This felt like something of an object lesson for Arsenal. In a very close contest, the Gunners will have thought they deserved at least a point. And yet, Borussia Dortmund had two chances, and scored them both. That demonstrates just how fierce the competition is amongst Europe's best clubs.
Wojciech Szczesny - 6 – It wasn't a poor performance from Szczesny, but he was left a bit flat-footed by Henrikh Mkhitaryan's opener. Although, he wasn't helped out by his back four on either goal.
Bacary Sagna – 6 – He found it tough going, as Dortmund pressed the right flank with intent. I give him plenty of credit for a fine cross that led to Olivier Giroud's equaliser, but he was caught out of position for the BVB winner.
Per Mertesacker – 7 – Mertesacker won a number of important headers, especially in the second-half. I wouldn't blame him for being unable to cover for the errors of his teammates for the two goals that Arsenal conceded.
Laurent Koscielny – 7 – Robert Lewandowski had the last laugh, but Koscielny handled him well for most of the contest – taking an elbow to the face at one stage. He made a number of key interventions, and was the starting point for many of Arsenal's attacking moves in the second-half.
Kieran Gibbs - 6 – Gibbs was pretty solid for most of the match, but the rise in quality at this level was evinced by his error for Lewandowski's goal. He left too much space in behind him, which was exploited by Kevin Grosskreutz. It was the key domino to fall, as Arsenal were subsequently outnumbered in defence, and BVB scored the winner.
Mikel Arteta – 7 – Given that he was missing Mathieu Flamini, this was a strong performance from the captain. He often had to hold the midfield together on his own, and made a series of excellent defensive interventions. He made 11 tackles in the game (the highest amount of the contest). No other player on either side made any more than 3.
Aaron Ramsey – 5 – To be clear, this is not time to forget the superb reason that Ramsey has had. But in this individual game, he gave a poor display. He was dispossessed on 4 occasions, none more costly than when he had his pocket picked, and Mkhitaryan gave Dortmund the lead.
Mesut Ozil – 6 – Dortmund made it their mission to deny Ozil space in between the lines, and the German struggled to influence the play, often losing the ball before he could pick a pass. He improved more when moving to the right after Santi Cazorla came off the bench.
Jack Wilshere – 6 – It remains to be seen how fit Wilshere was, but he looked to be struggling after injuring his ankle midway though the first-half. It seemed to have a deleterious effect on his game. He conceded possession often (with a pass success rate of only 65%), and probably should have been taken off earlier than he was.
Tomas Rosicky - 6 – The Czech started slowly, but a shot that was cleared off the line energised his game. He pressed the Dortmund midfield excellently from a central position in the second-half, although his passing wasn't always at its usual high standard.
Olivier Giroud – 7 – Giroud had little to feed off tonight, but his industry set an example for his teammates to follow. He ran the channels willingly, and took his equalising goal very well. Didn't deserve to be on the losing side.
SUBS
Santi Cazorla – 7 – The Spaniard made a fine contribution from the bench. He moved the ball quickly, which was key in Arsenal having the better of the second-half. He was also unlucky to hit the crossbar, and one feels that he has to start against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Serge Gnabry – N/A - A final throw of the dice.
Nicklas Bentdner – N/A - Was thrown on when Arsenal chased an equaliser.
The one thing that Arsenal can't afford to do is feel sorry for themselves. They should take heart from pushing last season's Champions League finalists hard, and with a series of important fixtures coming up, we'll soon find out just how resilient this squad is. Arsenal have put been put on the canvas, but they haven't been knocked out. Now it's up to the players to pick themselves back up.
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