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

#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.