The English media was highly critical of Arsenal after their 3-1 Champions League defeat to Monaco, while the French press reacted with surprise and delight.
Arsenal were favourites to progress to the quarterfinals when the draw for the last-16 was made, but Geoffrey Kondogbia and Dimitar Berbatov put the visitors in charge and, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain looked to have given the Gunners hope late on, Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco's late strike on the counter leaves Arsene Wenger's men facing a huge task.
The Times' Matt Dickenson wrote: "It was as though every Arsenal failing of the past decade had been condensed into one night of awfulness. Naive, defensively suicidal, impatient, irrational, mentally weak; an ashen, embarrassed Arsene Wenger even spelt out every flaw ... To think that French journalists had arrived in London fearing that this tie might be killed off in the first leg. They never imagined in this way."
Thursday's Guardian Sport: Dismal Arsenal staring at the exit #tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers #ARSvMON #afc pic.twitter.com/SBYF6Liz8a
- Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) February 25, 2015
There was more criticism in The Guardian, where Daniel Taylor said Wenger's men were "painfully naive" on the night.
"It is far from the first time these shortcomings have been exposed but it is still shocking to see the side being picked off so easily and how susceptible they were to the counterattack," he wrote. "Olivier Giroud chose a bad night to have one of his least distinguished matches in Arsenal's colours. Per Mertesacker suffered his own personal ordeal and, in terms of organisation and knowhow, it was another night to raise doubts about Wenger's ability to put together a team of solid structure."
Thursday's Telegraph Sport: Clueless, pathetic, shambolic #tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers #ARSvMON #AFC pic.twitter.com/ueq99dfsxt
- Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) February 25, 2015
In the Daily Telegraph, Henry Winter argued that Wenger's future should be under serious scrutiny once more.
"After watching his side suffer a collective paralysis in their biggest game of the season, Wenger bore the look of a manager who could hear the clock ticking," he wrote. "He clung to the hope that Arsenal could overturn the deficit at the Stade Louis II but he was drained, a man running out of ideas and excuses.
"Wenger heads to the famous casino town for what could prove his last throw of the dice in the Champions League. Arsenal's board are very supportive of their manager - far too supportive as he needs challenging - but evenings like this really should erode their faith. The majority shareholder, Stan Kroenke, tends to attend the bigger games but he witnessed a humiliation here."
In France, L'Equipe highlighted the contrast in success between the two teams' central strikers, speaking of "Giroud's nightmare," giving the hapless former Montpellier forward an embarrassing two-out-of-10, while Berbatov, who answered home fans' boos due to his Tottenham Hotspur past with a sublime display and a goal, drew great praise.
#ARSASM > "L'exploit" et "Arsenal foudroyé" à la Une de @Monaco_Matin et @lequipe pic.twitter.com/jZZ4FafPId
- iTELE Foot (@itelefoot) February 26, 2015
The newspaper's website noted: "In an Emirates Stadium stupefied as much by the poor performance of their players as by the incredible domination of their opponents, Monaco revealed themselves to the eyes of the whole world."
The football365.fr website labelled Monaco "magic" and paid tribute to the remarkable defensive qualities of Leonardo Jardim's men, who have conceded just two goals in seven Champions League matches this season.
"With Giroud unrecognisable, [Mesut] Ozil transparent and [Danny] Welbeck unable to get the better of an inspired [Almamy] Toure, Arsene Wenger's men came unstuck against an omnipresent back four, who confirmed the almost legendary solidity of this Monaco team a la Jardim," the website wrote. "A special mention for the impassable centre-back duo of Wallace and [Ayman] Abdennour. But that will surprise no one, Arsene Wenger least of all."
Le Parisien spoke of "Monaco's incredible exploit" while RMC's headline -- "Monaco, like a dream" -- showed the ecstatic disbelief of many on the French side of the Channel at the way a team that has been unspectacularly successful in Ligue 1 cut loose in north London.
"Up against the Gunners, who were disappointing and maladroit -- not least Olivier Giroud, who missed everything -- Monaco enjoyed themselves, delighting their 2,000 fans, who had come from the principality to London," RMC said, adding the victory was "good for the UEFA coefficient."