Europa League 2019/20, Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Arsenal: Four talking points

Arsenal won pretty comprehensively in the end, but the 4-0 scoreline doesn't tell the whole story of this Europa League tie. Eintracht Frankfurt began the game firmly in control of the tie, but Arsenal's first goal, coming through Joe Willock, shook them. They managed to regain some semblance of control but half-time seemed to come at the wrong time for them.

The home side would continue to batter Arsenal's defence, but they backline held firm. Dominik Kohr's sending off with 11 minutes to go, swung the tie in Arsenal's favour and suddenly the quick, young frontline had plenty of space.

Bukayo Saka struck first and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang followed a few seconds later to seal a 3-0 win away from home in their Europa League opener.

It was undoubtedly a win that Arsenal earned through some great performances around the pitch, but Eintracht Frankfurt and Adi Hutter will be kicking themselves for not getting something out of the game

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#1 Wasteful Eintracht Frankfurt

Kostic created plenty for the home side but they were wasteful with their chances

The home side gave Arsenal plenty of scares through the game. They were imperious at times with Philip Kostic and Danny Da Costa rampaging down the wings to create for Andre Silva and Bas Dost.

Although, they should have scored on plenty of occasions, no player could find the back of the net for Eintracht. The easiest chances fell to Bas Dost and Andre Silva, unsurprisingly as they were marked by Joe Willock and Lucas Torreira on set pieces, a mismatch in size if there ever was one. Yet, they couldn't make their chances count.

Frankfurt's top scorer of the season so far, Goncalo Pacienca, replaced Dost to try and create something towards the end of the game, but he couldn't make the difference either.

Full time. Eintracht lose their opening @EuropaLeague group match.#SGEuropa #SGEARS | 0-3 pic.twitter.com/ERBcfdMZRs

— Eintracht Frankfurt (@eintracht_eng) September 19, 2019

#2 Two-faced Arsenal

Kolasinac made some good tackles but found it hard to cope with Frankfurt's movement

Arsenal felt like two different sides on the pitch at the same time. When they had the ball, they looked confident and dangerous going forward, but without the ball, they looked clueless and underwhelming.

Frankfurt found their way into Arsenal's box with ridiculous ease at times with players appearing to be confused over who should be closing down in what position in midfield. Kostic was allowed to run riot and the Gunners were lucky that he didn't make them pay.

Although Granit Xhaka had a good game, neither Torreira, nor Willock could pick up runners. When they did manage to put together some sort of a resistance, Eintracht would simply change tack and be allowed to play simple balls through to Andre Silva and Kamada between the lines.

Arsenal have been defensively shaky all season so far, but if they fail to address it, their Europa League journey may not be too long.

#3 A result that papers over the cracks

Ceballos came off the bench but wasn't able to impact the game much

How do you win 3-0 while conceding 27 shots? Arsenal were incredibly lucky that Bas Dost and Andre Silva were not in a scoring mood tonight. The Gunners allowed an obscene amount of shots both from distance and close range without paying the price for it. Seven of those shots were on target but Emiliano Martinez was up to the task.

The defending was part of the problem, but Arsenal, though great in build-up, were fairly profligate in front of goal themselves. Torreira, Saka, Willock, and Aubameyang were all guilty of spurning good chances. They took 16 shots and got 6 on target themselves, but they could've gone ahead in the game much earlier.

The red card late on allowed them more space in advanced areas as Eintracht chased at least a point from the game and they took advantage. The final score doesn't reflect the fact that Arsenal had some real problems for large periods in that game but have got away with it this time.

#4 Emery's gamble paid off

Emery's decision to play a young side paid off.

This was probably Arsenal's toughest fixture of the group stage, playing away from home against an Eintracht Frankfurt side who are typically quite good at home. Unai Emery chose to retain only, four players who would be considered regular starters for the Gunners - Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, David Luiz, Granit Xhaka, and Sead Kolasinac.

The youngsters who took the pitch were electric and provided Arsenal with a real threat going forward. Bukayo Saka, in particular, proved to be a bane of Frankfurt's defence with his direct running and willingness to take on defenders. Yet, it was a risk to play them in this fixture, but it paid off for Emery.

The youth have repaid his faith in them, but they're not yet knocking on the doors of regular football, but if they continue on this path, they will be competing for those first-team spots soon.