It was supposed to be fun. It was supposed to be easy. It was supposed to be different.
Except it wasn’t.
The match against Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday night was one Arsenal fans have seen many times before, just played out using different colours.
Here are four things I learned (or was reminded of) from the game.
1) Arsenal are their own biggest enemy
Arsenal don’t so much shoot themselves in the foot as they blow their whole leg off and then hop off a cliff. Suicidal defending lives and it finds its home in the Arsenal backline.
2) Mesut Ozil gets a raw deal
Ozil had a shocker, but he was far from the only one. In fact, if you looked around the Arsenal starting XI you’d be hard pushed to find a player who didn’t have a game that stunk yet Gary Neville was determined to pin it all on Ozil with constant criticism of his work rate (despite the fact he ran more than any other Arsenal player in the first-half).
It’s easy to pick on Ozil, his languid style leaves him wide open, but he was far from the worst player in an Arsenal shirt against Monaco and to make it seem as if he was highlights a bias already in place.
It’s hard to blame David Ospina, especially for Monaco’s first which was deflected but the manner in which he found himself flatfooted was disturbing. Szczesny has shown repeatedly that he has lightening reflexes, and while he may not have saved it, he would have at least made an effort and been able to get part of his body going in the direction of the ball.
4) Arsenal don’t like first legs
Arsenal never make it easy for themselves. It’s almost as if they don’t fancy playing a second leg unless they have made it practically impossible for themselves. Perhaps they don’t like playing in the competition in the first place.
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