There were some really good signs for Arsenal at the weekend, as we outplayed the Premier League champions for large parts of the game, scored two cracking goals and were a bit unlucky not to come away with all three points. But it was another step in the right direction for Arsenal who have not quite hit top gear yet this season.
Despite that, our German defender Per Mertesacker reckons that this is the perfect time for the Gunners to go to his home country to face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, as he explains in an Arsenal.com report. Tomorrow’s game and the return fixture at the Emirates are likely to decide who finishes on top of the group and our BFG thinks that a weakened Dortmund are there for the taking.
Not only are they missing some of their key players, but they have had to replace the likes of Robert Lewandowski this summer and the new players have yet to bed in, which is why they have had a pretty poor start to their own season in the Bundesliga. And the centre back is taking a lot of positives from the City game, especially the fight and determination we showed in difficult circumstances.
Mertesacker said, “”I think you could see that we gave absolutely everything so we are really proud. I think they deserved the draw because they pressed up and pushed really high at the end. It’s a bit disappointing but I think the team is in a good shape. We have good players and potential.
“I think we have to give absolutely everything again to get something out of Dortmund,” he said. “They have a good squad, have suffered a few injuries and I think it’s good to have them at the start [of the group]. We’ll try our best and try to deal with the pressure they will put on us.”
And there is the added factor of confidence, which should be in our favour after we managed to beat them on their own turf last season. So can Arsenal make an early statement and take this group by the throat?