Player Ratings: Monaco 0-2 Arsenal (agg 3-3)

TEAM RATINGS

Monaco

• 1D. Subašić
  Unlucky to concede a goal in the first half after pulling off a good initial save and was brilliant from then on, keeping his side in the game with a plethora of excellent stops.
• 5A. Abdennour
  The Tunisian was the commanding force in the middle of the Monaco back four. Kept his defence well organised and was strong in the air, particularly when having to deal with Giroud.
• 2Fabinho
  The right-back put in a great performance from start to finish, defending resolutely against everything that was thrown at him, particularly towards the end of the game when Arsenal were frantically searching for a third goal.
• 13Wallace
  Had a nervy few moments in the first half in which he struggled to deal with Giroud in the air but looked far more comfortable in the second period, where he put in an excellent shift alongside Abdennour.
• 3L. Kurzawa
  The young left-back put in a relatively good display for the vast majority of the game but made a terrible mistake to gift Ramsey with an easy opportunity to fire in Arsenal’s second goal.
• 7N. Dirar
  Spent most of his time protecting the left flank from Monreal, which he did well, and also looked bright when he was able to push forward.
• 28J. Toulalan
  Partnered Kondogbia extremely well in the middle of the Monaco midfield, sitting back and putting in a great defensive display.
• 8João Moutinho
  Was in the thick of it from start to finish. Looked bright on the rare occasions that he was able to push forward and made sure he got back to defend resolutely.
• 22G. Kondogbia
  The 22-year-old put in a brilliant performance in front of the Monaco defence, protecting his back line extremely well with a much-needed strong display.
• 9D. Berbatov
  Was left largely isolated near the halfway line, which was to be expected, and as a result made little impact.
• 23A. Martial
  Looked bright in the opening few minutes but faded from then onwards. As a result, he was replaced by Ferreira Carrasco on the hour mark.

Arsenal

• 13D. Ospina
  Had little to deal with due to his side’s dominance but was impressive when called upon to act and distributed well.
• 18Nacho Monreal
  Was unable to find as much joy as Bellerin when pushing forward but nonetheless looked bright on the ball and put in a good shift defensively.
• 6L. Koscielny
  Arguably the most impressive of the two Arsenal centre-backs. Kick-started several good attacks and remained resolute and disciplined from start to finish.
• 39Bellerín
  Defended well to keep Martial out of the game and got forward extremely well, often pulling off lovely overlapping runs with Sanchez before testing the Monaco defence with dangerous crosses.
• 4P. Mertesacker
  It was an impressive, if not slightly quiet, performance from the big German, who had little to deal with but nonetheless looked solid whenever Monaco tried to hit Arsenal on the counterattack.
• 11M. Özil
  The best part of an impressive trio who were in the thick of the action from start to finish. Linked up well with his fellow forwards and peppered the Monaco box with plenty of great crosses.
• 34F. Coquelin
  Put in a good defensive display in the middle of the pitch, sitting back well to deny Monaco the chance to break away on quick counterattacks.
• 19Cazorla
  The Spaniard was an important part of an impressive Arsenal midfield. Often found pockets of space left by Monaco, allowing him to pick out his teammates in front of him with several impressive passes.
• 23D. Welbeck
  Sent a lovely through-ball into the path of Giroud to set up the Frenchman’s goal and was a constant threat in and around the Monaco penalty area.
• 12O. Giroud
  Good in the air, using his muscle to great effect, which caused Wallace problems. Showed great determination to beat Subasic for the opening goal.
• 17A. Sánchez
  Linked up well with Bellerin on the right flank but was just as good when swapping to the left. Also got back well to help out his side defensively, which meant that Monaco found it increasingly difficult to break away on counterattacks.

Substitutes

• 21U. Echiejile
  Featured for the final 10 minutes after replacing Dirar and put in a good defensive display to help Monaco over the finish line.
• 17Y. Ferreira Carrasco
  Replaced the ineffectual Martial with half an hour left to play and immediately made an impact, injecting a sense of urgency into a tiring Monaco side.
• 15Bernardo Silva
  Came on for Berbatov and continued the Bulgarian’s good defensive work whilst also offering slightly more on the rare occasions that Monaco were able to push forward.

Substitutes

• 3K. Gibbs
  Replaced Monreal late on and put in a good shift down the left flank as Arsenal desperately searched for a third goal.
• 16A. Ramsey
  Came on for Coquelin as Wenger looked to up the ante and made an immediate impact, putting in a great shift in the final third of the pitch and firing in his side’s second goal of the game.
• 14T. Walcott
  Arguably made just as much of a positive impact as Ramsey as he used his pace to great effect, causing the Monaco defence plenty of problems in the final 20 minutes. Was unlucky to hit the post but his shot would prove to result in Ramsey’s goal.