Arsene Wenger rages as Monaco ride roughshod over lacklustre Arsenal

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger could hardly conceal his despair when he said his team lost their nerve, were not mentally sharp enough and got the result they deserved after losing 3-1 to AS Monaco in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday.

Wenger, 65, who managed Monaco for seven years at the start of his coaching career, watched his former club take a grip on the tie which could prove to be enough to see them reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2004.

Wenger was unusually blunt in his assessment of his side who grabbed a lifeline with a 90th-minute strike from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after Monaco goals from Geoffrey Kondogbia and Dimitar Berbatov.

But they threw it away when they allowed Monaco substitute Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco to make it 3-1 in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

“We were not at the level we were meant to be at, but conceding the third goal makes our task very difficult for the second leg,” Wenger said.

“It looks like we lost our nerve and our rationality on the pitch. We were not sharp enough to get into the game and we paid for it.

“In the first 20 minutes we did do enough, maybe even to win the game, but they are very physically strong, and we missed our chances and you cannot afford that.

“I don’t think we were complacent, I hope not. On the night Monaco produced a performance and we didn’t.”