Evening everyone.
European football for us Arsenal fans returns tomorrow and it's Monaco we'll have to entertain at the Emirates. The game brings back all kinds of memories for both parties. We all know Arsene trained the French outfit for seven years and it's there where he first tried his philosophy out. The diet, the training regimes, the style of football and a lot more.
But tomorrow's game leaves little room for sentiment. It's a competitive fixture (the last sixteen of the Champions League is as competitive as it gets) and should be treated as such. Any team can cause you plenty of trouble at this stage. Right now Monaco are on the way up, 4th in the league and they have one of the best defenses in both the domestic championship and in Europe.
Team news update
Well, not much has changed since our last game. Ramsey remains out, Oxlade is back in full training, though it's yet unclear whether he's fit enough to make the squad. The bad news is that Wilshere will probably sit the game out:
"The only uncertainty I have at the moment is Jack Wilshere but everybody else is available. He was rested [at training], because he trained hard until now. No, it's not a setback but I don't think [he'll play against Monaco]."
Not very encouraging. I was really counting on the Englishman for this one, but it is what it is. At least we should have Flamini back.
The back five
I'm certain Ospina, Mertesacker and Koscielny will keep their respective places. Our situation with full-backs is not this crystal clear, however. Bellerin took part in full training today, so I'd reinstate him at right-back. In the meantime, who should we play at left-back? Monreal looked a bit dodgy against Palace, but dropping him on that account would be stupid. He's been brilliant otherwise, so I suggest we field a more-or-less stable back four, the one that did so well in January.
The midfield
Really don't see something being changed here. Arteta, Ramsey and Wilshere are all out so, unless we want to play a pivot of Flamini and Coquelin, any tweaking is unnecessary. Coquelin, Cazorla and Ozil are all on top form, omitting them is hardly going to do anyone any good. Moving on.
The attack
Here we have some interesting choices to make. Or, rather, AN interesting choice: should Walcott start for Welbeck? Giroud and Alexis are guaranteed starters, both are in bang form (alright, Alexis a bit less so), but might we just adopt a more attacking approach by utilising Theo on the flank?
We needed a hard defensive worker against Palace, thus Welbeck was a better option. However, I expect us to take matters into our hands tomorrow right from the start and Walcott's pace and sense of positioning can come in handy. Welbeck, while a brilliant team player, isn't such a natural finisher as Theo.
The verdict
This is our big chance to progress beyond the last sixteen for the first time in five years. We've been really unlucky with the draw recently. Barcelona in 2012, Milan in 2013, and then Bayern Munich. Twice. We were a whisker away in 2012 by beating the Catalans at the Emirates, only to then lose 3-1 at Camp Nou, suffered a humiliating defeat against Milan, but almost bounced back in the return leg, while we have shown we can beat Bayern at their turf. But all our efforts were in vain, mostly because we've put ourselves in a hard spot in the first tie already and had to fight against the odds in the second.
We mustn't repeat this mistake tomorrow. We must take the game to Monaco, we must press and suffocate them in their half. We must create as many chances as humanly possible and we must make the most of these chances. We must take as big an advantage as we possibly can to France.
So come on you Gunners. Don't screw this up.
Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)
European football for us Arsenal fans returns tomorrow and it's Monaco we'll have to entertain at the Emirates. The game brings back all kinds of memories for both parties. We all know Arsene trained the French outfit for seven years and it's there where he first tried his philosophy out. The diet, the training regimes, the style of football and a lot more.
But tomorrow's game leaves little room for sentiment. It's a competitive fixture (the last sixteen of the Champions League is as competitive as it gets) and should be treated as such. Any team can cause you plenty of trouble at this stage. Right now Monaco are on the way up, 4th in the league and they have one of the best defenses in both the domestic championship and in Europe.
Team news update
Well, not much has changed since our last game. Ramsey remains out, Oxlade is back in full training, though it's yet unclear whether he's fit enough to make the squad. The bad news is that Wilshere will probably sit the game out:
"The only uncertainty I have at the moment is Jack Wilshere but everybody else is available. He was rested [at training], because he trained hard until now. No, it's not a setback but I don't think [he'll play against Monaco]."
Not very encouraging. I was really counting on the Englishman for this one, but it is what it is. At least we should have Flamini back.
The back five
I'm certain Ospina, Mertesacker and Koscielny will keep their respective places. Our situation with full-backs is not this crystal clear, however. Bellerin took part in full training today, so I'd reinstate him at right-back. In the meantime, who should we play at left-back? Monreal looked a bit dodgy against Palace, but dropping him on that account would be stupid. He's been brilliant otherwise, so I suggest we field a more-or-less stable back four, the one that did so well in January.
The midfield
Really don't see something being changed here. Arteta, Ramsey and Wilshere are all out so, unless we want to play a pivot of Flamini and Coquelin, any tweaking is unnecessary. Coquelin, Cazorla and Ozil are all on top form, omitting them is hardly going to do anyone any good. Moving on.
The attack
Here we have some interesting choices to make. Or, rather, AN interesting choice: should Walcott start for Welbeck? Giroud and Alexis are guaranteed starters, both are in bang form (alright, Alexis a bit less so), but might we just adopt a more attacking approach by utilising Theo on the flank?
We needed a hard defensive worker against Palace, thus Welbeck was a better option. However, I expect us to take matters into our hands tomorrow right from the start and Walcott's pace and sense of positioning can come in handy. Welbeck, while a brilliant team player, isn't such a natural finisher as Theo.
The verdict
This is our big chance to progress beyond the last sixteen for the first time in five years. We've been really unlucky with the draw recently. Barcelona in 2012, Milan in 2013, and then Bayern Munich. Twice. We were a whisker away in 2012 by beating the Catalans at the Emirates, only to then lose 3-1 at Camp Nou, suffered a humiliating defeat against Milan, but almost bounced back in the return leg, while we have shown we can beat Bayern at their turf. But all our efforts were in vain, mostly because we've put ourselves in a hard spot in the first tie already and had to fight against the odds in the second.
We mustn't repeat this mistake tomorrow. We must take the game to Monaco, we must press and suffocate them in their half. We must create as many chances as humanly possible and we must make the most of these chances. We must take as big an advantage as we possibly can to France.
So come on you Gunners. Don't screw this up.
Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)