The same old pattern emerged again at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night. Unai Emery’s side had more quality and more possession yet managed to lose at home. Arsenal‘s loss to Eintracht Frankfurt was down, once again, to the head coach.
Arsenal’s Loss to Eintracht Frankfurt Down to Lack of Confidence
Different System, Same Tactics
Casual fans can be forgiven for thinking ahead of kickoff that Arsenal would play a back three with David Luiz, usually a defender, getting a look in at central midfield. That is something he has done in the past but not at Arsenal and not with any real degree of success.
This is a change from the back three which couldn’t beat Southampton at the weekend and, despite the defender playing in midfield, it seemed on paper a slightly more attacking system. However, Unai Emery did not change his tactical plan.
The team again relied on possession-heavy football in the buildup to control the game but, as is typical of this season, didn’t play with a high enough tempo to trouble Eintracht Frankfurt terribly.
It is the same pattern which fans have seen over the course of seven matches without a win in all competitions. The opposition simply sits back and waits for a change in possession and drives straight at the Arsenal net.
Just like against Saints, Leicester City and a number of other clubs this season, those simple tactics proved effective for the Gunners’ opposition. It doesn’t seem to matter which players deploy in which formation, the results are the same time and time again.
This points to one place; the dugout.
Arsenal’s loss to Eintracht Frankfurt Shows Need for Change
It is clear that Unai Emery is the issue behind not only Arsenal’s loss to Eintracht Frankfurt but also their woes across the entire season. The players clearly aren’t responding to his methods and the results on the pitch show it.
In the case of the second away goal, the defenders went to sleep and just didn’t close down the player with the ball. For the first, they didn’t apply the necessary pressure to put the striker off, although it was not as calamitous as the second.
In general the attacking play was unimaginative, especially after Martinelli came off the pitch. Most passes in the attacking half went either sideways or backwards and there was no sense of urgency from the players, even after going down.
The players either don’t understand the tactical plan or aren’t committed to it. Early in Emery’s reign, the players got the results even when the performances weren’t very good.
In that case, it was more likely that the players didn’t understand the plan. Now, however, when results are very much matching performances, it seems like they aren’t committed to Emery’s ideas.
It is this lack of commitment which has put the season in jeopardy.
History Repeating
In what feels like a throw back to the later Wenger years, Arsenal just don’t seem able to comprehend the fact that their manager needs to go. In the case of the club legend, one could at least sympathise with the decision. However, in the case of Unai Emery, there is really no excuse.
His buyout is likely to cost millions, but the cost of losing out on all European competitions next season would dwarf that figure. That is not even counting the damage to the Arsenal brand which is slowly making it a club that is not a desirable destination.
There are also some good managers available right now in Massimiliano Allegri and Mauricio Pochettino. Some candidates already in a role include Mikel Arteta and Patrick Vieira. Regardless of which option, it is surely more appealing especially after Arsenal’s loss to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images
