Wednesday evening sees Arsenal at home to AS Monaco for the sixth game of this season’s Champions League.
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco, is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation and they have their training facility in la Turbie in France. AS Monaco FC was founded on 1 August 1920 as a unification of numerous local clubs based in France and the principality. Then, the multiple sports club of the Association Sportive de Monaco was founded on 23rd August 1924. AS Monaco FC was then absorbed by the latter and became the football section of the enlarged Monegasque sporting club.
During its history AS Monaco has developed a bit of a habit of firing and losing managers only to recall them to try to rediscover better but maybe unappreciated earlier times. The history is complicated so what follows is a very potted version of it.
The club spent its early years between the amateur and lower professional French leagues before enjoying its first period of top flight success in the early 1960s when coach Lucien Leduc led the club to its first professional trophy, the Coupe de France. In the following year they won the French Championship for the first time in their history and qualified for the European Cup. The same coach led the club to its first League and Cup Double in 1963 after which he departed and Monaco spent the next decade or so alternating between the first and second divisions.
Leduc returned in 1977 winning them immediate promotion back to the first division and the French Championship the following year. The 80s saw a steady stream of trophies before the next barren spell held through the 90s until the arrival of one Arsene Wenger who won them the title in his first season (in 1988).
Wenger’s reign saw the club enjoy one of its most successful periods, with signings like George Weah, Glenn Hoddle, Jürgen Klinsmann, and Youri Djorkaeff. Youth team policies produced future World Cup winners Emmanuel Petit, Lilian Thuram and Thierry Henry. It all sounds a bit familiar, doesn’t it? Wenger established Monaco as one of the top three clubs in French football as they won a Coupe de France and reached the final of the 1992 European Cup Winners Cup and the semi-finals of the 1994 Champions League.
Despite his success, things did not end pleasantly for Arsene at Monaco. It emerged that Marseille had been involved in match fixing, as Wenger had long suspected, and the Monaco board blocked him from discussing the vacant manager’s job at Bayern Munich and so, in 1994, he left.
Monaco went on to record two further league championships under Jean Tigana in 1997 and Claude Puel in 2000. However, the club had got itself into a financial mess and in 2003 they were relegated to Ligue 2 by the French Professional League for amassing a €50 million debt. So there’s hope yet that Man City are about to suffer the same fate.
They did achieve success again in the 2000s but amidst a certain amount of turmoil and many changes of manager. The current version of AS Monaco was “reborn”, as they refer to it, in 2011 when 66% of the club was purchased by Russian oligarch and billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, becoming one of Europe’s biggest spenders on players like Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez. Like us, they have never won the Champions League but they did beat us in the Round of 16 in the 2013-14 season. Didier Deschamps, Philipe Clement, Claudio Ranieri and even Thierry Henry – briefly in 2018 – have featured, among others, as managers in their very up and down history. The current incumbent is former Bundesliga coach Adi Hütter who was appointed in July 2023 and guided them to a runner-up finish in his first season.
After the weekend’s matches when they beat Toulouse by 2- 0 – not a huge score but it’s better to win than ‘Toulouse’ – AS Monaco sit second in Ligue 1 and are one place behind us in the ever changing Champions League table. Their Champions League results have been a mixed bag, actually beating Barcelona away from home and a name I assume from the badge that translates to Red Star (Belgrade) but losing some others which were probably easier on paper. But as we know ……..A face you might recognise – or not, maybe – in their squad is Folarin Balogun who left Arsenal for Monaco in August 2023 for a fee of €40 million. He felt he deserved a starting place for Arsenal having achieved nothing at the highest level, although in his own mind he appeared to have already won the Balogun D’Or. His availability is uncertain as he is still troubled by a shoulder injury incurred earlier in the season.
The Arsenal
During the years of the Wenger – Ferguson rivalry I used to dream of Man Utd descending into the mess that they have now become. We have just beaten them for the fourth time in succession but the media continue to snipe. We won with two goals from a seemingly unstoppable corner routine after their defensive low block left no space to play through in the first half. Did we over celebrate – were we arrogant and under celebrated – did the manager get too excited and run on the pitch? No, none of those. We are apparently just Stoke, a team of six foot plus giants who can only bully teams at set pieces.
Arteta’s reaction? To paraphrase slightly, “Good ! I’m happy to be compared with them doing that because they were very good at it. We want to be the kings of everything! Beautiful goals. Scrappy goals. Flowing goals. Quick breaks, long slow breaks. Set pieces. Best crowd, best atmosphere. Best coaches. Everything.”
What an answer ! Not an answer inviting derision like “we ARE the kings of everything “ but “we WANT TO BE”, and who doesn’t want that for their club? The club are seemingly trying to help to build the atmosphere in the stadium by fading the music to North London Forever to encourage the crowd to sing up on their own, so let’s have a massive rendition of Louis Dunford’s anthem to drown out the Edith Piafftts, Charles Aznovoices and Lady Marmalades in the away section.
The team Last December Mikel Arteta took the squad to Dubai for some winter sun and training that turned out to be transformative for the team’s form. This season there is no time for such a break but the players will be taking a break from travelling at least. In fact, between returning from Lisbon at the end of November and visiting Wolves in late January, the team will have travelled fewer than 200 miles for 14 fixtures. Hopefully that will give us a bit of advantage over our title rivals who all have far greater distances to cover over the same period including, for Chelsea, an eight hour flight across five time zones to the south-eastern corner of Kazakhstan.
As we seem to be picking up injuries to defenders on a weekly basis the back half of the team is hard to predict but we will hopefully see the return of Gabriel and Calafiori. Saka seems undroppable and Ødegaard appeared to be okay despite his early withdrawal on Sunday, so:
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Partey, Odegaard, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
The Holic pound
Paddy Power are offering odds of 1/4 Arsenal win; 9/2 the draw; 9/1 Monaco win. More enticing maybe is a 2-0 Arsenal win at 5/1 or a 3-0 win at 7/1.
Kick off is at 20.00 UK time with TV coverage on TNT. I will leave you with very best wishes for a successful, enjoyable Wednesday evening and a Monaco kiss. That’s similar to a French kiss but a bit further south. 😉
Very enjoyable preview Trev for a game that , if we win, will see us have an excellent chance of a top 8 finish with Zagreb at home to come . Liverpool have just scraped past Girona with a not unusual lucky penalty .
My first preview for Goonerholic was of the away game at Monaco which we won 2-0 only to go out on away goals having had a ‘ mare’ at home . Second in Ligue Un suggests they won’t be shabby but we should win . I’m thinking 2-0. ( to us!) Don’t expect Calafiori back but hopefully we will see Gabriel , sparing us from Kiwior in the middle .
I’m going to the match and hoping to have a quick bevvy before the match ( at exorbitant prices ) with some estimable Holics
Première Boisson. Merci Trev.
I am afraid that, following Marseille’s identically scored 2-0 win on Sunday, Monaco are only third on goal difference.
Also I don’t know how you got the idea that they were relegated in 2003 due to financial irregularities.
They got relegated on the pitch, in 2011, after 34 consecutive years in L1 (I didn’t know about the duration of the longevity in itself, I admit I looked at the details on the web).
I suspect you will need to borrow Ned’s monks in the future. 😉
Them being one of the three clubs to win the French League in the Qatar years is more remarkable.
Balogun has been confirmed as not available (as well as Zakaria and Singo, notably, who have been very good, so that’s a bonus).
Having said that, as long as we beat them tomorrow, I will be happy.
I got the idea from various corners of the web, Ollie. I wasn’t there in person to know any better. As I read, they were punished for ending that season in €50 million debt.
Those corners need to clean their spiderwebs for clarity. 😉
You might even remember that they went to the CL final in 2003-2004 (the ‘other’ year when we should have won it (*cries*) ) only to fall foul of that unpleasant Portuguese coach.
Having researched a little more now, I see they were threatened with relegation due to a €53m hole in their pocket indeed, but were actually saved.
Some more info here and various other pages if google translate or similar is your friend.
https://www.leparisien.fr/sports/monaco-sauve-par-des-societes-de-la-principaute-18-06-2003-2004177831.php
(And yes I know that football feat was not incompatible with relegation, but I doubt they’d have been able to keep most of the players who enabled it)
Thank you guys for answering my question in the last drinks. As I suspected points in corresponding fixtures are pretty similar.
Fine preview, Trev. In case you didn’t think I was reading closely, you are correct, it is indeed much better to win than ‘Toulouse’ (especially at Monte Carlo) but most certainly when defending one’s castle as we will be.
Indeed bt8. And from Monte Carlo to Monty Python, the mere mention when reading the blog made me think of this :
Ollie @2, I’ve actually been having to work late and trying to find my daughter a 21st birthday present in the meantime. I checked the Ligue 1 table on Sunday morning – the last chance I had to write the piece – and Monaco were second. I apologise if I got it wrong.
No apologies needed, Trev. Perfectly understandable. And unlike journalists who sometimes make these mistakes, you are doing a preview for free on your spare time and it is much appreciated. Extra drink for you. And for her then. Cheers!
Gitchi gitchi ya ya da da, is all I can say to that, Trev.
Is that Mustafi singing in the picture?
Ollie@2: No way Trev gets to borrow the monks. They’d come back far too cheerful…
Many Thanks Trev, an enjoyable read as always.
I would be happy with a 2-0 win. Though as TTG mentioned the nightmare 1-3 at home I also wouldn’t mind if we gave a real 5-1 whacking either. We had a great chance to break that last 16 run that season and really shouldn’t have lost that game 1-3 that night.
I hope MA will rotate a little more than your predicted team, especially in midfield and up front. Starts for Merino, Jesus and Nwaneri would be fine with me.
Haha, true, Ned!
I think tonight’s results means a win would truly put us in an excellent position in the table. It’s very very tight behind Liverpool though…just like in the Premier League then.
Great preview Trev with a superb blend of humour and information. I remembered that we had come a cropper or two with Monaco and that Arsene had been cheated out of a title with them but had forgotten the details and that they have had even patchier seasons than us over the years. I love the Toulouse pun and Ollie’s extra piece from the Circus that I didn’t see first time round adds more colour.
Like Matt, I’d like to see a bit of variety in midfield and the forward line with his three suggestions starting and being told to show us what they can do in 45 minutes. However, Monaco, as the preview underlines, are once again no mugs so I don’t expect MA8 to do that. However he gave strong hints that KT3 deserves a start which would allow JT12 to revert to RB and add the third body to our stronger attacking side.
In any case, if we are to have a strong chance of finishing in the top 8 and avoiding two extra games early in 2025, we must win.
Toulouse, would mean a Lautrec towards the last 16. I’ll get my coat.
Sounds like we have real injury problems in defence with Timber and Partey doubtful . Both of those are injury prone . KT3 would be an excellent left back and MLS possibly a right back but we are down to the bare bones with a very hard programme to come
I hope we can get Gabriel fit and Timber is not gone in the fetlock because we can’t depend on Zinchenko,Calafiori or Tomayisu to keep consistently fit. Where’s Rob Holding when you need him?
Perhaps it’s time to call out to Heaven for help? I keep hearing MLS is carrying a knock but he keeps being named among the subs so I am not sure if that is accurate.
Saliba and Kiwior seem to be our only fit defenders apart from KT3, I guess someone will be sent out at left back for an hour and KT3 will come on later.
A coat of paint then, bath?
Tierney on the pitch would be quite unexpected, Matt, but we may have no choice.
Turns out we don’t quite have enough full-backs/versatile defenders/midfielders? :-O
Ollie,
Yeah, KT3 was a kind of surprise return to the bench really (I had him as about 6th choice left-back!) but as Bath mentioned MA was talking him up in the presser so I guess he will come on or start. Might help to put him in the shop window for January too, although the way it’s going we might not be able to let him go
I like him so would be very happy to see him on the pitch again, hoping he does well (obviously)!
Cheers Trev!
Racking my brains for a leftfield pick at full back (right or left), such as Le Boss picking Flamini at left back in 2006 on that run all the way to the CL final. But I cant see one.
Esso
Well we could choose Saka!
Only joking 😀
Raya
MLS/Rice – Saliba – Kiwior – Tierney/MLS/Merino
Ødegaard – Rice/Jorginho – Merino/Havertz
Saka – Havertz/Jesus – Martinelli
I think we can still field a respectable team though maximising the flexibility of certain individuals filling in at full back and trusting in the long lost ability of KT3 to play for over 30 minutes.
There is Josh Nichols to play right back. He played against Bolton in the League Cup and has been on the bench for several PL games (as has Heaven).
MLS plays on the left. He is unlikely to be drafted in as a right-back.
Jorge Bird reports that another Academy right-back, Josh Robinson, has trained with the first team ahead of the Monaco game, as has Zane Monlouis, a right-sided centre-half. Other Academy players involved: Jack Henry-Francis, Jimi Gower (both midfielders), Daniel Oyetunde (striker) and Alexei Rojas (keeper).
That’s a lot of joshing at right-back there!
Think Nichols has injury problems as well.
Heh @ Ollie!
Ned @23, so it may be Declan at RB tho’ many a full-back is capable of switching sides (we already have two excellent, if injury prone, examples) Arseblog reports that Nichols is also crocked. Then again we may be playing ‘mind games’ with Monaco.
Germany played Havertz at left back for the national team I think………
Rings a bell indeed, Matt. Just like England did with Saka, as mentioned by TTG?
I think Neto will play left-back before Havertz does for us though.
Esso@26: I think you are right about Nichols being injured. Re your @20, Flamini was the best right-sided midfielder playing left-back in Europe that season. It was a pretty makeshift back four all around but still good enough to get to a CL final.
I would advise anyone going to the game today to take their boots. They might get a game the way things are shaping up.
Not only did Havertz play left back for Germany in a friendly against Turkey in November 2023, but he scored a goal and gave away the penalty from which Turkey won the game 3-2.
Great preview Trev
An Arsene Wenger quiz for those that like quizzes, quite easy but I still managed to get one wrong.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cn4xzkxrrwno
Thank you Trev for a characteristically enjoyable preview! I haven’t seen Monaco much this year but their CL results until now evidently show that this will be a tough match, if anyone had doubts.
Nowadays I have learnt to — or so I hope — accept the injury crisis more as a beguiling puzzle for Mikel to sharpen his tactical skills on and less as anxiety inducing development. I haven a feeling that both Gabriel and Timber are fit for this match, and Kiwior will start on left back.
I would also like to see Jesus starting down the middle. He has an excellent record in CL and this maybe a match where trusted with the central striker role he can start with a bit more confidence. His close control in the penalty box is a very useful attribute. His finishing instinct may have evaporated in last year or so as he has started to over complicate his actions, but it feels once a goal or so goes in he will quickly rediscover his form. Kai has been playing constantly every three days and in the last couple of matches he looked tired, no doubt given the immense work off the ball he puts in.
Monaco is likely not going to try to double mark both Saka and Martin and line up six players along the defensive line.They will approach this match with the goal of getting all three points and we need more verticality from midfield. Hopefully Partey is fit.
Should be a good match. If we manage to get three points the path to top eight becomes all the more clear. Hopefully the home advantage with the crowd behind them, the Arsenal players will rise to the occasion.
Thanks all for your kind words. Good luck to whichever one of you ends up playing tonight if we don’t manage to unearth one fit fullback. Take your long johns is my advice.
Arsenal: Raya, Partey, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Rice, Merino, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Jesus
Subs: Neto, Setford, Tierney, Heaven, Timber, Robinson, Monlouis, Jorginho, Sterling, Trossard, Havertz
Doc gets his wish re Jesus.
Is Timber rested or being nursed?
KT3 still can’t get a game…
Dr F@34: Looks like you’ve got your wish of Jesus at No 9.
Robinson, Monlouis and Heaven all on the bench, with a combined age of less than many in this fine establishment.
Cheers Esso !
I wonder whether Gabriel has a muscle / joint injury or is his absence sill an extended concussion measure after that left hook from Flappy.
MLS-GJ-BS 1-0
Great stuff!
Get in! Bukayo!
Two great balls from MLS and Jesus, nice goal
Wot bt8 said hahaha
We’ve been knocking last 5 minutes
What Matt said. Pleased for Jesus great pass.
Very comfortable first half. Amazing how Martinelli can play so well when he actually has support down the left hand side rather than being required to do it all for himself.
At the same time, I imagine every PGMOL referee is wetting himself tonight at the thought of being able to send him off for 2 yellows. Sensible refereeing in my estimation, despite what the idiot TNT Sports commentator says. But of course sensible is utterly absent at PGMOL Towers.
Miles Lewis-Skelly. What a Champions League debut for an 18 year old.
Jesus looking better – more involved – unlucky with a couple of finishes.
Fletcher and McCoist on commentary – non- stop, absolutely non-stop blathering total bollocks or everything you can see for yourself – doing my head in, again ! If only there was an option to turn them off and just have crowd noise …..
CER – funny how Martinelli was trying to foul with the leg he was planted on – according to comms. Brainless twats. The best commentators in all sports have always said if you can’t add to what the viewer can see for themselves then don’t say anything at all. Oh, if only ……
Spot on, Trev.
Well on top last 15 or 20, cherry would have been another goal or two but
the one we got was great.
Fletch is the ultimate ball ache.
Didn’t think I’d have to say this after our first half, but I can see a need for Timber and Havertz to come in to give us a bit more control.
Well, 1 out of 3 ain’t bad….
Well that was handy 2-0!
Another excellent sub from Arteta.
Kai and Saka both doing well, forced the error from the keeper
Bit nervy at times 2nd half but have ridden it out well so far
Interesting idea at our corners from Monaco,
wonder if other teams will do it
And 3-0!
Good last 20 minutes both halves, good result against a fair side
Great result and a fair performance from a bit of a make shift line up.
That was a weird game. We could have gone in at half-time 5-0 up and weren’t two goals better than Monaco in the second half. Still, three more CL points, so job done.
Trev, CER: My advice is to find a broadcast stream in a language you don’t speak. It will make more sense than listening to the commentary on English TV.
Good to get a clean sheet with a defence that has probably never played together.
Pleased for MLS, and I thought Raya was very sound
First match of the season viewed at Brit’s Pub in Minneapolis. Excellent fish and chips and Guinness made up for the presence of a horde of obnoxious C115ty fans in the next room. The three Arsenal goals also a decent compensation.
Those must not have been happy C115ty fans as I had assumed were in the next room. Juventus battered them 2-0
Yes, Pep and his ill-gotten gains are the PL whipping boys in the CL at the moment.
Seems like only last month they were the best ever and near certainties not to lose
again this season etc etc
A very nice outing despite the cold. The final result did not flatter us and Monaco proved themselves a good team and a stern challenge. However, we could/should have been 3 or 4-0 up at half time with shocking misses by Jesus twice, MØ and Martinelli leaving us with that chilling anxiety that those misses could come back to bite us. Monaco obviously felt the same and put us on the back foot for the first 20-30 minutes of the second half when we were a bit sloppy and laboured in possession. We rode our luck at the back and got a major gift from the Monaco keeper with a little help from Kai which took the wind out of Monaco’s sails. The third was the icing on the cake and a nice piece of near post work by Kai though UEFA have taken the goal off him as the last touch came off the defender.
On to the Toffees.
>>>>>>>