Saka inspires Arsenal to beat Monaco and boost automatic qualification hopes | Champions League

It would normally be over by now, the Champions League group stage done and dusted and yet there are still two more ties for Arsenal; a test of their physicality, the depth of their reserves as well as their resolve. The idea is to play the extra games in January and make sure they do not have to play two more in the playoff round in February; to zoom straight into the round of 16. It continues to look pretty good.

This was the toughest tie Arsenal had left in the elongated group phase and Mikel Arteta had wanted to make it count. His team did exactly that. Bukayo Saka brought the cutting edge, his opening goal aided and abetted by Myles Lewis-Skelly, assured on a full debut at this rarefied level. When Saka scored his second, it was to kill off a Monaco revival that probably should not have been possible.

Blame Arsenal’s profligacy, with Gabriel Jesus the main culprit. Nobody was quibbling in the end when Kai Havertz, on as a substitute, flicked home the third from a Saka assist. Arsenal were frustrated at Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday. They rolled on here. Arteta was without five defenders through injury and his big move was to play Lewis-Skelly at left-back.

There is a swagger about the 18-year-old, a self-belief, and he helped to prise Monaco apart. It was noticeable that Arteta wanted him to step up and across into midfield. There was a moment during the congested opening exchanges when he fizzed a reverse pass up to Jesus, who got it back to Martin Ødegaard before the captain was crowded out.

It was a different story when Ødegaard went crossfield to Lewis-Skelly in the 34th minute. By then, Arsenal had started to force Monaco back; they could feel they had control. Now Lewis-Skelly saw Eliesse Ben Seghir coming at him, looking for the steal and a quick transition. The youngster simply tricked around him, showing his physicality as he did so, before punching an excellent pass up for Jesus on the left. When he crossed, Saka had a tap-in at the far post.

It was something of a relief for Jesus. The focal point of Arsenal’s formation had been the focal point up until then for the wrong reasons. He shot too close to Radoslaw Majecki early on from an Ødegaard pass while he could not get to a Mikel Merino cross. Then came the bad stuff, the big misses – the first one a real low. Running on to a long Jakub Kiwior ball, Jesus took a touch and he had only Majecki to beat, the goalkeeper making the split-second decision not to come out. Jesus shot straight at him.

Arsenal pushed. When Gabriel Martinelli won the ball high up, he released Jesus with a quick pass, the No 9 holding off Thilo Kehrer but, again, shooting too close to Majecki. He blocked and was first to the rebound.

Arsenal threatened to cut loose after the breakthrough. Ødegaard teased with his dancing feet; he drove the team with his energy. Martinelli had guided off target when Ødegaard tore into Kehrer, who had been sold short by Soungoutou Magassa, winning the ball and charging through for a gilt-edged one-on-one. Ødegaard dragged wide; another glaring Arsenal miss. There would be another one before the interval. It was Ødegaard with the lovely pass but Martinelli, who was onside, unlike Jesus in the middle, shot wastefully wide.

The Monaco manager, Adi Hütter, matched Arsenal up, mirroring their 4-3-3 system, wanting to see if his players could win the one-on-ones. With Aleksandr Golovin on the left of the midfield three, albeit with the licence to drift, the idea was balance; slickness in possession. Monaco wanted to show why they have enjoyed their first appearance in the group phase since 2018-19; how they were able to beat Barcelona at home in their opening tie.

Hütter reconfigured for the second half, withdrawing Magassa, dropping Lamine Camara back into the holding midfield role and introducing Takumi Minamino on the left. Kehrer flashed a header off target from a free-kick when he might have scored. Monaco had greater fluidity; they pushed higher, especially their full-backs.

Arteta made changes, three at once in the 64th minute, Lewis-Skelly one of those to be withdrawn, Declan Rice another. But the game had a different feel. Monaco should have been out of contention. Now, they sensed that the equaliser was there for them. Breel Embolo blew a golden chance after Minamino rolled the ball into him, lashing wide of the bottom corner.

And yet it would lurch back away from Monaco; a case of them directing heavy fire at their own feet. Arteta had sent on Kai Havertz for Jesus and the German could see that Monaco were uncomfortable on a sequence playing out from the back. When Mohammed Salisu left a backpass horribly short for Majecki, Havertz brought the pressure. Majecki could only jab at Saka, who controlled and set himself. The rest was a formality.