Arsenal, English Premier League’s third-placed and title contenders will take on Ligue-1’s fourth-placed AS Monaco in the Champions League Round of 16 first-leg at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday at 7:45 PM GMT. This match will be the first of the two matches to be played by the teams to seal a place in the quarterfinals.

Arsenal will have the home advantage with them and they are coming into the fixture on the back of a 2-1 victory against Crystal Palace in the Premier League. Monaco too won their last game against Nice (1-0) in an away fixture thanks to an 85th minute goal by defender Bernardo Silva. They will play second-placed PSG at home in the next game in their Ligue-1 campaign.

Arsene Wenger will lead Arsenal against a side which he formerly coached for seven years until 1994. He won the League Championship and Coupe de France during his stint at Stade Louis II.

AS Monaco, current group toppers and 2004 runners-up, have scored only four goals in the Champions League and they will hope to carry their Ligue 1 form to the Champions League. They will be without striker Lacina Traore who suffered a shin fracture in the Africa Cup of Nations.



It is Arsenal’s 15th successive Champions League appearance but they have failed to reach the quarterfinals stage in their last four campaigns, falling in the Round of 16. With Mesut Ozil peaking at the right time and with the French striker Giroud scoring his 50th goal for Arsenal looking in good form, the Gunners will hope to finally break the Champions League jinx and challenge to win the title.

The two sides have never met in the Champions League before and it will be interesting to watch how the sides fare against each other at the Emirates.