PREVIEW: Arsenal v Monaco

[dropcap]P[/dropcap]rofitable night with the over 2.5 goals landed at the Etihad – thankfully in the bag before Messi’s last gasp penalty was saved by Joe Hart and the follow-on header went wide.

Tonight it’s back to London and the Emirates for Arsenal v Monaco – the first time these two sides have met.

At first glance Arsenal look a little short for this especially as they have a few injury worries.

Midfielder Jack Wilshere is set to be rested after ankle surgery and Aaron Ramsey (hamstring), Mikel Arteta (ankle), Abou Diaby (calf) and Mathieu Debuchy (shoulder) are also all out.

Monaco are very strong in defence and have only conceded three goals in their last 17 games losing just one of these. Monaco come into this as Group C winners and play an Arsenal side who finished runner-up in Group D – level on points with Dortmund but a worse goal difference.

Monaco also have a good record against English sides. In 1997, they eliminated Newcastle from the UEFA Cup to earn a place in the semi-finals, and then knocked Man U out of the Champions League the following year at the same stage. Monaco also beat Chelsea in the semi-finals to reach the 2004 Champions League final.

Arsenal v Monaco
Champions League
7.45pm SKY SPORTS 5

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
Never played before

The draw makes most appeal at around 3/1 with Star Sports.

RECOMMENDED BETS (scale of 1-50 points)

BACK DRAW for 4 points at around 3/1 with Star Sports

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