Arsenal 1 – 3 AS Monaco

0 – 1 Kondogbia (39)
0 – 2 Berbatov (54)
1 – 2 Oxlade – Chamberlain (90)
1 – 3 Ferreira – Carrasco (90⁺³)

Yes, the wheels on bus do indeed go round and round. I know this because Arsenal’s bounced past the window before disappearing down the hill as the Champions League bus crashed unceremoniously to the ground. It was, Brian, a night of stunning ineptitude.

All the talk beforehand was of how lessons of previous crushing first leg defeats had been learned. Monaco would find Arsenal a different proposition. Instead, we saw the repeat of the ineptitude which was the hallmark of the defeat in Milan and the porous defending which Bayern took full advantage of. It was all too stunningly and depressingly familiar.

The defending was so bad that Arsène referred to it as suicidal. It was a performance which he thought the players hearts ruled their minds. It wasn’t even that good; it was brainless and spineless. Above all else, it was a night where all the myths were laid bare. It isn’t money which stops Arsenal competing for the Champions League, it isn’t even unfavourable draws. It’s much more ingrained in the club’s psyche than that.

It’s hard to argue with the substitutions Arsène made. I’m just amazed he could make his mind up; there were eleven candidates, all putting forward a strong case for their replacement. Olivier Giroud decided to have a woeful night in front of goal and was hauled off. He is the one who was the focus of the media’s attention but he was far from being the only guilty party.

And whilst the forwards were a problem, the defence was even worse. Arsène pointed to Per Mertesacker turning away from the shot for the opening goal which is to a degree, nit-picking. The back four were much more naïve and disorganised than they have been all season.

On the second and the third goal we were suicidal. We had the luck to come back to 2-1 but not the right to give away a goal the way we did

That sums up how bad Arsenal were. Arsène, a man who is unrelentingly positive about the side (although he has to be in public), thought it was luck that the players hauled themselves back into the tie as the game moved in injury time. I dare say what he really thought about the staggering stupidity of conceding the third minutes later is unprintable.

I understand the desire to retrieve a two-goal deficit and having halved it, why the players were eager to level the scores. But they forgot that the complexion of the tie had already changed, the result needed to progress was so much more achievable and the belief that they needed so much easier to instil. Now they must attack more ruthlessly than before as well defending more disciplined than they have managed. Do you seriously believe they can do that? I don’t.

This was a Monaco team which struggles to score more than once each league match and had amassed a total of four from six group games. It’s only the third time this season they had scored three times; Rennes and Bastia were the other reckless parties. To put Arsenal’s task into context, only Bordeaux have scored three times against Monaco this season and that was in the second Ligue Un game of the season. Scoring three without reply? On the basis of last night? What possible case can anyone put forward for that?

If you wondered how to approach such a match, Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim told it like it is,

Football is an art, defending and attacking. It is difficult to score a lot of goals in the Champions League, but we were able to take advantage of the space Arsenal gave us.

Simple really, isn’t it. And it makes you wonder why Arsenal didn’t approach the game in the same way. I can understand one or two players being off-key but none of the fourteen on the pitch can hold their heads high, none of them.

It’s down to bad preparation. It looked as if they were complacent, a charge Arsène struggled to deny,

I hope not. I hope not. It looks like that when you don’t have that kind of sharpness. Anything is possible – it’s very difficult to say that straight after the game.

The problem is that this is a performance that you knew Arsenal had in them. Recent weeks have been unconvincing in part, this dragged all their failings into one bad night at the office. The trouble is, I expect them to have more this season. We saw in the last fifteen minutes at Selhurst Park how timid they can be in defence and god knows Leicester caused enough problems recently.

Rising to third place ought to have given them confidence. Instead, it bred arrogance, a sense they think it’s their right to be in that position. It overlooks that they relied on the failings of others as much as their own ability to get where they are. Is it a false position? Last night’s performance would indicate that to be the case.

Ordinarily you can take some positives from a defeat, see that there was something to work with but there’s nothing from this one worth looking at in such a light. Whatever passion the players have for the game was noticeable by its absence yesterday. And don’t mention pride in playing for Arsenal; they had none.

’til Tomorrow.

It was alright. We could have done better. Twelve draws; it was probably five or six too much

Thirty-eight games unbeaten and still it was considered there was room for improvement. That’s Jens Lehmann’s opinion at the end of Invincibles, a documentary celebrating the achievements of the 2003/04 title-winning side.

When Arsène and those players reflect, it will be their crowning glory in terms of club football. Henry went on to win the Champions League with Barcelona but you sense that whilst he enjoyed that victory, there is something altogether more prestigious in going a season undefeated, a sense of greater achievement.

It’s an interesting documentary – to be screened on Sky this week and subsequently released on iTunes – with the manager and players honest in their assessment of season. Parlour, Keown and Henry pointing to two pivotal moments in the season as the spur for success; Old Trafford and half-time at home to Liverpool.

Keown was pivotal in both, as protagonist on the pitch with van Nistelrooy, whose actions in getting Vieira dismissed don’t improve with time. The defender isn’t proud of his actions in general terms but recognised the galvanising effect that the match had on the team, particularly the punishments afterwards which entrenched the feelings of being hard done by.

Against Liverpool, trailing in at the interval in a week which had seen the dreams of a treble crumble, Keown spoke rather than Wenger. His words around a central theme of reminding the players how good they really were, had the desired effect. All responded, according to the interviews, Henry the most with his goals.

It would be easy to gloss over that season’s failures but Keown didn’t shy away from doing so. The regret is tangible when he talks about the missed opportunity in the Champions League, losing to a Chelsea side which they know they should have beaten, especially being one-up and an away goal in the bank. Winning that, he supposes, would have marked the side out as one of the greatest.

I’ve said before, more than Paris, that was the one which got away, the season when Arsène will most regret not winning the Champions League. There is a certain symmetry in the release of the documentary this week, knowing that had Chelsea been defeated, Monaco awaited in the semi-final.

Even so, the achievements of that season should not be downplayed. The question of whether it will be matched is always asked and to me, earlier in each season. City, United and Chelsea have all been marked out as the next Invincibles; none has yet delivered, underlining just how difficult a task the players achieved.

It was bloody impressive 

Indeed it was, Mr Keown indeed.

However, attention is turning towards the Champions League and planning applications. The interest in the latter is not quite down to the process itself, more the outcome although I am sure some will want to know the i’s have been dotted and t’s crossed.

The club continues to invest in an infrastructure which will last beyond Wenger’s tenure and some of this at least, will have been driven by the investigation into why so many injuries have been suffered. The FA continues its drive to soften the shins of players by not charging Ashley Barnes for dangerous play, despite replays showing Matic might well have had a point in being so angry. The Chelsea hierarchy meanwhile, are happy that attention has been diverted away from the despicable events on the Paris Metro.

It is interesting to note that Sepp Blatter, so long an advocate of the infallibility of match officials, is open to video technology and replays in particular, with his latest wheeze presumably having come from someone else because it actually makes sense. Indeed there is nothing new in it; many people have long suggested that managers be given two appeals each game against incidents. For Mourinho, I am sure that will not be enough and will spark a well-timed PR stunt to engender a siege mentality in his own mind.

Monaco meanwhile talk the talk but like Arsenal must wait until tomorrow to see if they can walk it. Arsène is on the edge of a busy period in the fixture list, midweek games and cup competitions pock-mark the Premier League campaign.

The latter is now in Arsenal’s control. Win and third place is theirs; it’s tempting to say match the results of one or other of the pack brings the same result but none of them seem to want to finish in the top four as much. Experience on Arsenal’s part or fear of failing to reach a basic target; which has spurred the players into consistency? It does matter, if it’s the latter then the collective approach of the group is wrong so you always hope it’s the former. And a smattering of talent showing through.

It’s almost perverse that the Champions League offers the opportunity of progress. Having screwed up the group stage by yet again finishing second, the draw has been favourable. It’s a time to look forward to breaking out of the rut of failure in this competition. That so much store is placed in just qualifying for the group phase highlights the grip money has placed over the game. There’s no sense of achievement in anyone’s answer as to why qualifying is so important; just a fear of missing out.

The profile of consistently qualifying through the group has taken Arsenal to a certain point but the consistent failure of not progressing to the last four on an even regular basis, undermines any sense of sporting excellence. It’s time to make that leap out of Europe’s top sixteen into the top eight on sporting grounds rather an aura created by wealth. Putting the infrastructure in place is part of that but its on the pitch where the transformation must be seen.

Arsenal have been offered a golden opportunity and they have to take it. We then trust to the same luck we had in this draw – on paper at least – to going further than we have for some time.

’til Tomorrow.

To go to work and know that it is all ­useless is a disaster.

According to Jose Mourinho, Arsène has continued that. The Chelsea manager’s PR stunt yesterday on Sky achieved its aim; condemnation of the referee and sympathy for the devil. He managed to incorporate a first strike against Wenger, compliments in backhanded way just in case Arsenal close the gap a little more on the top of the table and designed to paint Arsène as the aggressor if he responds. Whatever else Mourinho fails as, media manipulation is not one of them.

Having said that, you know that managers don’t view any club they compliment as a threat to their own ambitions. It was always that way with the rivalry with United and when Ferguson spoke warmly about Arsenal, it gnawed at me. And was mildly disturbing as well.

Even if you don’t like his public persona, Mourinho has a point in the his criticism of Arsenal, it is no different a view from Arsenal supporters. It’s a good squad, good players; they ought to be doing a lot better and challenging for the title. Not finishing the summer transfer business proved costly but that’s been rectified and perhaps next season will be the great step forward that this was supposed to be. There’s always next season, isn’t there?

Yesterday’s results could have been better were it not for Alex Song’s ill-judged last-minute intervention. Tottenham rescued a point and were then stripped of all dignity with their websites ‘Party Toolkit‘, complete with recipes and player masks, the likes of which were last seen in a low-budget straight-to-video horror film. The gift that keeps on giving.

Next weekend offers the opportunity for the top four race to become less crowded with Liverpool entertaining Manchester City. A home defeat is best for Arsenal, nipping any confidence the Miserysiders took from their win at St Mary’s, in the bud. Arsenal, United and Southampton have fixtures they are expected to win and with Tottenham playing Chelsea in the League Cup final, the opportunity exists to double the gap to the non-European places.

And Europe takes centre stage this week. UEFA bloated the Champions League calendar so that everyone can watch the knockout stages, if you are willing to pay of course. Both Monaco and Arsenal will view the tie through the same eyes; it could have been a lot worse in terms of opposition.

The Monégasque have scored barely a goal a game all season but are conceding marginally less. It still seems unbelievable that they topped their group by scoring just four goals in six games, the same number Arsenal managed in Turkey. Harder opponents is the answer, I am sure but it is a consistent theme running through their season.

It doesn’t mean the tie will be easy. The last time we thought Arsenal had been given a favourable draw, they crashed in the San Siro. The second leg almost recovered the disastrous first leg defeat but now serves to underline how bad we were in the 0-4 reverse.

That familiar theme has haunted Wenger since 2010’s quarter-final appearance; poor in the first leg, recovering pride in the second. Barcelona and Bayern have both ended any hopes of emulating Paris, finishing the job that Arsenal started with poor group phase campaigns.

Failure in Europe is the missing element of his footballing CV. The only manager to lose all three club competition finals is a record he would not want or cherish. Whilst the consecutive finishes in the top four are lauded for their consistency, I wonder if the Champions League has stopped Wenger being more successful?

Under the old regulations, Arsenal would only have qualified for the Champions Cup three times in Wenger’s reign. He aimed twice at the UEFA Cup and missed on both occasions but knowing how close Arsenal came in 2000, it’s not fanciful to believe they might have fared better than their Champions League efforts in the past seventeen years. A final, semi-final and a couple of quarter-finals is, I am sure, as disappointing for Arsène as it is us.

It’s something which haunts Arsène’s career in the same way that the corruption Bernard Tapie’s reign wrought over French football, an era which shaped Wenger’s view of football ethics. It’s clear from the opening quote of today’s post and underlines why he was such a keen proponent of FFP, His catchphrase for years was ‘financial doping'; how deep the disappointment of UEFA’s watered-down version of regulation must cut.

Winning the Champions League this season is, I think, beyond Arsenal but expectations and possibilities shift after every match. Some of the fancied sides will slip by the wayside in this round and it stretches credibility to believe that one or two of the remaining ‘big’ clubs might not make the last four. An unfancied winner this time around?

With every passing year, the prospect fades as the rich get richer and the Champions League becomes more irrelevant to Arsenal. Without significant investment, being crowned Champions of Europe remains as distant a dream as it has always been.

’til Tomorrow.