Arsenal sealed their progression into the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 2-0 win over Montpellier this evening.
Jack Wilshere scored early in the second half before Lukas Podolski capped off the win with a stunning volley.
Schalke's win over Olympiakos means that Arsenal will join with German side in the next round with a game to spare.
Here, Sports Mole dissects all the major happenings on a successful night for the Gunners.
Match statistics:
Arsenal:
Shots 10
On target 5
Possession 58%
Corners 7
Fouls 15
Montpellier:
Shots 3
On target 3
Possession 42%
Corners 3
Fouls 13
Was the result fair?
Absolutely. Arsenal by no means set the world alight, especially in the first half, but they always seemed to be in control of the game and Montpellier never had a good, clear-cut chance to score. The second half was a professional job from the Gunners, and Wenger will be happy with what was ultimately a comfortable win.
Arsenal's performance
To use an old football cliche, it was a game of two halves for the Gunners. They were incredibly lacklustre in the first half, but the early goal in the second half did wonders for them. Their second-half performance was much better and they controlled the game from the minute they took the lead. It was by no means a faultless performance, but they did exactly what they needed to do.
Montpellier's performance
Poor. They didn't offer up any attacking threat throughout, settling for a couple of long-range strikes. They could have taken advantage of a slow and sloppy Arsenal in the first half but merely matched the Gunners' poor performance. While Arsenal improved in the second period Montpellier didn't, and had the look of a team with nothing to play for.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Olivier Giroud. As tempting as it is to Podolski purely for his goal, Giroud provided two very good assists and threatened throughout. The Frenchman is finding his feet at the club now and, although he didn't get his name on the scoresheet, he can be happy with his contribution.
Biggest gaffe
It was a relatively gaffe-free match, but it has to be Laurent Koscielny's blase attitude to clearing the ball, resulting in him being dispossessed close to his own goal and having to commit a foul to prevent Montpellier having a one on one.
Referee performance
It's always a good sign when you don't notice the referee and Firat Aydinus went about his business quietly and efficiently. In fairness, it was an easy game to ref, with no big calls or tough decisions to make.
What next? Arsenal:
Montpellier: The Ligue 1 champions can now focus all their efforts on improving their poor league position, starting against Bordeaux on Sunday.
