Arsenal Claim 2-1 Win at Montpellier

Tuesday, 18th September, 2012

Arsenal opened their Champions League campaign with a win in France tonight, triumphing over Montpellier 2-1.

The Gunners fell behind early on at the Stade de la Mosson after Younes Belhanda gave Montpellier a 1-0 advantage from the penalty spot in the 9th minute.

Rene Girard’s Ligue 1 champions were not in front for long though as Arsenal hit back, with a double strike which turned the game on its head and was the centrepiece of a good first half performance from the English side.

First Lukas Podolski found the back of the net in the 16th minute, before former Lille star Gervinho added a second only two minutes later.

Montpellier pushed forward in search of an equaliser and peppered the Arsenal goal, ending the match with 18 goal attempts in their favour to Arsenal’s six.

The Gunners edged ball possession throughout the 90 minutes though, but Montpellier frequently looked dangerous when they had the ball.

Montpellier also had a good claim for a penalty turned down near the end of the contest and may feel they have reason to believe they were hard done by.

For Arsenal, who registered a good first half display, with a poorer performance in the second period, the evening ends on a positive note.