Europa League 2019-20: Arsenal 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt: 5 Talking Points

It was a must-win game for Unai Emery, and his players well and truly disappointed him.It was once again a night of dismay for the Arsenal fans. Emery deployed a strong line up for the game because he clearly wanted to get a big victory, something the Spaniard hasn't enjoyed for a while.

But it wasn't his day either, and this might well be the final nail in the coffin for Emery.

Well, it was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, yet again, who opened the scoring in the 46th minute, courtesy of a brilliant cross from Gabriel Martinelli. But two scintillating goals from Daichi Kamada saw Eintracht Frankfurt come back into the game and take a 2-1 lead at the Emirates.

A game of more negatives than positives, these are the 5 talking points for Arsenal as they register their first home defeat of the season to Frankfurt.

#5 Arsenal lacked penetration

Arsenal FC v Eintracht Frankfurt: Group F - UEFA Europa League

Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli did everything they could to trouble the Frankfurt defence, but except for a few early saves, Frederik Ronnow really did not have much to do. Arsenal struggled to keep possession, and they could not defend deep due to how quick Frankfurt's forward line and midfield passed the ball around, eventually forcing Emiliano Martinez to make some crucial saves throughout the 90.

Without the likes of Nicolas Pepe and Alexandre Lacazette, Aubameyang looked pretty helpless and Saka was often left out wide, as he was asked to dribble past two or three players on his own every time he received the ball.

Lack of penetration from the wings and from the midfield limited Arsenal's chances to win the game, and the defensive trio of Abraham, Hinteregger and Hasebe put in a perfect performance to help their team register a much-needed win.

Arsenal only had 11 shots, despite having nearly 60% of the possession. There was no creativity from the midfield as Joe Willock was almost playing as a second striker, while Xhaka and Luiz could not offer anything concrete going forward, eventually leaving plenty of pressure on the tender shoulders of Saka and Martinelli, who could not overcome it.

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#4 Unai Emery's substitutions were baffling

In a game where Arsenal were a goal down, Unai Emery decided to bring on Lucas Torreira to replace Shkodran Mustafi, leaving both Nicolas Pepe and Alexandre Lacazette on the bench. This was Arsenal's last substitution, as an unfortunate injury to David Luiz saw Guendouzi come on before half time and Mesut Ozil was brought in to replace Martinelli in the 60th minute, which was again, unnecessary.

The Spaniard was wasteful with two of his three substitutions last night. Replacing Martinelli, a goal-scoring winger, with Mesut Ozil, a midfielder, and forcing him to play on the right when you have a natural right-winger in Nicolas Pepe, waiting for a chance to shine, is probably Emery's worst decision in a long time.

Arsenal are winless in their last seven games, and this is their worst record since 1992. By the looks of it, Emery's tactics, formations and decision-making isn't helping Arsenal's cause in any way and has in fact only worsened it, as things stand.

#3 Eintracht Frankfurt stepped up in the second half

Arsenal were unlucky to end the first half with just one goal, as some brilliant goal-line clearances kept Gabriel Martinelli and Saka from bagging a couple which could have been enough to see out the game.

Instead, Arsenal could only get a goal going into the second half, and they were completely outplayed by the visitors in the last 40 minutes, eventually letting in two goals and throwing away a lead for the hundredth time this season.

Daichi Kamada, along with Kostic and da Costa wrecked havoc in Arsenal's box in the second half, and the 23-year-old midfielder got two goals to his name, helping Frankfurt secure a historic victory.

Adi Hütter's team talk clearly did the magic and he would be going home with a smile on his face, delighted to have beaten Arsenal at the Emirates.

#2 Arsenal's defence is terrible and is only getting worse

To concede two goals in less than 10 minutes just goes to show how poorly Arsenal's defence functions. The lack of concentration is a serious problem and although fans love to put all the blame on the manager after such performances, certain players need to take a significant part of the blame for their atrocious decision making on the pitch.

Unai Emery switched to a back four once again for last night's game, after using a 3-4-3 against Southampton at home last weekend. However, this did not help. Arsenal failed to keep clean sheets in both the games which takes us to the conclusion that either the defenders are not good enough to adapt, or the system which they are being asked to play in is the root of all problems.

The Gunners have found it really hard to pin down their opponents, as they have kept only 4 clean sheets in nearly 20 games. Last season, Aubameyang and Lacazette often bailed their defence out and outscored the opposition, but this year, even they seem to be helpless and distraught by the performances the team has been putting in.

#1 Unai Emery's time is probably up

After this defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt at home, Unai Emery's sacking should be inevitable. The Spaniard was reportedly on thin ice for quite a long time, and the board were making decisions on a "game-to-game" basis. Therefore, this loss might just end his tenure with Arsenal.

Arsenal commenced the season with a convincing win over Newcastle at St James' Park, but since then, it has all been downhill for the Gunners. Defeats against Liverpool, Sheffield United, Leicester City as well as important points dropped against Manchester United, Wolves, Southampton, Crystal Palace, Tottenham, etc sum up Emery's Arsenal this term.

The 48-year-old seemed to have immense trust and backing from the board, as his first season at London was certainly a promising one; the "Emery-ball" did generate expectations in the fans, which clearly, isn't met. Arsenal currently sit 8th on the league table and are yet to qualify for the Round of 32 in the Europa League after 5 games played out of 6. This might well be Unai Emery's last game in charge as an Arsenal coach.

Edited by Zaid Khan