Analysing Arsenal's Worst Performance Of The Season

When Arsenal drew Monaco most fans were optimistic that for the first time in four years Arsenal could reach the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League. No Bayern or Barcelona blocking our way this time. Arsenal had to play AS Monaco with the first leg at home. Our route to the quarter final looked straightforward but that's not how it worked out as Arsenal produced their worst performance of the season.
It was a night to forget for Arsenal but I want to go over it in detail with the aid of some images of the night in the hope of making sense of it and finding the positives for the second leg.
First half and Giroud
In the second minute of the match Welbeck got through but could not direct the ball on target. Giroud had been chosen to be the scapegoat after the game, but was he really that awful or was he just unlucky that evening?
As you can see in this picture he was not allowed to run to the perfect spot to head the ball cleanly towards goal. He got blocked by two Monaco players defending.
This was a beautiful setup from Özil but Sánchez did not make it count in the end. It definitely was not the best angle to shoot, but for me it clearly was the best chance we had to open the scoring in the first half.
Tags: Champions League, Monaco