Match Reaction - Dortmund

[Penguin]

I'm really disappointed at the goals we conceded. The first was a schoolboy error and the second we just committed too many players forward and got caught out. Gibbs and/or Kos could've done better in that counter attack too, but Dortmund had a man advantage so you can't be too critical. The annoying thing was that we actually defended very well aside from those two occasions. Chesney barely had a save to make all game, Reus and Lewandowski were limited to long shots that didn't get close.

Lots of positives out of that game I thought. Mert-Kos were fantastic. Arteta also did a great job, tackling, closing down and passing the ball intelligently. Surprisingly we didn't miss Flamini at all. Rosicky was very good all game and Ozil came alive in the second half. Giroud was outstanding, he was winning almost everything played to him and carved out some opportunities for us by never giving up on a single pass.

Finally, Santi's back!
Cazorla made a HUGE difference when he came on. What an important player he is. I hope he stays fit for the rest of the season.

[Master Splinter]

Little bit harsh result.

Not a completely satisfactory performance in terms of intensity and overall rhythm, but after the first 20 minutes or so, we played well and were mostly on top. The lesson to be learned is obviously to make sure you take your chances in the periods of domination. And don't makes stupid mistakes outside your box against super quality teams. I don't think Dortmund had a supremely effective master plan that outwitted us, they just took both chances they had. Sczesny didn't even make a save that I can recall. Neither did Weidenfeller tbf. We had them on the ropes for a bit and didn't kill them off. If we had shown that intensity for longer periods, it might have earned a better result. Just need to get at them from the off in the return leg. We should have more space as they'll attack more and we're generally more compact away from home.

Giroud was excellent again, especially in the first half.

Arteta was really good. Tackled well, passed well and looked back to his best. The result had nothing to with Flamini missing the game. Arteta gave a nearly flawless performance in the deeper role.

The fullbacks were good, aside from their crossing.

Koscielny bossed Lewandowski. Shame he had the last laugh.

Cazorla brilliant when he came on.

Ozil was largely poor tonight. Sloppy and invisible for a lot of the game. Wilshere's bad habits crept back in after a good game at the weekend.

Nothing too worrying. We're more than capable of getting the results needed. Would be useful to have a couple of injured players back going into the tough block of fixtures though.

Also, the ref was awlful.

[Syn]

Arteta was really good. Tackled well, passed well and looked back to his best. The result had nothing to with Flamini missing the game. Arteta gave a nearly flawless performance in the deeper role.

If Flamini was available, Wenger definitely would've gone for Flamini-Arteta holding as against Napoli. Then maybe for the first goal we conceded, he's passing it forward from the deeper position instead of trying to casually run it out like Ramsey tried, and maybe he would've been in the right place to stop the counter unlike Ramsey. Against 17 teams in the league, playing Ramsey in the deeper position works because they're already on the backfoot and won't look to press us in our own area like Dortmund tried. But against teams like Dortmund and Barcelona, we need better shape. In that sense we did miss Flamini, but Arteta did have a monster game.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

to be honest as the game wore on i thought we were coping well without Flamini and actually Arteta who started poorly grew into the game as did many of his team mates, i think with aubemeyang, groskreutz (who is actually a striker playing full back), reus and lewandowski we always ran the risk of being caught cold when we went for the kill.
And that was the problem....as much as Giroud played well this evening we don't have a striker with killer instinct who could have put us in front when we turned the screw and that was the difference tonight...i think a draw would have been a fair result....no way in hell we deserved to lose and Lewandowski shouldn't have even been on the pitch.

[Letters]

Balls. First half was fairly even, bit lucky with our goal as it was a bad mistake from their 'keeper. Annoyed at the goal we conceded, trying too much in defence for the bazillionth time.
Second half I felt we were bossing it, their goal was against the run of play.
Not a great game, not a great performance from us but not a bad one

In brief, I blame Gary.

[Tipsychubbs]

We needed more intelligent attacking movement in close support of the ball carrier and finding space. This would have countered their pressing and organizational positioning. The team were lethargic in terms of movement and to use an old wenger cliche, lacking sharpness and cohesion for a lot of the game. It improved a bit once Cazorla came on and we had some pressure on their goal before the sucker punch.

Lacking width was also a problem and we missed walcott.

Arteta, Rosicky, Cazorla, looked fresher than the rest, maybe cos they've been injured and not played too many games recently?

[fakeyank]

In brief, I blame Gary.

So, I can come back now..

[Alpha]

I was gutted for this defeat but all these comments lift me up . It is very encouraging when people make some positive comments after a disappointing result . It is just one of those days . Nothing is lost yet . Come on gunners .

[PGFC]

So, I can come back now..

No.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

We win 15,000 games on Sky and the one time we're on free view in front of the whole nation we lose. Fucking cunts.