ARSENAL 1, BORUSSIA DORTMUND 2: A fourth straight defeat represents Arsenal's worst run for 19 years, but with Auxerre losing in Eindhoven, Arsene Wenger's team still qualified for the second group stage.
Ahead through Thierry Henry's free-kick, Arsenal were beaten this time by a controversial penalty, with David Seaman appearing to make little or no contact with Jan Koller as the Czech burst through to earn a spot-kick. Tomas Rosicky converted for the winner.
Wenger may wonder whether he recently ran over a black cat given that Rosicky's free-kick equaliser also had an element of fortune, deflecting off Gilberto Silva. But this was not a vibrant Arsenal display and Dortmund had twice hit uprights before scoring.
The first came after barely 90 seconds. Ewerthon's pass caught Arsenal off guard and Lars Ricken sprinted through and saw his shot rebound off an upright.
Seaman may have wondered if his change of luck had anything to do with the decision to trim his hair, with a shorter ponytail remaining.
If that visit to the barber was a surprise, Wenger had provided another by giving Robert Pires his first start in seven months, dropping Nwankwo Kanu to the bench and playing Freddie Ljungberg up front with Henry.
After that initial escape Arsenal started to take the game to Dortmund, with full-backs Ashley Cole and Lauren pushing forward to support the strikers. Yet the quality of Arsenal's final ball, particularly on crosses, meant they were not creating clear chances and they had the woodwork to thank for saving them again inside quarter of an hour when Dede's cross found the towering Koller. With Seaman beaten, the striker's header hit a post when he ought to have scored.
Koller was to regret his miss when Henry gave Arsenal an 18th-minute lead. The sight of Ljungberg winning the free-kick must have pleased Wenger, though Dortmund felt hard done-by, and Henry curled the ball over the wall from over 20 yards. Often his efforts fail from there.
It might have been game-over inside half an hour had Arsenal taken their next chance. Ljungberg was again heavily involved, taking a pass for Patrick Vieira, accelerating into the area and returning the ball to the captain, whose shot flashed wide.
That was the signal for Dortmund pressure. But though the home team had the majority of possession they were not making much headway as Arsenal pulled men behind the ball.
Wenger must have thought his side would go in ahead when Ewerthon wasted a chance, but it was not to be. The awkward Koller was fouled and Rosicky's pacy free-kick undid them. The ball, aimed for Koller, brushed Gilberto's head, bounced in front of Seaman and went into the net, though the keeper hardly seemed at fault.
Sylvain Wiltord responded with a couple of efforts but there was little from Pires, who was struggling to make an impression after his long absence.
With Dortmund also regularly surrendering the ball, there were few opportunities until Koller bore down on goal. Seaman seemed slow off his line but the award of a penalty looked harsh as Koller leapt over the keeper's body and hit the floor.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND: Lehmann, Evanilson, Worns, Metzelder, Kehl (Reuter 69), Dede, Rosicky (Madouni 89), Frings, Ricken (Heinrich 84), Ewerthon, Koller. Subs Not Used: Herrlich, Amoroso, De Deus Santos, Weidenfeller. Booked: Reuter. Goals: Silva 38 og, Rosicky 63 pen.
ARSENAL: Seaman, Lauren, Cole, Campbell, Cygan, Pires (Toure 67), Vieira, Silva (Edu 80), Ljungberg, Henry, Wiltord (Kanu 78). Subs Not Used: Jeffers, Luzhny, Stepanovs, Taylor. Goals: Henry 18.
Referee: M Gonzalez (Spain).
REMAINING FIXTURES - Nov 12th: Auxerre v Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal v PSV Eindhoven.
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