Wednesday 25 February 2015 16:06, UK
Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas insists Arsenal's stars need to start performing in the big games ahead of their Champions League last-16 first leg with Monaco.
The Gunners have fallen at the first hurdle of the knockout stages for four successive seasons, but are considered favourites to progress past Leonardo Jardim's men ahead of Wednesday night's first leg at the Emirates.
<a href="http://www.skybet.com/go/event/17328554?aff=9713&dcmp=ss_betlink_edit_pundit_charliearsmonpreview">I'm backing a 2-0 Arsenal win at 9/2 and Olivier Giroud to score first at 7/2 in my Sky Bet tips.</a>
Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, the club's two most expensive players, have arrived over the last two summers, and Nicholas feels it is time for the duo to prove their worth in Europe’s top-tier tournament.
"I'm fed up saying this about Arsenal players on big European nights, but it’s time to start delivering on the biggest stage," said the former Arsenal forward.
"Ozil is a player who has had plenty of big nights in his career with Real Madrid and, of course, he’s a World Cup winner.
"But, so far, the only player who has come up trumps in the big games this season has been Santi Cazorla. As good as he has been, Sanchez has been pretty quiet in all the big games.
"And so has Ozil. He doesn’t touch the ball as often as I’d like, but he’s undoubtedly a class act. He’s got good vision, a great touch and surprisingly good pace.
"You expect him to turn up on the big occasions and do the business for you. So for me, it’s time for Ozil and Sanchez to perform in the Champions League."
Nicholas is expecting a stubborn test from the French side, which conceded just once during the group stages, but is predicting a 2-0 win in his Sky Bet tips.
He added: "This game, for me, hinges on the first goal. If Arsenal are to lose it, it becomes a frustrating night. But if they score first I think the whole crowd will galvanise them and help them keep that momentum. A 2-0 win would be a very, very positive result for Arsenal.
"A 1-0 win wouldn’t be a bad result because Monaco are not blessed with a lot of goals in them but they are blessed with a really good defensive structure. They’ve really picked things up in the league, getting themselves into a good position again.
"The structure of their defence is what their play is based on. They’ve got a few wily old foxes like Dimitar Berbatov in attack, but I can see Arsenal’s energy getting the better of Monaco eventually. They can expose them a little bit."
