The Gunners looked to have been handed a favourable draw but a display that plumbed the depths of incompetence and naivety leaves them facing a last-16 exit once more.
Monaco, resilient at the back and capable of punishing Arsenal's shoddy defence, took the lead in the first half through Geoffrey Kondogbia's deflected shot.
To add insult to injury, former Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov added the second just after the break. There was even time for Arsenal to cast away the lifeline substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's stoppage-time goal had given them as they were caught hopelessly on the counter once more as Yannick Ferreira Carrasco added a third goal.
As Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim did a Jose Mourinho- style celebration sprint down the touchline, Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger looked crestfallen and no wonder.
This stage has become Arsenal's perennial stumbling block but Wenger would have had high hopes of clearing the hurdle against his former club, even though they had lost only once in their last 17 games.
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