Woe for Wenger as Gunners again hit self-destruct button

Arsenal 1 Monaco 3

Arsenal’s Champions League mental block — you cannot call it a jinx because their plight is almost always self-inflicted — seems bigger and more imposing than ever after Arsene Wenger’s side chose a last-16 tie against Monaco to produce their worst performance of the season in a thoroughly miserable 3-1 home defeat.

Goals from Geoffrey Kondogbi and, even more painfully for Arsenal fans, Dimitar Berbatov, means they now face a perilous situation in the second leg in France on March 17 as they bid to end a frustrating recent record in the competition.