Borussia Dortmund 0 - 1 Arsenal: Not quite a symphony, but still a great song

I love smash and grabs. There's much enjoyment to be had in dismantling your opponents and sticking many goals past them, but there's something strangely satisfying about being on the back foot for most of the game but still coming away with a win. You know you've gotten away with it, but you can't bring yourself to care.

Saying that Arsenal got away with may be doing them a disservice, but I really feel that we did. Dortmund were the more dangerous of the two sides, they penned us back into our half and they created opportunities that they should have buried. Before our goal, we hadn't managed a single shot. The first chance we create, we score.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

The game was very similar to the one at the Emirates. Dortmund clogged the centre of the pitch and pressed aggressively whenever we had possession. We really struggled to get the ball to stick in Dortmund's half, with Giroud's touch being too loose and passes going astray, particularly from Gibbs and Cazorla. Again, you could see that we were really missing the width and pace provided by Walcott, Podolski and Chamberlain.

Dortmund had their first chance when Subotic managed to get a foot on the ball ahead of Mertesacker and steered the ball inches wide of the post. Their next chance was considerably more guilt edged. They won the ball back high up the pitch and Mikhitaryan ended up in a central position on the edge of the box - not too similar from where he scored at the Emirates. The ball seemed to bobble a bit, and because of that he ended up not getting the right contact on the ball and putting his shot wide. A definite let off.

They shifted into another gear at the start of the second half. Arteta, walking an extremely thin tight rope after he was cautioned early on in the first half, found himself overwhelmed as our midfield seemed to go missing. Szczesny had to make a decent save to deny Reus, who had a free header in the penalty area. Lewandowski found himself running at our defence and, along with Kuba, created an overload down our left that resulted in the Polish winger getting a shot at goal which Szczesny also saved - the subsequent tap in was rightly called out for offside. I was fearing the worst at this point.

Arsenal had to dig in and ride out the storm and ended up doing better than that; they snatched a goal. Our initial attack broke down when Rosicky misplaced a pass, but the ball broke for Özil on the right. He dinked in a cross that found Giroud, who did extremely well to win the header and knock the ball into the path of Ramsey who, surprise surprise, was in an advanced position and managed to squeeze his header in.

Our confidence seemed to increase after that and we came close to building on our lead. Ramsey had a chance but had his shot saved by Weidenfeller, and then Dortmund had to clear off their line from the resultant corner. Later on, Weidenfeller clattered into Koscielny, getting no where near the ball, but no penalty was given.

The final thirty minutes were long and tense, but Arsenal have become a tough side to score against when they have a lead and so it proved again tonight. Arteta received some much need protection and had to make few challenges, while Mertesacker and Koscielny were absolute rocks, clearing anything that came their way. Dortmund were reduced to half chances and hopeful balls into the box. Lewandowski had a penalty shout turned down right at the end that, to be honest, was of the sort that have been given before, but we saw it out in the end.

After all that, we're still top of the group with 9 points, while Napoli are breathing down our necks with 9 points after their win against Marseille. Dortmund have 6 and are by no means out of contention, and Marseille are still win-less. If we beat Marseille on Matchday 5 and Dortmund lose to Napoli, we will both qualify and that final game will determine who wins the group. If Dortmund beat Napoli, we would need at least a point on Matchday 6 to qualify and win the group. A loss would leave qualification down to head-to-head.

So for now, we need to make sure we beat Marseille at the Emirates. I think we can do that.

On a whole, this was a perfect follow up to Saturday's win. The win over Liverpool required a huge effort. Tonight required a colossal effort. The same team played in both games, and are no doubt starting to feel it. But then, when you're winning, fatigue becomes less of a factor and we'll be riding a huge wave of momentum and confidence going into Sunday's game, where we get to do it all over again.

I can't wait.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BYa0uzrCAAAfB8X.jpg

Love the title

It was definitely one of our most memorable wins. Winning away to the CL finalist. Dortmund away ffs. Not even Bayern can win there

We did get lucky quite few times but some of our defending at times was amazing. Mertesacker and Koscielny. best defensive pair atm. So good together. Mertesacker was probably the MOTM.

Rosicky turned it to another level. 33 years old this man

Ramsey was as good as always. right place, right time. ran all night.

Arsene Wenger though. People will still call him tactically naive but his 2nd half tactics were brilliant.

PERFECT REVENGE..!!
they defeated the better team a our home and we did the same too.. but made history at the same time too.. First English team to win here.. kept Dortmund silent for only the 2nd time in the last 61 home matches.. the yellow wall is broken..

as for the squad, there was not much surprise.. we started the same squad with worries of fatigue, pace and width.. like against Liverpool the strategy was to score first and make the game more open.. in an attempt to do this we threw players forward to compensate the lack of pace, and nearly paid the price on few occasions.. it was like a school match when 10/20 players were around the ball.. Arteta was isolated, pressed hard and surrounded by 2-3 Dortmund players.. he should have recieved more support from other midfielders especially from Ramsey who played very advance and was nowhere near the defence.. this led few fouls and there was a danger of Arteta getting sent off..
Despite Dortmund making 12 attempts before us making the first, we scored it and made the game more open.. from then on there was only one winner.. Our defence was excellent today, especially Metskr.. made some perfetly timed tackles and was a beast aerially.. Kos too was great and fullbacks also did well..
the offensive players were nullified by Dortmunds pressing early on.. Rosicky looked good with his work rate and one touch passing.. Giroud did well.. but Ozil,Cazorla and Ramsey couldnt see enough of the ball till our first goal.. after that we played well and were unlucky not to score the 2nd.. while Dortmund couldnt even make a decent chance despite pushing men and going to all attack mode..

Sczeny - 7 some decent saves there..
Sagna - 7 did his defensive duties well and was his usual engine holding the ball and winning aerial duels
Gibbs - 6.5 did well
Metskr - 7.5 the mom.. well timed tackles, won everything aerially, and nearly scored at the other end on twice occassion..
Kos - 7 bossed the defence with god interceptions.. broke his chest from a brutal elbow from Wedenfeller which muct have been a red..
Arteta - 6 decent game.. struggled occasionally to hold when left alone many a time.. had a good 2nd half..
Ramsey - 6 he cant get away fom the score sheet rt ? but should have shielded the team better and supported Arteta in the deep..
Rosicky - 6.5 the best of our midfielders.. only player to overcome Dortmunds pressing..
Cazorla - 5.5 wasnt allowed an easy match.. put in a great cross for Met which he nearly scored
Ozil - 6 anonymous.. i think he thrives too much on space.. looked good when the game became open
Giroud - 7 very good game.. good assist..
Monreal - 6.5 put in a good shift in the last 20 mins ading to the defensive stability..

so it is a historical night.. i havent seen Arsenal winning so many matches after a first half like that... we proved to Klopp and the Dortmund CEO that we are Arsenal and why we are playing the CL for last 16 years..

balls of steel my friend, that's what we had this game.

Mesut Özil :

Everyone has seen our team spirit. It was amazing to win in Dortmund. Thanks to our supporters.
#championsleague
#arsenal

Defensively we were very good again, this provided the platform for the win. Mertesacker and Koscielny were amazing, such an underrated partnership. Keep up the good work lads  

"We all support our own clubs but if there's one team we all want to do well it's Arsenal" - Gary Neville

This team ffs

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BYbNZYYIAAAeSYe.jpg

We played like *bleep* c*nts and I loved it!

Does Ramsey dope RG?

that resilience after taking  the lead never thought we could see this


going from conceding loads of pens to not giving away that many fouls in dangerous positions(helped by the fact that ref wasnt antony freaking taylor)

Loved the way Roiscky was working in the middle
Giroud should get alot of credit for that assist and makes up for his lack of mobilty with Tremendous work rate(off the ball)

with the players that we are missing and thin squad this is fantastic

Keep it up

3/5 of our chances were from set piece

overall al ot of our goals originated from crossing much to criticism of lack of crossing quality

add to that some of the tippy-tappy and fast passing move stuff and overall we have done well without our Pacey/vertical outlets in this period when at times it felt we would play 200 mins and not score but we mostly found our way eventually

Hopefully Theo and Poldi back soon

Arsenal 1 -2 Dortmund, media reaction: "Well, Arsenal were a bit naive and failed to make their chances count, and a genuinely good team like Dortmund converted their chances and made them pay. Good teams win even when the run of play isn't in their favor."

Arsenal 1 - 0 Dortmund, media reaction: "They were very lucky to score that goal against the run of play. Hummels was out so Arsenal didn't really beat BVB. Arsenal still haven't really beaten a top team this season."

Exaggeration for effect of course, but ...

I knew we could do it and really broke their hearts. We beat one of the best teams in the world in their own back yard, we were lucky and there were 2 clear penalties imo for both sides.

I knew we would score in the second half and how about Giroud crossing the ball? would have been nice had Ramsey scored the 2nd. Was watching it with few Dortmund it was a great joy walking away with smile.

We got another big game on Sunday, no rest and hope we get some injured players back.

After Ramseys goal I had a work commitment which made me miss more or less the whole second half - spewing as apparently it was the better half.

Although I haven't seen the entire game yet I saw an Arsenal that was defensively assured. With the exception of the Mkhitaryan chance (which he definitely should have scored) we kept a dominant Dortmund side at bay.

I give Kos an 8 rating from what I saw. He doesn't lead the back line like many great defenders but his reactions and anticipation are second to none! Kos the Boss.

I also think Rosicky proved himself to be worthy of an extension tonight.

Arsenal vs big clubs? No problem  - Bring on united before a well earned rest where we can hopefully come back stronger than ever.

and Mertsacker..
i was never his fan and was a critic.. just because i am a Verminator fan and i thought that he doesnt have the technical quality and pace to play Arsenal game.. we used to see in his first season that his passing was poor and how he used to get outmuscled.. i just wanted to see Verm and Kos relentless aggression and attack..
but full credits to him.. he has adapted and improved massively.. and has formed a great partnership with Koscielny..
i havent seen a defender like him who uses his intelligence more than his body to defend.. and how often he fouls others ? difficult to find another CB with such a clean game..
RESPECT....

Well. A fantastic result, and a superb team display. We really dug in, I thought Mertesacker & Koscielny were outstanding, whilst Arteta & Rosicky in the midfield were brilliant. The work Arteta, Rosicky & Ramsey put in was first-class. The stats back that up.

Our back 4 right now, and Szczesny behind them, have really developed a great understanding. They all know each other very well, and it shows. I thought, when you look back at it, Giroud & Ozil maybe had their least effective games of recent times, but such is their quality and attitude at the moment, they came together on the goal and of course, Ramsey, 11 goals now, scores.

The lack of bench, attacking-wise, didn't matter last night, but it's vital we get the likes of Walcott, Chamberlain and Podolski back quickly, because we'll need a bench soon. Hopefully Flamini and Wilshere are fit for Sunday and we can rotate a bit - playing the same XI in all 3 games this week would be a monumental ask.

Let's hope we beat Marseille, and Napoli get at least a point in Dortmund - that'd see us through allowing us to rest some bodies in Naples on Matchday 6 (which would be a great benefit).

has it ever happened that 3 teams end up with 12 pts in group stage?
and a team not going through with that amount of pts
how weird

Rosicky, my man of the match. Broke up countless plays with his feisty slide tackles and transitioned us from defense to attack very well in the second half, like his pass to Özil to get the first goal in motion.

Dem banana passes

MJGunner wrote:Rosicky, my man of the match. Broke up countless plays with his feisty slide tackles and transitioned us from defense to attack very well in the second half, like his pass to Özil to get the first goal in motion.

Dem banana passes

what is banana pass ? those with the outside of his foot..?
there was one brilliant curling pass when he passed to the left with the outside of his right foot from the right side..

Yeah, an outside of the boot pass curling outwards.

Wilson37 wrote:and Mertsacker..
i was never his fan and was a critic.. just because i am a Verminator fan and i thought that he doesnt have the technical quality and pace to play Arsenal game.. we used to see in his first season that his passing was poor and how he used to get outmuscled.. i just wanted to see Verm and Kos relentless aggression and attack..
but full credits to him.. he has adapted and improved massively.. and has formed a great partnership with Koscielny..
i havent seen a defender like him who uses his intelligence more than his body to defend.. and how often he fouls others ? difficult to find another CB with such a clean game..
RESPECT....

Wilson getting past his Merte-hate! Oh. My. God.

No, seriously, I am glad you are finally acknowledging what I have been saying since the day we signed Mert.