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Monaco boss hails ‘superb’ Arsenal man and says Gunners ‘impossible’ to stop in one area
Monaco, coach Adi Hutter says, are not travelling to London for sightseeing ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
No, they are here to win. Or, at least, to not lose.
With three games remaining, Arsenal and Monaco remain tied on ten points apiece. Both teams have won three, drawn one and lost one so far. And whoever emerges as the victors at the Emirates Stadium will take one big step towards qualification for the knockout stages.
Arsenal, of course, will be the favourites.
But, while a lot has changed in the last decade in North London, Monaco do have a history of rolling up to the Emirates and heading back across the Channel with three points in their luggage. Les Monegasques stunned Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal side with a 3-1 away win back in 2015, the last time these two sides have gone head to head in European competition.
And Hutter is hoping that his modern-day Monaco squad can repeat the feat of Dimitar Berbatov, Yannick Carrasco, Joao Moutinho, Fabinho and a teenage Anthony Martial.
Monaco’s hopes may yet receive an almighty boost, meanwhile, as concerns emerge over Gabriel Magalhaes, Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber. All three missed Tuesday’s training session, alongside Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Monaco boss hails Mikel Arteta and ‘impossible to defend against’ Arsenal
“Arsenal are one of the best teams at the moment, with a fantastic squad,” Hutter said during his pre-match press conference. “Mikel Arteta is also a superb coach. His team has scored more than 22 goals [29 in the Premier League]!
“It’s almost impossible to fully defend against them, but we’re not going there to play as a [low] block. We are going there to play the best possible match.”
Of course, no discussion of Arsenal’s strengths is complete these days without mention of their fabled set-piece threat. The Gunners’ last three goals all came from dead-ball situations; William Saliba netted against Manchester United and repeated the trick against Fulham, with Timber responsible for the other.
Hutter, though, is keen to point out that Monaco are no novices in this part of the game.
Only a Strasbourg team coached by former Hull City and Derby County boss Liam Rosenior have scored more set-piece goals than Monaco in the 2024/25 Ligue 1 campaign.
“Our preparation for this match was more advanced than for a classic Ligue 1 match, that’s for sure,” smiles Hutter, once of Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Monchengladbach. “They are very strong on set-pieces. It’s a real weapon for them, that is obvious.
“They train a lot for that, but we have an idea of how we should defend in these phases. We can also be a threat to them in this area, because that’s also something that’s an area of strength for us.
“It will be a very big game for us, but we are here in London to show our style of play, our brand of committed football. We do not only want to be a good opponent, but to try to bring something back from here.”
Mikel Arteta ‘really impressed’ by Champions League opponents
Monaco are currently third in France’s top flight. Roberto de Zerbi’s high-flying Marseille are second, level on points with Hutter’s team and five adrift of a stuttering Paris Saint-Germain.
Former Arsenal youngster Folarin Balogun will be denied the chance to show his former employers what they are missing, however. The USA international is unavailable due to a shoulder issue. Monaco are also without captain Denis Zakaria and star defender Wilfried Singo.
Winger Maghnes Akliouche is on Newcastle United’s radar, though. And the France Under-21 international has the chance to show English football what he is all about in the capital.
“I’m really impressed [with Monaco]. A really good side,” Arteta says. “You see the run that they’ve been on in the Champions League and the league against top opposition. So they’re a real threat.
“They’re really well organised, really intense and super good in transition. So it’s gonna be a big test for us tomorrow.”