Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes AS Monaco will provide a stern test for his side in the Champions League Round of 16.
The Gunners host the French outfit at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg of Europe's premier club competition on Wednesday night and the boss of the north London side knows that things will get no easier after exiting at this stage in each of the past four seasons.
"The last 16 in recent years has been super tough," Wenger told the club's official website.
"This is a 50:50 game. We know that Monaco are very tight defensively - they didn't concede in the group stage against good teams.
"Of course it will be tricky but a possible tie. It's really a 50:50 because Monaco are in a similar position to us. They came back into a good position in the league and their confidence level will be high.
"The spirit is there and we want to keep that as a very strong basis. The team has come up a level and we'll see that with the results."
Monaco came through Group C on top with 11 points from six matches, ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, and conceded just one goal to Benfica who eventually finished bottom of the group.
