Sometimes football matches see friends going up against each other, and that’s set to happen when Arsenal take on Eintracht Frankfurt this week.
The Gunners head to Germany on Thursday to kick off their Europa League campaign, with the two sides expected to battle it out for top spot in Group F.
The trip sees goalkeeper Bernd Leno returning to his homeland and waiting for him at Eintracht will be his friend Danny Da Costa.
Leno and Da Costa have known each other from a young age and worked their way through the German youth ranks as well as breaking through at Bayer Leverkusen together.
They’ve remained friends since and this week has seen plenty of WhatsApp conversation, with Da Costa revealing Arsenal’s draw with Watford on Sunday was a particularly hot topic.
“We analyzed the game against Watford together, so I told him they had some weaknesses every now and then,” he told Kicker.
“If they take a certain risk at the back, then that can already suit us. In other situations, against Watford, they did it very, very well.”
If Eintracht are to get anything from the game against Arsenal, stopping Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be a high priority.
The Gabon international was the joint top goalscorer in the Premier League last season and has five in five games so far this year, including a double against Watford at the weekend.
Da Costa is more than aware of the 30-year-old’s quality but believes he knows how to stop him.
“There’s a certain class he brings to the pitch,” he added.
“You have to stop the rest of the team and close the supply line to him; one player cannot do it on his own.”
