Friday 27 February 2015 00:12, UK
Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck "failed to turn up" on a miserable night for dismal Arsenal against Monaco, says Ray Parlour.
Former Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov scored in a 3-1 win for the visitors in the first leg of the last-16 Champions League clash at the Emirates.
Arsene Wenger slammed his side as "suicidal defensively" as Geoffrey Kondogbia's first-half strike was followed by a cool finish from Berbatov and, although Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handed Arsenal hope, there was still time for Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco to score Monaco's third.
If they are to avoid a fifth successive exit in the last 16, the Gunners must now score at least three goals at the Stade Louis II in Monte Carlo next month against a team which before this tie had conceded just twice in 17 matches.
Former Arsenal midfielder Parlour credited Monaco for their defensive performance, but felt Arsenal's big players failed to show up.
"It was a real poor result and poor performance," he told The Morning View on Sky Sports News HQ. "I was hoping to be sitting here saying it was a professional job from Arsenal, being at home, getting the advantage they needed, but on the night they just didn't turn up.
The big players like Ozil, Sanchez and Welbeck didn't turn up. We needed them to dictate the game but they were not in the game at all.
"Credit to Monaco, I thought they set themselves up very well. They're defensively very good. They don't score many goals, so to score three goals was excellent.
"The big players like Ozil, Sanchez and Welbeck didn't turn up. We needed them to dictate the game but they were not in the game at all."
Berbatov told Sky Sports' Geoff Shreeves in his post-match interview that Monaco were more up for the game than Arsenal and Parlour agreed, saying: "I certainly thought that Arsenal got the draw they needed.
"Monaco are no Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Barcelona. They were expected to win so I thought they were perhaps a little bit too complacent.
"They were expected to go on the field and get the win they needed, but I just thought Monaco were a little bit sharper everywhere around the pitch and they controlled possession.
"Look at Arsenal, when they haven't got the ball I don't think they work hard enough. I thing they have got to close down a bit better.
"You look at the big sides, they're good when they have got the ball, which Arsenal are, but when they haven't got the ball – like Barcelona against Manchester City in that first half – they hunt in packs, twos and threes, and win the ball back in good areas.
"I think Arsenal have really got to look at that and say, 'off the ball we've got to work a lot harder'."
Parlour felt the Gunners should have settled for a 2-1 defeat after Oxlade-Chamberlain had pulled a goal back, but instead gifted their opponents what could prove to be a vital third away goal.
Parlour added: "The problem is that they got a bit emotional really and that hit them. The crowd were hoping they could get that second goal and that always happens.
"They wanted to throw bodies forward and try to get back into the game by getting the equaliser and usually on the sucker punch that's what Monaco did on the break.
"Oxlade-Chamberlain, who got the goal, lost the ball in a really key area and straight away Monaco were at their back four.
"I didn't see a desire from (Per) Mertesacker to get across. Centre-halves like Tony Adams and Sol Campbell would have had the desire just to make sure they got something on that ball but it looked like he said, 'have a shot, if you hit it in that far corner you'll probably score a goal'."
