Group F: Arsenal, Eintracht Frankfurt, Standard Liege, Vitoria



Pretty good draw tbh. Some semi-competitive teams and all in civilisation.

and all in civilisation.

lool

Vitoria SC v Arsenal
Europa League group stage
Wednesday, November 6
Kick-off 3.50pm (local and UK time)


what is this?

"Due to other matches taking place in close proximity in Portugal." Apparently.

Wtf are they thinking with that kick-off time, though. It'll be over by the time I get in from work ffs.

Exactly. Same with 90% of the UK people unless they take leave or half day.

Awful by UEFA

Just realised it's the 5th EL game when we will be comfortably through so forget booking half day or shit.

Team tonight:

Martinez; Chambers, Mustafi, Luiz, Kolasinac; Torreira, Xhaka, Willock; Saka, Aubameyang, Smith Rowe

Subs: Leno, Maitland-Niles, Guendouzi, Ceballos, Nelson, Pepe, Martinelli

Is Saka at the same level as Martinelli?

Who knows? Nobody has seen Martinelli play that much.

As I understand it though, Martinelli is more of a forward while Saka is a winger. So based on needs, Saka starting makes more sense.

Somehow, Arsenal are still leading at half-time.

It's been an open game with chances either end. Frankfurt have been generous and have given the ball away in their own third a lot, which has led to some excellent chances for Smith Rowe, Torreira and Willock that weren't taken. At the other end, Arsenal's defending has been last ditch stuff. Frankfurt have racked up the shots, just as Watford did, and it's thanks to Martinez they haven't scored yet.

Despite some good individual performances - yes, that includes Xhaka and Mustafi - the team was too stretched and it's leaving so much space for Frankfurt on the edge of the box. The defence sits deep while the forwards stay high. For every counter Arsenal have, Frankfurt can counter just as easily.

Frankfurt should have scored at least a couple tonight, so 3-0 is flattering, but it's a much needed win after that shitshow at Watford.

Martinez was excellent, and Saka really turned it up for the second half. Saka's probably the most talented of all the kids coming through at the moment. He should be getting more games over Nelson imo.

I fully agree about Saka>Nelson.

Willock is a monster in making too.

Emery back in is it?

for the first time ever i actually enjoyed EL Group stage match
proper end to end stuff with fantastic atmosphere
Happy for Saka and Willock

Sina wrote:for the first time ever i actually enjoyed EL Group stage match
proper end to end stuff with fantastic atmosphere
Happy for Saka and Willock

Shame i missed most of it. No idea why they can't have Arsenal games at 8. We are bigger than EL

We started off very bad but the result somehow finishes 3-0 anyways the glaring issues are still there. Arsenal defenders keep a very deep defensive line and invite pressure on themselves. We will concede against good teams if the same tactic is deployed. Around the 30mins mark arsenal started to commit men forward our defensive line moved up. The gap between forwards and defenders gradually reduced. However, this created alot of one by one situations on which arsenal could have conceded. Luiz being the culprit always keeps dropping back. The fact that emery played 5 midfielders helped in keeping the clean sheet.
I think emery really needs to work on his defenders, the defensive line and improving his midfield as they really need to gel together. Imo holding has a great positioning sense and he will work with luiz/sokartis i hope he comes back.

Arsenal need a few games against easier opponents to gel the team and get their tactical set up correct if that happens i think its a huge step in the right direction

If Emery wants his forwards to stay up up for counters, he needs to encourage his defensive line to be higher as well. As it is, any time those forwards get bypassed, the opposition get a free run at that defence.

It was really pronounced tonight, too, because Willock, Saka, Smith Rowe/Pepe and Auba were all told to stay up the pitch while the defence and Xhaka/Torreira stayed mostly in their own half. I thought the back six did pretty well considering how much pressure they came under throughout the game.

i forgot to add arsenal found it very difficult to play against high pressure they must learn to deal with high press. therefore playing from the back is big no. Moreover, arsenals own pressing was disjointed and they did not press like a team.

It will improve if emery does not change the formation every game and midfield players develop better understanding of each others movements.

It's Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup tonight. Expecting a very different team. My guess:

Martinez; Chambers, Holding, Mustafi, Kolasinac; Torreira, Willock; Saka, Smith Rowe, Nelson; Martinelli

Apparently, Bellerin and Tierney will be in the 18. Ozil trained yesterday as well, so maybe he'll get a start. But who knows with him, honestly.

Official team:

Martinez; Chambers, Mustafi, Holding, Tierney; Torreira, Willock; Smith Rowe, Ozil, Nelson; Martinelli

Subs: Macey, Bellerin, Bola, Burton, Ceballos, Saka, Balogun

I'm a bit surprised John-Jules didn't get a spot on the bench, but pleased to see Balogun get a reward for his great form recently.

Really exciting team!

Very exciting team. Don't care if we win or lose. Just want them to perform well and play without restriction.

Kick-off delayed 15 minutes until 20:00 UK time due to travel difficulties for supporters.

There's been a few road closures due to rain, so not surprising.

Tierney and Bellerin

gunna watch because of Martinelli and Tierney

Watching a dodgy stream with Danish commentary. Gotta love the Carabao Cup third round lol.