Arsenal Vs Eintracht Frankfurt: 5 things we learned – Unai Emery, what more can be said?

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 28: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Europa League group F match between Arsenal FC and Eintracht Frankfurt at Emirates Stadium on November 28, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Arsenal hosted Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night with Unai Emery desperately needing a victory. Here are five things we learned from the 2-1 loss.

I have opened a ‘5 things we learned’ piece with this sentence before, but that tells you the enite story of the present troubles at Arsenal: Well, if you thought things couldn’t get any worse, you were wrong. In a pathetic effort, in front an empty stadium, on one of the worst nights in the recent history of the club, the Gunners fell to Eintracht Frankfurt in a 2-1 defeat, despite having a one-goal lead at half-time.

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Here are five things we learned.

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 28: David Luiz of Arsenal receives medical treatment during the UEFA Europa League group F match between Arsenal FC and Eintracht Frankfurt at Emirates Stadium on November 28, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

5. Repeat the David Luiz experiment

Unai Emery sprung a surprise on everyone with his team selection, shifting David Luiz into defensive midfield rather than using the back three that many anticipated when the line-up was announced. This decision may have been with Norwich City — and beyond — in mind, but sadly, we did not get to see it truly play out.

After ten minutes, Luiz took a hit to the rib/chest area, after which he was never comfortable. The first few moments were positive, with his added physicality and defensive nous providing structure to the Arsenal team. It was noticeable that the Gunners ceded control in the periods following Luiz’s substitution after the half-hour mark.

It is obviously not possible to draw meaningful conclusions from this set-up after this match. The sample size is simply too small to do so — that would be true even if Luiz had played the whole game. Nevertheless, it is something that I would like to see Emery repeat. There is enough evidence to suggest it could work, and, at this rate, anything that might work should be implemented.