AS Monaco vs. Arsenal, 2015 Champions League: Gunners win, but fall short of target

Arsenal turned in an impressive performance away at Monaco on Tuesday, though were eliminated from the Champions League on away goals after a 2-0 win on the night. The Gunners were the better side throughout the match, though ultimately didn’t have quite enough to find an all-important third goal.

Monaco successfully stifled Arsenal in the game’s opening exchanges, with goalkeeper Danijel Subašić having very little to do throughout the first half-hour. However, slowly but surely the hosts were sinking ever deeper, and the Gunners were beginning to strike up some tidy combinations in the final third.

Arsene Wenger made a pair of subs just after the 70th minute mark, and they paid off perfectly. In the 79th minute, sub Theo Walcott hit the post, Monaco failed to clear, and the ball fell to fellow sub Aaron Ramsey. He was a bit more accurate, placing this perfect shot to make it 2-0 to Arsenal on the night and 3-2 Monaco on aggregate.

The Gunners just need one more goal, and they have 11 minutes plus stoppage time to get it.

Arsenal have a long way to go still, but they’re back in their Champions League tie against Monaco thanks to Olivier Giroud. Danijel Subasic made a solid save on the Frenchman’s first effort, but his follow-up finish was composed. The Gunners need two more goals to go through.

Monaco, meanwhile, draft veteran midfielder Jérémy Toulalan back into their team after he missed the first leg through suspension. The result is that Fabinho has been pushed back into defense, with young full-back Almamy Touré unfortunate to lose his spot.

Monaco starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Danijel Subašić; Layvin Kurzawa, Aymen Abdennour, Wallace, Fabinho; Geoffrey Kondogbia, Jérémy Toulalan; Anthony Martial, João Moutinho, Nabil Dirar; Dimitar Berbatov.