It's about time

It’s not often that I watch an Arsenal loss and feel ok about it, but thats exactly my sentiment after yesterday’s defeat. Our unbeaten streak has come to an end after a very fine away performance by Dortmund, a team of real European quality and last year’s finalists. This wasn’t a poor performance by Arsenal, nor a match in which we were roundly  and deservedly beaten like against Aston Villa. We played extremely well at times, could have scored more goals on another day and were unlucky to concede the first. With regard to their first goal I’m glad this setback has occurred for Ramsey who otherwise had a decent game. He needs to learn that despite his obvious talent at taking players on, or three plus the goalie against Norwich, there is a time and a place for trickery and on the edge of your penalty area surrounded by opposition shirts is not it. The post match commentary showed that Ramsey had three obvious passes on and decided to try and run the ball out without having the awareness to see an onrushing Reus. I thought we responded well to this early setback and dominated the rest of the half and most of the second. Had it not been for the experience and grizzly nouce of the excellent Hummels Dortmund could have been 2-1 down after the defender made a necessary foul on Giroud just outside the penalty area and cleared a Rosicky volley off the line after it had already beaten Weidenfeller. We got a deserved equaliser after Sagna whipped in a dangerous dipping ball that landed on the edge of the six yard box, the sheer pace and uncertainty of the bounce causing Subotic and Weidenfeller to both leave it for the other allowing Giroud to nip in and smash home an emphatic volley. The goal was the least our handsome fop deserved for his outstanding performance, bullying the Dortmund defense, and using his newfound physicality to brutal effect. 

The trouble with Arsenal teams and I hope this makes sense is that we only know how to win. We are a team that is catastrophically bad at playing for a tactical result. The pragmatists amongst us should have looked at the group at 1-1 and thought if this stays as it does Arsenal will top the group by a point, leaving Dortmund four points adrift in third place. Another draw in Germany would have all but secured our qualification out of the group in at least second place and judging by our first two performances against Napoli and Marseille first place would have been more than achievable. Instead whilst chasing that Arsenal win we have left ourselves in a precarious and unnecessarily stressful position of needing to win two of our last three games. 

It is my belief that this loss will further strengthen this team’s resolve and unify their spirit further. The loss has not come to the detriment of our chances in either the premier league nor champions league. Im hoping that players responsible for the Dortmund goals, Ramsey for the first and Rosicky and Sagna (neither of whom spotted or tracked the run of Lewandowski) will respond by showing greater common sense and organisation when we face similarly tough opposition in the form of Liverpool and Manchester United in the coming weeks.