Topics: Arsene Wenger, Per Mertesacker, Arsenal, Monaco, UEFA Champions League
The Arsenal boss congratulated Monaco for their win, but lamented his side's defense as the culprit behind their embarrassing 3-1 loss.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger gave an honest assessment of his side's defense after their Champions League round of 16 clash with Monaco came to a wrap, labeling his back four as “suicidal”.

The Gunners welcomed the Ligue 1 side to the Emirates on Wednesday tipped as favorites to grab all three points from the game. However, they fell to a humiliating 3-1 home loss after an abysmal performance from their defense, with Per Mertesacker in particular coming under huge criticism.

The result means yet another last-16 exit awaits the north London club, needing a miracle in the second leg fixture at the Stade Louis II to secure progression to the quarter-finals.

Speaking in a press conference after the game, Le Prof said:

“Congratulations to Monaco, they had a perfect result and played the game they wanted to play. On our side, I believe that we missed the chances and we were a bit suicidal defensively. We were not at the level defensively and we were a bit unlucky as well because the first goal is deflected. On the second and the third goal we were suicidal. We had the luck to come back to 2-1 but not the right to give away a goal the way we did because that makes our task extremely difficult in the second leg. It looks like we have lost our nerve and our rationality on the pitch. The heart took over the head and at that level it doesn’t work.”

Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud, Per Mertesacker, Arsenal, Monaco, UEFA Champions League

“We had a lot of possession tonight and I just believe that defensively we were not at the level. Our weakness was more down to mentality. We rushed our game, we knew coming back at half-time it was important not to concede a second goal and we were too impatient. This is a game of 180 minutes and if you look at the second and third goal, it’s difficult to explain how we conceded these goals. You cannot afford that.”

A spot in the last-8 appears out of reach for Arsenal, however, their manager insists his side will not throw in the towel despite the heavy deficit. 

“We have a smaller chance but no matter how big the chance is we will go for it. We need to recover from this disappointment and prepare for the next game.”