Football: Wenger not writing off Arsenal's hopes to advance further in Champs League

PARIS (AFP) - Arsene Wenger believes that Arsenal have the form to outclass Monaco on Tuesday and reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

The Gunners slumped to a 3-1 defeat in the first leg at Highbury but, since then, have impressed with a 2-1 FA Cup win at Manchester United and a 3-0 trouncing of West Ham on Saturday.

Goals from Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini in the London derby kept Arsenal in third place, seven points behind Chelsea in the league, albeit with the leaders having one game in hand.

The manner of these two wins gives Wenger hope that he can celebrate his return to Monaco, where he made his managerial reputation as coach from 1987-94.

"We now go to Monaco, come out of a big week, played at Manchester United, played today a derby. We have a little belief," he said after the West Ham win.

"If you have no belief, you have no chance. We have to have belief and give everything."

Wenger's upbeat comments are echoed by Welsh midfielder Ramsey, who is back to near his top form after returning from a third hamstring injury of the season.

"We need to score goals. So we will go there and try to score three or more goals and hopefully not concede any," said Ramsey who missed the first leg.

"We had a sloppy first leg and we've made it quite difficult for ourselves but it's not over yet. We are more than capable of scoring three goals."

Monaco also go into the last-16 tie with a good win behind them, having thumped Bastia 3-0 at home on Friday.

That victory left them in fourth place behind Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille with 10 games to go until the end of the season.

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