Monaco v Arsenal background

Arsène Wenger returns to the scene of his first managerial triumphs when he takes Arsenal to AS Monaco FC needing a UEFA Champions League comeback of unprecedented proportions.

• Beaten 3-1 in north London, Arsenal must do what no other side has managed in the UEFA Champions League era: win having gone into an away tie needing to score more than once to avoid elimination. The game on 25 February was the third year running Arsenal had lost the home first leg in the round of 16 by a two-goal margin.

• Teams have come back from a home first-leg loss only twice in the UEFA Champions League, and both were beaten 1-0 first time out: AFC Ajax (v Panathinaikos FC, 1995/96 semi-finals, 3-0 second leg) and FC Internazionale Milano (v FC Bayern München, 2010/11 round of 16, 3-2 away).

• Wenger was Monaco manager for seven years (1987–94) before leaving for Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan.

• Competing in the knockout stage for the first time in a decade, Monaco reached the last 16 as winners of Group C – though their 11-point total was actually two fewer than Arsenal managed in finishing Group D runners-up behind Borussia Dortmund.

Previous meetings
• This tie is the sides' first competitive encounter but they did meet in London in a pre-season friendly on 3 August. Monaco won 1-0 through a Radamel Falcao goal.

• The starting lineups that day were:
Arsenal: Szczęsny, Debuchy, Chambers, Koscielny, Monreal, Ramsey, Arteta, Wilshere, Sánchez, Giroud, Cazorla.
Monaco: Subašić, Dirar, Raggi, Carvalho, Elderson, Moutinho, Bakayoko, Kondogbia, Ferreira Carrasco, Falcao, Ocampos.

Match background

Monaco
• Monaco are eyeing their first UEFA Champions League quarter-final since 2003/04, the season they went all the way to the final.

• Their most recent round of 16 appearance ended in a 3-0 aggregate defeat by PSV Eindhoven in 2004/05.

• Leonardo Jardim's side did not concede a goal in three home games in the group stage, winning two of them. They had the best defensive record overall in the group stage, conceding just once.

• Monaco are unbeaten in eight European games at Stade Louis II, since a 2-0 loss to PSV Eindhoven in March 2005. They have not been defeated at home by a margin that would knock them out since a 3-0 loss to another English club, Leeds United AFC, on 12 September 1995 – 40 games ago.

• Monaco have not hosted English opposition since 2004, when they beat Chelsea FC 3-1 at the Stade Louis II in the 2003/04 semi-finals in April, and then overcame Liverpool FC 1-0 in the following season's group stage.

• Their overall home record against English clubs is W3 D1 L1.

• When winning the away first leg in UEFA competition, Monaco's aggregate record is W9 L0. That includes two ties where the first-leg score was 3-1 in their favour, both in the UEFA Cup first round: against ŁKS Łódź in 1998/99 (second leg 0-0) and Roda JC in 1990/91 (second leg 3-1). 

• Monaco's shoot-out record in UEFA competition is W1 L0:
3-1 v Real Valladolid CF, 1989/90 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final

Arsenal
• This is Arsenal's 15th consecutive appearance in the last 16. However, Wenger's men lost at this stage in each of the last four seasons.

• Arsenal's last victory in the round of 16 was against FC Porto (6-2 aggregate) in 2009/10, since when they have suffered elimination against FC Barcelona (2010/11), AC Milan (2011/12) and Bayern (2012/13 and 2013/14).

• Play-offs included, Arsenal have won six and lost only two of their last ten away fixtures in the UEFA Champions League, although only two of those victories have come by a margin that would keep them in the competition.

• Arsenal have never lost in France, where their record reads W7 D3 L0.

• Their most recent meetings with Ligue 1 opposition came against Olympique de Marseille in last term's group stage, when they won 2-1 (a) and 2-0 (h).

• Wenger's record against clubs from his home country with the Gunners is W10 D4 L2.

• Arsenal have a 100% record (W4 L0) in two-legged ties against French teams.

• Arsenal, however, have never overturned a home first-leg defeat in European competition. Aside from their defeats by Bayern in each of the last two seasons, they have lost only one other such match, against VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in the 1996/97 UEFA Cup first round, and went down by the same 3-2 scoreline away from home.

• Arsenal's shoot-out record is W2 L2:
7-6 v AS Roma, 2008/09 UEFA Champions League round of 16
1-4 v Galatasaray AŞ, 1999/2000 UEFA Cup final
3-2 v UC Sampdoria, 1994/95 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-final
4-5 v Valencia CF, 1979/80 European Cup Winners' Cup final

Coach and player links
• As Monaco coach, Wenger won the French league title in 1988 and the French Cup in 1991. He also led the principality club to the 1992 European Cup Winners' Cup final, losing 2-0 against SV Werder Bremen.

• En route to that Cup Winners' Cup final, Wenger's Monaco beat Swansea City AFC 8-0 at home in the first round – still their record European victory. Technically speaking, it was against a Welsh – not English – club as Swansea were competing as winners of the Welsh Cup.

• Jardim faced Arsenal as Olympiacos FC coach in the 2012/13 group stage, losing 3-1 in London but winning 2-1 at home.

• Dimitar Berbatov played against Arsenal in seven north London derbies for Tottenham Hotspur FC (2006–08), scoring once and winning just once – a 5-1 home triumph in the 2007/08 English League Cup semi-finals.

• A team-mate of Danny Welbeck at Old Trafford, Berbatov appeared as a substitute in the Manchester United FC side that won at Arsenal in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

• Ricardo Carvalho did not lose any of eight games played for Chelsea FC against Arsenal between 2004 and 2010 – including the 2007 English League Cup final (2-1).

• David Ospina played in seven editions of the Derby de la Côte d'Azur for OGC Nice against Monaco – winning two and losing three – between 2008 and 2014.

• None of Mikel Arteta (Paris Saint-Germain), Olivier Giroud (Montpellier Hérault SC) and Laurent Koscielny (FC Lorient) managed to beat Monaco in Ligue 1. Mathieu Flamini (Olympique de Marseille) never faced Monaco in French football.

• Mesut Özil played against João Moutinho in Germany's 4-0 defeat of Portugal at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

• Before the first leg, Moutinho had lost his four previous European matches against Premier League sides – home and away defeats by Manchester City FC with Porto (2011/12 UEFA Europa League) and by Manchester United with Sporting Clube de Portugal (2007/08 UEFA Champions League).

• Jérémy Toulalan lost to United in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League round of 16 with Olympique Lyonnais. He helped Lyon win 2-1 at Liverpool FC in the 2009/10 group stage.

• Arsenal's record scorer, Thierry Henry, played for Monaco between 1994 and 1999, joining the Londoners later that year after a short spell at Juventus.

Match facts

Monaco
• Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco, Moutinho and Layvin Kurzawa will all incur a suspension with their next bookings. Toulalan is available after serving a one-match ban in the first leg.

• Monaco have lost two of their last 22 games in all competitions in regulation time, conceding just seven goals over that spell.

• Jardim's team are 16 matches unbeaten at home, since a 1-0 defeat by OGC Nice on 27 September; this does not include their penalty shoot-out loss to SC Bastia in the League Cup semi-final on 4 February.

• Carvalho returned after six games out with a calf injury as Monaco won 3-0 at home to SC Bastia on Friday. The hosts also missed a penalty against a side that did not have a shot on target and ended with nine men. Matheus Carvalho scored his first goal for the club.

• Monaco suffered a 2-0 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain on 4 March in the Coupe de France quarter-finals, a month after losing on penalties to Bastia in the French League Cup semi-finals.

• Monaco have not lost at home by a scoreline that would force even extra time in this tie since September 2011, when they went down 3-1 to Angers SCO in Ligue 2.

• Aymen Abdennour agreed a one-year contract extension on 6 March, binding him to the club until 2019.

• Andrea Raggi (1 February, knee) and Tiémoué Bakayoko (14 January, hamstring) are both out.

• Lacina Traoré has been out since 23 February with a shin stress fracture.

Arsenal
• Flamini, Nacho Monreal and Özil are all a yellow card away from a suspension.

• Arsenal have gone 17 games without a draw, winning 14 and losing three.

• The Gunners have won nine games this season by a scoreline that would take them through against Monaco, including on Saturday when they made it five league wins in a row with a 3-0 victory over West Ham United FC. Wenger's men have scored three or more in 11 of their 44 outings.

• Mathieu Flamini scored his first goal in nearly 12 months against West Ham on his return after six games out with a hamstring problem.

• Giroud has scored six goals in his last seven games.

• Alexis Sánchez has scored just once in his last ten appearances – his worst spell since arriving in north London.

• Welbeck marked his return to Old Trafford with the winning goal on 9 March as holders Arsenal beat Manchester United FC 2-1 to advance in the FA Cup. They will face either Reading FC or Bradford City AFC in the semi-finals at Wembley on 18 or 19 April.

• Monreal opened the scoring with only his second goal in 76 appearances for Arsenal at Old Trafford as Aaron Ramsey returned after three weeks out with a hamstring injury.

• Jack Wilshere (22 November, ankle ligaments), Debuchy (11 January, right shoulder) and Arteta (26 November, ankle and calf) have all been out.