diff --git a/cmd/geth/monitorcmd.go b/cmd/geth/monitorcmd.go
index 6a7e1cbb4b..6593b3614c 100644
--- a/cmd/geth/monitorcmd.go
+++ b/cmd/geth/monitorcmd.go
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ func monitor(ctx *cli.Context) {
 		if len(list) > 0 {
 			utils.Fatalf("No metrics specified.\n\nAvailable:\n - %s", strings.Join(list, "\n - "))
 		} else {
-			utils.Fatalf("No metrics specified.\n\nNo metrics collected (--metrics)\n")
+			utils.Fatalf("No metrics collected by geth (--%s).\n", utils.MetricsEnabledFlag.Name)
 		}
 	}
 	sort.Strings(monitored)