Thursday, 19 September 2019
Time: 19:55
Arsenal begin their third successive Europe League sojourn with an away trip to Eintracht Frankfurt in a Group F encounter.
Fresh from relenting a 2-goal lead in a disastrous draw to Watford in the English Premier League on Sunday, Arsenal will be hoping their defensive frailties will not be exposed once again as they take on last season’s semi-finalists.
The Gunners have conceded in all but one of their last 5 away games as they continue to lack in the defensive third.
On paper, this looks to be their toughest assignment in the group stage with Standard Liege and Portugal’s Vitoria completing the group.
Unai Emery could be forced to make changes in that department with Shkodran Mustafi, Callum Chambers and Rob Holding expected to feature at the Commerzbank-Arena.
Of note is that Pierre Emerick Aubameyang has scored 8 goals in 10 matches against Frankfurt while at Borussia Dortmund.
The German team pose a real threat especially when they play at home despite losing 2-1 to Augsburg in the Bundesliga over the weekend. The Eagles have won 12 and drawn 3 of their last 15 Europa League matches on home ground with Chelsea, Inter Milan and Porto the only sides lucky to avoid defeat.
Frankfurt have had to rebuild following the departures of their star strikers Luka Jovic and Sebastian Haller over the summer. The £100million from the sale of the duo went into recruiting Andre Silva and Bas Dost who are expected to add firepower to their attack.
Head to head:
This will be the first encounter between the two sides.
Tip:
Over 2.5 goals
Odd:
2.95
Stake:
Medium