By Our Staff Reporter
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| Bukayo Saka (right) was one of three Arsenal academy products in the starting line-up, along with Joe Willock and Emile Smith Rowe |
Eighteen-year-old Saka, playing
for the first team for the first time this season and fifth time in total, was
excellent on the left flank, scoring once and setting up the other two goals.
He created Willock's goal by
beating his marker with fine skill in midfield and was the main threat for the
Gunners in the first half.
The only criticism was he spurned
a number of chances to increase Arsenal's lead but he silenced those doubts
with an emphatic finish from the edge of the area late on.
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| Arsenal lost against Chelsea in last year's Europa League final |
Willock played as the Gunners
most advanced central midfielder and offered a goal threat but also linked play
well, notably with a fine driving run in the second half which ended with
Martin Hinteregger excellently blocking an Aubameyang shot.
The scoreline flattered Arsenal
in the end but the game will be most memorable for the performance of their
youngsters.
The Gunners came into the game on
the back of their disappointing 2-2 draw against Watford, after which their
defensive display was heavily criticised as they spurned a two-goal lead.
Although Arsenal kept a second
clean sheet of the season, they still looked uncertain at the back and allowed
Eintracht 24 shots on goal - seven fewer than the Hornets' 31 on Sunday.
Arsenal's deeper midfielders
Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira failed to control proceedings with the second
half end-to-end until Kohr was dismissed.
Eintracht, who reached the
semi-finals of the Europa League last season before losing on penalties to
Chelsea, lost strikers Sebastien Haller and Luka Jovic to West Ham and Real
Madrid respectively in the summer and had either been in their line-up on
Thursday, Arsenal's slack defence may have been punished.
Kostic caused right-back Calum
Chambers significant problems but was wasteful, as was AC Milan loanee Silva,
who shot well wide in the second half when given another good opportunity.
That said, Martinez, brought in
for first-choice goalkeeper Bernd Leno, impressed with key saves in the first
half and assured handling when called upon.
MATCH DAY
ONE RESULTS
Thursday
19 September
Group A: APOEL 3-4 Dudelange, Qarabağ 0-3 Sevilla
Group B: Dynamo Kyiv 1-0 Malmö, Copenhagen 1-0 Lugano
Group C: Basel 5-0 Krasnodar, Getafe 1-0 Trabzonspor
Group D: PSV Eindhoven 3-2 Sporting CP, LASK 1-0 Rosenborg
Group E: Rennes 1-1 Celtic, CFR Cluj 2-1 Lazio
Group F: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Arsenal, Standard Liège 2-0 Vitória SC
Group G: Porto 2-1 Young Boys, Rangers 1-0 Feyenoord
Group H: Ludogorets 5-1 CSKA Moskva, Espanyol 1-1 Ferencváros
Group I: Wolfsburg 3-1 Olexandriya, Gent 3-2 St-Étienne
Group J: Roma 4-0 İstanbul Başakşehir, Mönchengladbach 0-4 Wolfsberg
Group K: Wolves 0-1 Braga, Slovan Bratislava 4-2 Beşiktaş
Group L: Manchester United 1-0 Astana, Partizan 2-2 AZ Alkmaar
Group A: APOEL 3-4 Dudelange, Qarabağ 0-3 Sevilla
Group B: Dynamo Kyiv 1-0 Malmö, Copenhagen 1-0 Lugano
Group C: Basel 5-0 Krasnodar, Getafe 1-0 Trabzonspor
Group D: PSV Eindhoven 3-2 Sporting CP, LASK 1-0 Rosenborg
Group E: Rennes 1-1 Celtic, CFR Cluj 2-1 Lazio
Group F: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Arsenal, Standard Liège 2-0 Vitória SC
Group G: Porto 2-1 Young Boys, Rangers 1-0 Feyenoord
Group H: Ludogorets 5-1 CSKA Moskva, Espanyol 1-1 Ferencváros
Group I: Wolfsburg 3-1 Olexandriya, Gent 3-2 St-Étienne
Group J: Roma 4-0 İstanbul Başakşehir, Mönchengladbach 0-4 Wolfsberg
Group K: Wolves 0-1 Braga, Slovan Bratislava 4-2 Beşiktaş
Group L: Manchester United 1-0 Astana, Partizan 2-2 AZ Alkmaar
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