Arsenal Suffer 3-2 Loss To Dortmund In Emirates Cup
Arsenal’s pre-season wobbles continued at the Emirates on Sunday as Borussia Dortmund came from nowhere to blow the game open before surviving a nervy finish to win 3-2 and lift the Emirates Cup.
Mikel Arteta had demanded a response after Wednesday’s chastening loss to Real Betis, but for long spells his side looked short of match sharpness against a slick Dortmund outfit. Samuele Inacio fired the visitors ahead early on, latching onto a defence-splitting pass before finishing coolly, and Dortmund doubled their advantage before the break through teenage sensation Konstantinos Karetsas.
It could easily have been worse for the hosts, who saw Viktor Gyokeres head a half-chance wide before striking the crossbar from a promising position. That miss looked costly when Dortmund struck again just after the hour, Joane Gadou capitalising on shaky Arsenal defending at a corner to make it 3-0.
With the game seemingly beyond them, Arsenal finally found some bite. Ethan Nwaneri pulled one back after a slick pass from debutant Christos Tzolis, who was one of the game’s standout performers on his first outing at the Emirates. Moments later Tzolis was involved again, winning a penalty that Gyokeres converted to make it 3-2 and set up a grandstand finish.
The home crowd sensed a leveller was coming, and Gabriel Martinelli thought he’d found it late on, only to see the effort chalked off for offside. Dortmund held firm from there to see out the win and claim the trophy.
For Arteta, it’s a second straight pre-season defeat and further evidence that defensive frailties remain a work in progress. There were, though, encouraging signs going forward — Tzolis impressed on debut, Martin Odegaard pulled the strings in midfield, and young talents Max Dowman and Nwaneri both continued to catch the eye.
The Gunners round off their preparations against Como on Wednesday before facing Manchester City in the Community Shield, with reinforcements arriving as several World Cup winners return to training this week.
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