Stunning late strike denies Arsenal the perfect start

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP F: Borussia Dortmund 1 Arsenal 1:THERE IS jubilation in these odd days for Arsenal. In a time of tribulation and uncertainty about the immediate prospects for the club, they have now followed an away win over Udinese in the qualifying round with this battling draw with Borussia Dortmund.

Arsenal showed a knack for scrambling and enduring that is not usually associated with them until the late and unwelcome intervention of Ivan Perisic’s late equaliser. The side now has some stability in this competition and can hope that the authority of their work will become even more marked.

The evening may have seen the early moments of another Champions League season but there was nothing tentative about the opening to the match. Roman Weidenfeller was soon saving from Gervinho, with Kevin Grosskreutz firing high for Dortmund shortly after. In a wonderful and clamorous ground that virtually insists on incident, the game inclined towards the hosts for a while, with Grosskreutz, once more, and Shinji Kagawa both wasteful in their finishing.

In that spell Bacary Sagna had also cleared a Robert Lewandoski effort from the goal-line.

Arsenal, whether they like it or not, have to improvise or even bluff their way through these early anxious days of the programme now Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri are gone.

Prior to the game, Arsene Wenger spoke of his aim “to form a team in the next two months”.

The manager was most likely emphasising the unpredictability of a squad in which there are several newcomers.

Even so, some players have had considerable experience of the tournament with Arsenal.

But his recent remarks have carried some unease, as if he wonders what will become of the club in this competition and the Premier League while he waits for stability to emerge. This occasion was at least likely to be informative since the resonance inside this stadium can test the most hardened teams.

Arsenal did persevere, though, and understood that they could best protect themselves by pushing forward if at all possible.

With 34 minutes gone, for instance, Yossi Benayoun released Van Persie on the left, but the angle was tight and Weidenfeller turned the attempt behind with little fuss.

There was no sense of domination, though, and, in Mario Gotze, Dortmund have a midfielder who looks as if he might cause panic at any moment.

Even so, the telling, last touch did not come readily for either side. When Lukasz Piszczek crossed from the right in the 39th minute, for example, Lewandowski was unable to apply the sort of force that would have made his header more of a concern to Wojciech Szczesny.

The gaps could not go unexploited indefinitely and when Theo Walcott linked with Van Persie three minutes later the captain had ample space and his shot was too firm to be denied.

There was relative order for a time as Arsenal at least looked as if they had begun to think about consolidating. That calmness did not prevent Gervinho from bursting clear of the defence but Weidenfeller denied him.

Dortmund hardly looked as if they had become disillusioned but the match itself took on relative composure. The hosts seemed to depend to a surprising extent on the youngster Gotze, yet the 19-year-old almost insists, through his sheer talent, on being to the fore.

Nonetheless, Dortmund strove to be composed as the match entered its latter phase. Their substitutions spoke more of the strain they were under and the necessity of relieving it soon.

The tone had shifted and Arsenal, rather than being beleaguered, looked as if they had faith in their durability by then.

Wenger’s introduction of the combative Emmanuel Frimpong for Walcott was the act of a manager yearning to take the vitality out of the fixture. This was not an occasion when either side could dictate play but the tale of the evening appealed to Arsenal as it moved closer to an ending. It would have appealed even more but for the dramatic impact of Perisic’s late volley.

Guardian Service

BORUSSIA DORTMUND:Weidenfeller, Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer,Bender, Kehl (Blaszczykowski 68),Gotze, Kagawa (Zidan 85), Grosskreutz (Perisic 69), Lewandowski. Subs Not Used: Langerak, Da Silva, Gundogan, Felipe Santana. Booked: Schmelzer, Bender.

ARSENAL:Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Song, Arteta, Walcott (Frimpong 76), Benayoun, Gervinho (Andre Santos 86), van Persie (Chamakh 85). Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Park, Djourou, Arshavin. Booked: Sagna.