten Subasic to the ball. (6/10)

Oxlade-Chamberlain: An eventful cameo. Got the reply for his side with a lovely curling effort from the edge of the box but then lost the ball in midfield as Monaco raced up the other end and scored their third. (6/10)

Tomas Rosicky: Had less than 10 minutes on the field and could not change things for the Gunners. (6/10)


Monaco's Bulgarian forward Dimitar Berbatov (R) celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg football match against Arsenal  on February 25, 2015© Getty Images

MONACO

Goal

Danijel Subasic: A quieter night than he may have been expecting, thanks largely to Arsenal's poor finishing. Could do nothing about Oxlade-Chamberlain's goal. (7/10)

Defence

Almamy Toure: Making his Champions League debut and looked at home on the big stage. Kept whoever was on his flank quiet and contributed to a fine defensive performance. (7/10)

Wallace: Made one or two crucial interceptions inside his own box and helped to inflict a miserable evening on Giroud. (7/10)

Aymen Abdennour: Superb performance at the heart of the defence. Dealt with everything that came his way as Arsenal failed to get through the visitors until the 90th minute. (8/10)

Elderson: Looked like the weakest link in the Monaco defence early on but grew into the game and put in a good shift at the back. (7/10)

Midfield

Joao Moutinho: Tremendous in the second half especially. Produced one delightful flick to set up a great chance for Martial and sent a volley of his own narrowly over shortly afterwards. (8/10)

Fabinho: Helped Monaco to dominate the midfield battle, breaking up attack after attack. A real destroyer in the middle of the park. (7/10)

Geoffrey Kondogbia: Our man of the match with a towering display in midfield. Dominated that area of the pitch and got a goal to add to his fine performance, albeit via a deflection. Could have done better with Arsenal's goal, but on the whole a magnificent display. (8/10)

Attack

Nabil Dirar: Stand-in skipper for the night and, while he won't hog any headlines for his performance, he made an important contribution down the right flank. (6/10)

Dimitar Berbatov: Scored the second goal on his return to North London and came into his element as his side looked to kill the game off after that. (7/10)

Anthony Martial: Picked up the assist for Berbatov's goal and perhaps should have had his own name on the scoresheet when he was thwarted by Ospina. (7/10)

Substitutes

Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco: Got the killer goal in the final minute of stoppage time that could prove all the difference. Replaced Berbatov and added yet more pace to Monaco's dangerous counters. (7/10)

Layvin Kurzawa: Brought on with eight minutes of normal time remaining and helped Monaco to see out the match. (6/10)

Bernardo Silva: Full of energy during his short cameo on the field and provided the assist for the third goal. (7/10)


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Monaco's French midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia celebrates scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg football match against Arsenal  on February 25, 2015
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