Dortmund defeat, not routine EPL wins, shows us why Arsenal are title contenders

LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 22: Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud of Arsenal react after Robert Lewandowski of Borussia Dortmund (not pictured) scored their second goal during the UEFA Champions League Group F match between Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund at Emirates Stadium on October 22, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

In fact, that might be doing them a disservice. Arsene Wenger’s side more than held their own. For large chunks of Tuesday’s game, Arsenal were in control and in truth, they didn’t look like they were going to concede. Once the mistake came from Aaron Ramsey on 15 minutes to gift the German side the lead, the team showed great character to get back into a game that could have gotten out of their control.

Through Mezut Ozil, Wilshere and later Santi Cazorla, they kept pushing forward playing their attractive brand of football. After the equaliser came courtesy of Olivier Giroud’s strike on 40 minutes, the Gunners remained positive. They could have even taken the lead on the hour mark; Santi Cazorla’s curling effort couldn’t stay low enough and struck the top of the bar.

After that came the bad luck, as Dortmund broke in a counter attack to go on and score the winning goal with what was only their first shot of the second half. It was a cruel blow to an Arsenal side who had really given the game everything it had.

On another night, Arsenal could have won this match. They finished as the statistically better team, dominated possession over their German counterparts, and ultimately had the better of the chances.

Jonathan Wilson, writing for Sports Illustrated online, said that “Although [Arsenal] had to overcome a flurry of Dortmund pressure at the beginning of each half…it came back to have the better of the end of both halves, even if it did end up being caught on the break.”

The home loss, after playing so well for so long, will no doubt leave a sour taste in the mouths of Arsenal fans everywhere. But the silver lining is bigger than the cloud in this instance. They proved they can hang with the very best in the world and remain competitive, and they even perhaps deserved to win the game after the lacklustre opening 20 minutes. Olivier Giroud proved that he can fire goals against absolutely everybody, and there is no slowing him down this season.

They also proved for the most part that they have a legitimate defence. Dortmund didn’t have a shot in the second half until their 82nd minute winner. On the whole, the team held their own defensively against the top scorers in German football (although that might not be saying that much considering they award goals in Germany even if you don’t score).

So if one delves a little deeper than simply reading the scoreline, there is real positivity in Tuesday’s loss for Arsenal. They played against one of the top three or four sides in the world, and they could easily have won the game. Just as Chelsea’s credibility was raised following their showing in the Super Cup loss to Bayern earlier this year, so should Arsenal’s after their late loss to Dortmund.

Stop instinctively reaching for the panic buttons, Arsenal fans. The hype around your team is real. Not because you can beat Crystal Palace 2-0. Not because you beat Norwich 4-1. Those wins prove nothing. It is because you stood toe-to-toe in the ring with a Champions League heavyweight favourite, and you went the full twelve rounds.

Despite the loss, your team showed that they are ready, finally, to compete for trophies once again. And in their brutal next four fixtures, against Liverpool, Chelsea (Capital One Cup), Dortmund and Manchester United, the Gunners are going to prove that beyond any doubt.