Arsene Wenger welcomes back his old club Monaco, whom he managed for seven years in the South of France. In his first season at the club Wenger won the league title and brought key players Glen Hoddle and George Weah to the club.
Times have changed and Leonardo Jardim now sits in the Monaco dug-out and Wenger in the Arsenal one. Monaco sit fourth in Ligue 1 following a 1-0 victory in the French Riviera Derby against Nice, meaning just one defeat in Les Rouges et Blancs' last 17 games. Arsenal come into this tie with much more anticipation, having been drawn Bayern Munich in the past two seasons. The Gunners have one eight of their last nine in all competitions and are picking up form as the club enter the business end of the season. Monaco managed to pass through the group stages of the Champions League despite only scoring four goals, however they have only conceded one.
Team News:
Arsenal have no new injury worries after the weekend so Aaron Ramsey, still out with a hamstring injury injury, Mikel Arteta, Abou Diaby and Mathieu Debuchy are all unavailable. Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have both returned to full training but will play no part on Wednesday. The former, however, is likely to be involved in Arsenal's match with Everton this weekend.
Monaco have injury worries over left-back Layvin Kurzawa and winger Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco, but travelled to London with the rest of the squad. Midfielders Jeremy Toulalan and Tiemou Bakayoko are both out of the fixture, with the former suffering with a left knee sprain. Former Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho will not be fit in time for this Champions League clash, whilst centre-back partner Andrea Raggi is also unavailable.
Key Battles:
Berbatov - Koscielny -
With Monaco short on goals they will need their main man to be firing. However, Berbatov has only scored six league goals in 18 matches and is 34. The Bulgarian scored twice in his last competitive visit to the Emirates, with Fulham, so Koscielny will have to wary of Berbatov’s trickery and ability to bring his team-mates into play.
Coquelin - Moutinho -
Coquelin's robust and aggressive approach to the midfield battle, in recent games, has enabled Arsenal’s more attacking players to light up the stage and find more space. Moutinho is an experienced player and victory over Coquelin will give Monaco a foothold in the game. However, Coquelin will again look to show he can compete with the best on the continent.
Kick-off: Wednesday, 25 March 19:45
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Referee: Deniz Aytekin