Kevin Whitcher
It was a huge ask, but to give themselves some breathing space, Arsenal needed something from this game. Incredibly, they got it. With an undefeated away run starting with the victory in Munich, this was the toughest test since that night at the Allianz, and for a long time it looked like a case of a wet Wednesday night in the Westfalenstadion. But the Gunners weathered a difficult opening hour to turn the tables and force their way to three points.
Incredibly, it can’t be ruled out that, even with a home win against Marseille, Arsenal might not qualify for the knockout stage with 12 points, but this performance will give them real confidence going to Napoli in December. Fans would have been happy with a draw at kick-off, although Arsene Wenger stated that his team would be on the front foot. Yet the reality was that the first 45 minutes only saw a couple of useful opportunities created by his team, but the final ball – in both cases to Mesut Ozil – was poor. Dortmund created more danger and really should have scored when Mkhitaryan had just Sczcesny to beat and fired wide.
There was no question by half time that the home side were looking the more likely winners, a view only confirmed by the early stages of the second half, when Arsenal were on the rack. I was of the view that there was a huge contrast between the performances of the full backs. Sagna was playing out of his skin, whilst Gibbs seemed a little vulnerable. There may have been a case for the more experienced Monreal starting this game, but the manager chose to stick with a winning team and was ultimately proved justified in that decision. The game was very tight, with no player being allowed too long on the ball before a challenge came in, unless they were deep in their own half. Passes had to be bang on the money or suffered interception, and the visitors struggled to find any real rhythm. It was defence on top for the most part as matches at this level can often be until something gives and the nature of the game alters. Critically, as long as they did not concede, the Gunners were in the match, regardless of their inability to fashion much in the way of goal threat. The game was carried as a spectacle purely by the tension of what was at stake, even if, at times, the teams cancelled each other out. For a long time, I had the linesman down at Arsenal’s man of the match, so valuable was the offside trap in thwarting the Dortmund advances. Both centre backs had very impressive matches, with Mertesacker now an absolutely key ingredient of the current success with his experience, leadership and reading of the game.
My thoughts in the 15 minutes after the break were that there was no way Mikel Arteta could finish the game. Either a red card would take care of him or he would be subbed before the referee had reason to wave it. The only real switch I could envisage for this was Vermaelen coming on to play defensive midfield, a role which has been mooted by supporters before. However, Wenger left his captain on the field and he rode his luck. A bit of me wondered why the niggly and sometimes necessary fouls Arteta was committing weren’t being shared around the team a bit more, but maybe he is just one of those players that gets drawn into trouble. When Flamini gets bookings, his fouls are genuinely cynical. With Arteta you sometimes wonder how much it is intent and how much just bad timing.
Having survived the early second half onslaught Arsenal went and put the cat amongst the pigeons with a goal out of nowhere. An Ozil cross, headed down by Giroud to the advancing Ramsey. This, in theory, the deep midfielder partnering Arteta. It was definitely a case of the best form of defence being attack and it worked. It was an Alex Ferguson ‘Football eh? Bloody hell’ moment as, completely undeserved, the visitors took the lead.
The game changed completely and suddenly, we had an open and far more entertaining football match. Arsenal refused to sit on their lead and threw men forward when the opportunity arose. Perhaps it was for the best. Are they capable of defending a lead against a team of Dortmund’s quality if they choose to park the bus? They went too gung ho at home, but kept just enough at the back this time around, although there were certainly scares. Granted, Jurgen Klopp’s team did not look as imperious as they did in the game in North London, but they have bad games as well. The home side still did enough, in terms of good chances, to take the spoils, but results come from converting opportunities. They did this in the first game three weeks back. Last night, it was Arsenal’s turn.
Memories of late Dortmund goals in the Gunners’ last two visits to this stadium flooded back as the clock ticked down, but on this occasion, there was no sting in the tale. It was a case of job done, get out of town with the points. Smash and grab they called it on the TV, and it was fair comment based on the game up until the hour mark. However, once things opened up, Wenger’s team looked as likely to score as the Germans.
Results are everything. Arsenal did not play badly overall in the home game against Klopp’s team, but were victims of their opponents taking advantage when presented with the opportunity. Last night, the boot was on the other foot. Dortmund were, perhaps, not as naïve as Arsenal in the first game, but they were punished for their own lack of clinical finishing this time around.
The self-belief it gives the players is difficult to quantify, but they are starting to develop an aura which might carry them through the stiff challenges ahead. Certainly, they can go to Old Trafford this weekend feeling far more confident than they have for a number of seasons. It’s a significant game for both sides.
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