Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger welcomes former club AS Monaco to the Emirates Stadium for the Champions League round of 16 clash. Getty Images

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Arsenal play hosts to AS Monaco in the first-leg of the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League round-of-16 clash.

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 7.45pm GMT. Live coverage of the game will be available on Sky Sports 5 and Sky Sports 5 HD. Radio coverage is available on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Overview

Arsenal welcome Arsene Wenger's former club AS Monaco to the Emirates Stadium for a last 16 Champions League clash. The French team come to England as underdogs despite finishing as group winners.

The Gunners come into this game on the back of a nervy win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League, and everyone at the club will be keen to put in a good performance against Monaco and progress to the next round of the competition.

Arsene Wenger's side have failed to move past the last-16 stage in recent years after being drawn against the likes of Bayern Munich and Barcelona, but the Frenchman will be expected to beat his former club and make it to the quarter-finals of the tournament.

When Arsenal visit Monaco for the second leg of the fixture, it will be the first time that Wenger will be returning to the Principality since leaving the club in 1994.

Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov will be key for AS Monaco when they face Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday night. REUTERS

Meanwhile, Monaco come into this game on the back of a 1-0 win over Nice in Ligue 1 and will be looking to cause an upset when they visit the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

The Ligue 1 team had the meanest defence during the group stages of the competition conceding just one goal in their six matches, but on the down side they only scored four.

However, the Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim and his players have a big match coming up over the weekend against Paris Saint-Germain and the manager could have one eye on that match as they look to consolidate their place in the league and make up ground on their rivals ahead of them in the table.

What Managers Say

Arsene Wenger: "I don't know if we are favourites or not, for me it is a 50:50 game. Every time we have been in there it was hard-earned wins. It is always a one-goal difference - you go out for one goal, you stay in for one goal and that means you have to work very hard."

Leonardo Jardim: "Since the start of the Champions League Monaco have never been favourites, that said we still managed to finish top of our group and that's thanks to the players' work. With the same case again, we don't start this game as favourites but it shouldn't stop us playing well, and it shouldn't stop us taking advantage of the opportunity we have. So our strategy is to try and be solid and to not allow Arsenal's midfield or their key attacking players to actually unbalance us."

Betting Odds (888sport.com)

  • Arsenal Win: 10/21
  • Draw: 41/13
  • AS Monaco Win: 7

Team News

Arsenal

  • Injured: Arteta (calf), Debuchy (shoulder), Ramsey (hamstring)
  • Suspended: N/A
  • Doubtful: Wilshere (ankle)

Possible XI: Ospina; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Coquelin, Cazorla; Ozil, Sanchez, Walcott; Giroud.

AS Monaco

  • Injured: Jeremy Toulalan, Tiemou Bakayoko, Ricardo Carvalho, Andrea Raggi
  • Suspended: N/A
  • Doubtful: Layvin Kurzawa, Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco

Possible XI: Subasic; Fabinho, Wallace, Abdennour, Kurzawa; Toulalan, Kondogbia; Moutinho, Martial, Carrasco; Berbatov.

Champions League Arsenal FC Arsene Wenger