Match review: Arsenal 1-2 Dortmund

Sagna tried to give some width and pace, but he doesn’t seem quite as quick as he once was, I suppose two leg breaks do that to you. Unfortunately we pushed too hard and having committed men forward, we lost the ball and Dortmund countered. Blaszczykowski sped down the right and we couldn’t get back in time, with Sagna caught upfield.

The winger crossed to the back post an Lewandowski finished a devastating move. We were sunk from the moment it hit the net. There wasn’t time for us to rally and respond and where we should have had at least a draw, we came away empty handed. You could see the bitter disappointment on every player’s face and they’ll know they played well enough to win that game, but lost it through stupid mistakes.

In some ways, it could be a valuable loss (if there is such a thing), as the players can easily see the mistakes they made and correct them for future big games. I think we showed we’ve got the ability to match big teams, now we’ve got to show we can take the points too. Stat of the game: Jack Wilshere’s poor night was highlighted by a pass completion rate of just 50%

Teams

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)

Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny,Gibbs, Arteta, Ramsey (Bendtner 86′) Wilshere (Cazorla 58′), Özil ?, Rosicky ? (Gnabry 89′), GiroudSubsVermaelen, Monreal, Cazorla, Fabianski, Bendtner, Jenkinson, Gnabry

Borussia Dortmund (4-2-3-1)

Weidenfeller, Großkreutz, Schmelzer, Sahin, Subotic, Hummels ?, Blaszczykowski (Aubameyang 66′), Bender ?, Lewandowski ?, Mkhitaryan (Hofmann 66′), Reus (Papastathopoulos 87′)SubsHofmann, Aubameyang, Langerak, Kirch, Schieber, Papastathopoulos, Durm

Player Ratings

Szczesny	7/10	Could have possibly done better for the first, solid otherwise
Sagna	7/10	Caught up the field for the winner, but played well otherwise
Koscielny	7/10	Couldn’t do much for either goal and looked in good form
Mertesacker	7/10	Won a lot of headers and was assured on the ball
Gibbs	7/10	Had to be disciplined with quick wingers waiting to break
Arteta	8/10	A much better performance, lead the team very well
Ramsey	6/10	Overconfident, made some poor decisions tonight, passing and shooting
Wilshere	6/10	Couldn’t live with the pressing and had a poor game
Özil	7/10	Couldn’t impose himself, but still produced some quality moments
Rosicky	7/10	A typically busy performance and still looks much younger than 33
Giroud	8/10	My MOTM, absolutely bossed the centre backs and held up play well
Subs
Cazorla	7/10	Gave us a bit more pace and some much needed quick passing
Bendtner	N/A
Gnabry	N/A