The Europa League campaign has got off to a morale boosting, winning start thanks to the Hale End graduates. Plenty of regular first team players were in action but it was Saka and Martinez who stole the show, as Saka had a hand in all three goals while Martinez made a couple of smart saves and important interventions down the other end of the pitch.
The first half was a cagey opening from Arsenal, Xhaka gave the ball away twice early on and Frankfurt found plenty of space between full back, centre half, and the inside wing channel allowing openings that without some wasteful finishing and smart goalkeeping from Martinez, could have put Arsenal in a lot of bother.
There were chances going the other way however with Saka looking to be a very bright spark. An early cross teed up Torreira who should have hit the target, and a low cross nearly found it's way to Auba if it wasn't for a good sliding block from a Frankfurt defender.
The goal that came was made largely in thanks to the impressive Saka, receiving a looped pass from Kolasinac and skipping past his presser before releasing Willock through the inside left channel. He checked inside to shoot and thanks to a wicked deflection, the ball looped over Trapp, hitting the underside of the crossbar and landing the right side of the goal line. 1-0 to Arsenal going into half time and they could feel like it was a job relatively well done having withstood an early onslaught and grown more into the game.
The second half did see the side revert from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1. Torreira and Willock seemed a lot more suited to the new formation and looked more comfortable in their respective roles and shored things up a little bit, Frankfurt continued to try and come at Arsenal but were finding it tougher to create clear cut chances.
A red card on 79 minutes helped Arsenal's cause and Saka doubled the lead 6 minutes later. Pepe moved the ball in field to Saka central to the goal and around 20-25 yards out, he whipped a delicious effort into the bottom left hand corner. Two minutes later he knicked the ball in enemy territory before releasing Auba just before the Frankfurt centre half could get a foot in. Suddenly Auba found himself one on one with Kevin Trapp and no mistakes were made. A 3-0 win that may have flattered Arsenal a little but there'll be no complaints as we head back to London ready for Sunday's home game with Villa.
Ratings:
Emery - 7
On a day he would have been looked on with scrutiny, he largely got the big decisions right. Holding being left out of the squad was peculiar, likewise starting Auba was a risk but one he felt he had to take in a game he needed a positive outcome. Both decisions you could argue paid off and his substitutions were sensible. Starting the game with a 4-3-3 instead of playing 4-2-3-1 from the off was a poor call however, Arsenal struggled for large periods of the 1st half with Willock and Torreira both playing out of position.
Martinez: 8.5 - Made two very smart stops in the first half and was assured in the air under pressure. Whether through instruction or otherwise, he took the option to play the longer pass from goal kicks more often too which was sensible and worked.
Chambers: 7 - Excellent performance as a makeshift right back. Defensively sound and did well when called upon. Didn't however get forward so much to help ESR and Pepe in attack.
Mustafi: 7 - Assured performance and made one excellent block at the start of the 2nd half. Did sometimes struggle to deal with passes between him and the full back.
Luiz: 7 - Like Mustafi it was an assured performance that won't win rewards or glowing reviews but did his job very well. Also found guilty of allowing some slide rule passes between him and the full back.
Kolasinac: 5.5 - Struggled for periods of the match and wasn't his usual cavalier self going forward either. Didn't do too much wrong but nor did he do much right either.
Xhaka: 7.5 - Gave the ball away twice early on but to his credit he recovered well and controlled the tempo of the game. Pressed at the right times and won the ball well.
Torreira: 6 - Out of position and struggled in the first half, summed up by blazing an excellent opportunity early on which should have been on target at the very least. Much improved second half saw him help Xhaka out and kept busy making it harder for Frankfurt to come through the centre of the pitch.
Willock: 7.5 - Struggled in the midfield 3 during the first half but was determined to play to his ability and did well under the circumstances while also getting himself a goal. Further improved in the second half but was tiring before being subbed off which lead to a booking.
ESR: 5 - Showed some nice touches early on but ultimately struggled after running out of legs early on. Typical of a player coming back from injury but signs of promise were there.
Saka: 10 (MOTM) - Head and shoulder the best player on the pitch, even without his goals and assists. Gave the right side of Frankfurts defence a torrid time all evening, topped off with 2 wonderful assists and a superbly taken goal from distance. Didn't put a single foot wrong all evening.
Aubameyang: 7 - A peculiar performance, ran well in the first half but looked tired towards the end of the second and managed to miss a glaring opportunity. Took his goal well enough though, keeping himself onside before clinically tucking the ball past Trapp 1v1.
Pepe: 6 - Struggled to make an impact, almost feels as though he might be trying too hard to get his first goal. More flashes of his outstanding ability 1v1 on the wing though made for good viewing and made the sensible decision to lay the ball to Saka for his goal when he could have chosen to drive at the Frankfurt back 4. Needs a goal to settle down into the team and there'll be another opportunity on Sunday.
Ceballos: 6 - Had little to no impact on the game in reality. Didn't do anything wrong but neither did he make any meaningful contributions.
AMN: N/A
@groningergonner
The first half was a cagey opening from Arsenal, Xhaka gave the ball away twice early on and Frankfurt found plenty of space between full back, centre half, and the inside wing channel allowing openings that without some wasteful finishing and smart goalkeeping from Martinez, could have put Arsenal in a lot of bother.
There were chances going the other way however with Saka looking to be a very bright spark. An early cross teed up Torreira who should have hit the target, and a low cross nearly found it's way to Auba if it wasn't for a good sliding block from a Frankfurt defender.
The goal that came was made largely in thanks to the impressive Saka, receiving a looped pass from Kolasinac and skipping past his presser before releasing Willock through the inside left channel. He checked inside to shoot and thanks to a wicked deflection, the ball looped over Trapp, hitting the underside of the crossbar and landing the right side of the goal line. 1-0 to Arsenal going into half time and they could feel like it was a job relatively well done having withstood an early onslaught and grown more into the game.
The second half did see the side revert from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1. Torreira and Willock seemed a lot more suited to the new formation and looked more comfortable in their respective roles and shored things up a little bit, Frankfurt continued to try and come at Arsenal but were finding it tougher to create clear cut chances.
A red card on 79 minutes helped Arsenal's cause and Saka doubled the lead 6 minutes later. Pepe moved the ball in field to Saka central to the goal and around 20-25 yards out, he whipped a delicious effort into the bottom left hand corner. Two minutes later he knicked the ball in enemy territory before releasing Auba just before the Frankfurt centre half could get a foot in. Suddenly Auba found himself one on one with Kevin Trapp and no mistakes were made. A 3-0 win that may have flattered Arsenal a little but there'll be no complaints as we head back to London ready for Sunday's home game with Villa.
Ratings:
Emery - 7
On a day he would have been looked on with scrutiny, he largely got the big decisions right. Holding being left out of the squad was peculiar, likewise starting Auba was a risk but one he felt he had to take in a game he needed a positive outcome. Both decisions you could argue paid off and his substitutions were sensible. Starting the game with a 4-3-3 instead of playing 4-2-3-1 from the off was a poor call however, Arsenal struggled for large periods of the 1st half with Willock and Torreira both playing out of position.
Martinez: 8.5 - Made two very smart stops in the first half and was assured in the air under pressure. Whether through instruction or otherwise, he took the option to play the longer pass from goal kicks more often too which was sensible and worked.
Chambers: 7 - Excellent performance as a makeshift right back. Defensively sound and did well when called upon. Didn't however get forward so much to help ESR and Pepe in attack.
Mustafi: 7 - Assured performance and made one excellent block at the start of the 2nd half. Did sometimes struggle to deal with passes between him and the full back.
Luiz: 7 - Like Mustafi it was an assured performance that won't win rewards or glowing reviews but did his job very well. Also found guilty of allowing some slide rule passes between him and the full back.
Kolasinac: 5.5 - Struggled for periods of the match and wasn't his usual cavalier self going forward either. Didn't do too much wrong but nor did he do much right either.
Xhaka: 7.5 - Gave the ball away twice early on but to his credit he recovered well and controlled the tempo of the game. Pressed at the right times and won the ball well.
Torreira: 6 - Out of position and struggled in the first half, summed up by blazing an excellent opportunity early on which should have been on target at the very least. Much improved second half saw him help Xhaka out and kept busy making it harder for Frankfurt to come through the centre of the pitch.
Willock: 7.5 - Struggled in the midfield 3 during the first half but was determined to play to his ability and did well under the circumstances while also getting himself a goal. Further improved in the second half but was tiring before being subbed off which lead to a booking.
ESR: 5 - Showed some nice touches early on but ultimately struggled after running out of legs early on. Typical of a player coming back from injury but signs of promise were there.
Saka: 10 (MOTM) - Head and shoulder the best player on the pitch, even without his goals and assists. Gave the right side of Frankfurts defence a torrid time all evening, topped off with 2 wonderful assists and a superbly taken goal from distance. Didn't put a single foot wrong all evening.
Aubameyang: 7 - A peculiar performance, ran well in the first half but looked tired towards the end of the second and managed to miss a glaring opportunity. Took his goal well enough though, keeping himself onside before clinically tucking the ball past Trapp 1v1.
Pepe: 6 - Struggled to make an impact, almost feels as though he might be trying too hard to get his first goal. More flashes of his outstanding ability 1v1 on the wing though made for good viewing and made the sensible decision to lay the ball to Saka for his goal when he could have chosen to drive at the Frankfurt back 4. Needs a goal to settle down into the team and there'll be another opportunity on Sunday.
Ceballos: 6 - Had little to no impact on the game in reality. Didn't do anything wrong but neither did he make any meaningful contributions.
AMN: N/A
@groningergonner
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