Ahead of Arsenal v Monaco, The Gunners are coming off of possibly their most decisive European win in over 15 years, as they embarrassed Sporting PC in Lisbon 5-2 during the last Champions League matchday. Sporting hadn‘t lost a single game in any competition this season leading into that match. In fact, they were coming off of a rousing 4-1 win over Manchester City in their previous UCL fixture.
Monaco, for their part, have seen two red cards cost them in two of their last three UCL matches, including a tough 3-2 loss to Benfica after a sending off in the 58th minute. It just so happens that Arsenal are pretty familiar with red cards this season too, but hopefully that won’t be an issue in London on December 11. The club from Southern France will head to North London to take on the Gunners in Matchweek 6 of 8 as part of this new table-centric Champions League setup.
Champions League Past Form
Arsenal
Arsenal was a fixture in the Champions League from the 1990s until the mid-2010s, when Arsene Wenger’s magic began to wear off. The Gunners fell out of the English Premier League’s top 4. From 2017 to 2023 they were relegated to the Europa League, only finally making it back to the promised land last year in 2023.
They were booted by Bayern Munich in a hard-fought quarter-final matchup last year, but after their display in Lisbon, they once again seem comfortable in the top continental football competition in Europe. They now sit 7th in the UCL ‘on/ ‘10 points with three matches to go. The new format seems to agree with them.
Monaco
Monaco also had a spell from 2006-2014 when they missed out on the UCL, but they have been back in the competition every year since then except for three. However, they have not fared well in continental play recently, dropping down to the Europa League in each of the last two seasons. They sit tied with Arsenal on 10 points, though their +6 goal difference is one less than the Gunners, which puts them in the 8th and last spot in the UCL‘s top tier.
Arsenal v Monaco Game Info
- Kickoff Time: 10:30PM GMT
- Date: December 11, 2024
- Location: Emirates Stadium, London
- Capacity: 60,704 seating
Team News
After taking a red card in Monaco‘s last Champions League outing, Ivorian defender Wilfried Singo will not be available for the French side. Apart from that, they should be expected to field their strongest 11 against the No. 2 team in England.
Monaco Starting XI: Radoslaw Majecki; Vanderson, Mohammed Salisi, Jordan Teze, Christian Mawissah, Denis Zakaria, Soungoutou Magassa, Eliesse Ben Seghir; Maghnes Akliouche, Folarin Balogun, Aleksandr Golovin
Arsenal have struggled with injuries throughout the start of this 2024-2025 campaign, but they are as healthy now as they’ve been in some time. They will of course be without fullbacks Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White, the latter of which just underwent long overdue surgery, but the rest of the squad Mikel Arteta likes to use should be available. Don‘t be surprised to see an early cameo from youngster Ethan Nwaneri.
Arsenal Starting XI: David Raya; Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel, William Saliba, Jurrien Timber; Thomas Partey, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard; Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka
Arsenal v Monaco Match Prediction
If you‘re looking to add to your Champions League experience for this match, you might want to put down a little scratch, and we‘re here to make sure you make the smart pick. Always ensure you‘re wagering with your brain, not your heart.
As the most popular sport on the planet, bettors can make wagers on football any time and anywhere, no matter whether they want to use online casinos in New Zealand or a bookie in London or New York City. You’ll always be able to find a line on a football game as big as Arsenal vs. Monaco in the Champions League, and we’re going to help nudge you in the right direction.
Since Odegaard has returned after injury, they have simply looked imperious. They‘ve racked up wins of 3-0, 5-1, and 5-2 since the captain‘s return, and even those scorelines don‘t communicate the dominance of those performances. It is worth mentioning, however, that Arsenal‘s back line has been a bit shaky, so we doubt we see any clean sheets here in the Arsenal v Monaco match.
Arsenal 3-1 Monaco