Three negative things from Arsenal win over Eintracht Frankfurt

When you win 3-0 away from home against a decent German side it may seem petty to identify negatives but there is no point in ignoring them, that serves no purpose for anyone.

The result was a good one but I think most fair-minded Arsenal fans will agree that the result did mask some issues that are clearly still there.

Right-back remains a huge issue

Calum Chambers did his best in the right-back spot but the truth is he looked uncomfortable and at no stage was convincing in that role, we also know that Ainsley Maitland-Niles is not the best there either and until Hector Bellerin returns and gets up to match fitness Arsenal will remain weak in that area.

Nicolas Pepe yet to start firing on all cylinders

I understand we have to have patience but the games are starting to tot up now and we have not seen an impressive display from our record signing. I know the arguments about Bergkamp and Henry needing time but they were just two out of how many that came good? The more games that pass by without us seeing the best from the 24-year-old, the more concerning it gets.

If Frankfurt were more clinical the score could have been so much different

Remember, Arsenal got two of their goals in the last eight minutes when Frankfurt was down to ten men and that Martinez put in a man of the match performance in goal. If Frankfurt would have been better at converting their chances then Arsenal could easily have the lost the game, Arsenal has to find a way to dominate games and not keep on inviting so much pressure on.

28 Comments

  1. I agree we need to give foreign players time to get used to the PL. But for some reason, I get the impression that with Pepe it’s not the pace and physicality he has to get used to but that he lacks the football brain or decision making skills and that is hard to teach or get used to.

    1. Pepe seems to be smart, but I dislike his unwillingness to chase the ball back and his tendency to let his teammates do the hardwork for him

      He reminds me of Ozil. Intelligent, but always avoids rough actions

      Pepe’s attitude has to change soon if he wants to be a good team player

      1. Yes, from the first match I’ve seen his unwillingness to track back. People who slate Ozil must be fair in their assessment and criticize that aspect of his game too.

        1. i think plenty of fans saw pepe doesn’t track back from the 1st match. the question is will he work harder with more time to adapt to the pace and stamina of the epl ? lot of wingers come to the epl without ever tracking back at the previous club.

          1. Yes Ackshay, that’s the difference between PL and other leagues. In PL, everything is faster and more competitive. Talent will only get you so far in this league. Let’s hope Pepe could prove his worth.

  2. I’m sure Pepe will come good soon.
    He needs more matches

    To be honest we don’t have a true RB. Niles is a midfielder. Ballerin is more of a winger than a defender. We need to get a specialist RB in January or Summer.

    As for last night, we won with a largely experimental team ie Chambers RB, youth: Saka and Smith Rowe, Mustafi’s first start. I’m not too concerned. Last night I was concerned with Mustafi, Xhaka, Luiz and youth players, but everything went well fortunately

    I’m focused now on Sunday
    We MUST WIN
    We should consider starting Saka again

  3. > Pepe needs time just like most good players, eg Pogba in his first year at Man U
    > Niles is the best of all the RB’S available at Arsenal. Belerin can not defend
    > while is correct that Franfurt where not clinical, neither was Wallock & Abu. Just
    look at the missed chances before and after the red card

  4. My concern with RB is that Bellerin might not be as good as we all think he is. Big injury dont forget. Big pressure. We may need to buy a RB because AMN and chambers are not RBs and should not be judged as such.
    The bigger concern was the holes again in front of defence and the basketball type tactics from end to end. This is caused by the open tactics that Emery uses.

  5. Give him time?? He should have scored against Liverpool.. he’s the only player to leave VVD for dust… look at his tally for Lille…i was disappointed with him on Sunday (& not overly impressed last night) now I’m sorry to whinge, but i think for what we paid for him & all the hype surrounding him, i was expecting a little more….
    Exactly.. was a great result, but they had so many chances… like Phil said, if we carry on this way we’re gonna get stuffed sooner or later…

    1. Even a positive person like Sue has grown impatient, Pepe is screwed lol
      Agree though, at this moment he resembles Chamberlain and Iwobi, able to get into dangerous position but squandering chances. He needs to step up his game, I recall Hazard came to Chelsea at a younger age but performed right away.

      1. ??? i just think when you spend a lot of money, you expect to see results & i was so excited about him, Laca & Auba!! He has assisted though, which is good, but i want more ? you never know, 350oz, he may bang in 4 on Sunday (with one ricocheting off Jon Moss’s belly??)

        1. Lol ?? that would be quite a statement from him, I sincerely hope so Sue.
          For some time we’ve accustomed to have cheapo flops, so everything was swept under the carpet. Not sure if we are strong enough to bear a 70m flop (which we haven’t paid in full too ?)

          1. For us it’s a lot of money & as you say – 5 years down the line we’ll probably still be paying for him!! With a bit of luck he’ll be on triple figures by then ?

  6. I think the biggest negative is Emery still thinking Torreira is best played as a box to box mid and asking him to bomb forward all the time

    1. This is a massive problem. And its why Torreiras performances have been suffering for a bit. He doesnt understand what Emery is asking of him and he’s slighlty out of position. I’d much rather Torriera our deepest midfielder than Xhaka.

    2. The problem arsenal is having with torreira is the same one sarri had with kante last season and until emery realized that torreira is best played at DM rather than box to box, arsenal won’t enjoy torreira

  7. We should just give credit where credit is due. Arsenal missed the better chances how many times did frankfurt run clear on goal frankfurt at home is always going to have few chances against any team my problem is we lack ball playing midfielder that our defense have to face the opponents too many times our midfield is our greatest weakness not defense, always leaving the defense with so much to deal with

  8. Chambers played as a RB for his first club and for two others (Arsenal included). His number of games as a RB makes him a good candidate for a backup. The only issue is his attacking play, but in defence he should be comfortable enough as a RB – his original position.

    How did Milner play well as a RB for Liverpool when needed?
    How did Sagna play quite well for Arsenal as a CB?
    How does Fernandinho now play as CB when needed?
    How does Fabinho play well as a DM when most of his career he was a fullback?
    etc
    etc

    Only at Arsenal players are not capable of playing more than one position well enough to at least be backups in their 2nd best position??

    1. This annoys me when people say that a player who played a position for quite a long time is suddenly not good to deputalize for some absentee.

  9. I wasn’t able to watch the match, but followed BBC Sports’ live feed. It didn’t make me feel good reading about EF’s pressing game and our defence frailties. Our defensive midfielders aren’t upping their game and now I read Emery’s plans or making Torreira an attacking midfielder. God help us.

  10. Emery should develop Willock as box to box rather than shifting Torreira; Emery reinventing the wheel and tinkering again to prove how smart he is I guess.

    Rather see Mustafi and Chambers as CB to be honest, but Luiz and Sokratis will be back doing their keystone cops routine on Sunday against Villa.

    Hopefully a new back 4 incoming when everyone is fit. I’m all for Bellerin, Holding, Chambers, and Tierney over the “defenders” we have starting now.

  11. If Torreira and Aubameyang were more clinical the score could have been different. If one of their players didn’t pick up a red card, the score could have been different. If Xhaka knocked his foot on the door on his way out of his hotel room, the score could have been different. If it rained last night during the game, the score could have been different. If …(voice fades into the background)

  12. Give Pepé a break, Henry took 9 games to score and Bergkamp took even longer.
    He would have got off the mark last night if Aubameyang had passed to him in the box.

  13. I think the criticism from the pundits for Chambers is largely unjustified. Frankfurt players spent the first 30 minutes kicking our guys up in the air, and Chambers was having to handle their left wing on his own because ESR wasn’t giving him much help either defending or as an outlet. When their pressing ran out of steam Chambers made a couple of sumptuous crosses, one of which would have been in the back of the net if Auba had his shooting boots on. Chambers hasn’t played competitively since the first match so he’s bound to be lacking a little sharpness.
    That said, we could easily have lost 5-nil last night. Our midfield defence was truly awful.

  14. It is only after the villa match on Sunday that we will realise again that our pattern of play is scrap
    The core problem lies in the midfield set up ,from the opponents half it is easy following traffic to our box and to every segment of our defence be it wide or at the centre heart of the defence
    Same problem also has it’s impact on our frontline, it is all about the “missing link” which knits the whole team as a machine
    The midfield is the main link and without a proper orchestrated one we will tend to see many weaknesses in every position and mostly can’t impose our play on the opponent and control the proceedings ,we are always reactive instead of being proactive

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