Arsenal vs Dortmund: Late Lewandowski strike brings joy to Klopp, but Gunners still in the hunt

Robert Lewandowski of Borussia Dortmund celebrates scoring their second goal against Arsenal

It’s all a matter of perspective.

Down on the pitch, Dortmund defender Mats Hummels had seen “a compact game” with hardly any shots on goal, but Jürgen Klopp, up in the VIP seats because of his disciplinary ban, enthused about “an open game that we won thanks to a fantastic attacking move at the end” after the final whistle.

Player and coach weren’t really at odds with their analysis, however – and both were right.

Dortmund’s “great performance” (Klopp) was one built on denying Arsenal the freedom to play their intricate passing game, and at the same time, the game was “open” in the sense that either side could have won it.

Moreover, the visitors wouldn’t have complained too much about a draw either. “We were certainly lucky in a few situations,” admitted BVB sporting director Michael Zorc.

One sole shot on target in the second half from last year’s Champions League runners-up saw them escape with all three points.

“I had to run a long way (to meet the volley) but that didn’t matter,” said a happy Robert Lewandowski after his winning strike eight minutes before the end.

The Polish forward has been under increased pressure to perform this season due to his refusal to sign a contract extension and expected move to Bayern Munich, Dortmund’s domestic rivals.

He had had a quiet night as far as chances had been concerned, but the way he coolly despatched Kevin Großkreutz’s cross and worked tirelessly – it was him who won the ball near the half-way line to set up Dortmund’s last, devastating counter-attack – made the supporters happy.

Lewandowski is the kind of player who needs to be seen in the stadium to be fully appreciated, because his brilliance is mostly produced “off camera”, when he’s hunting down the ball or moving into space.

“You can’t take your eye off him for one second,” said a disappointed Per Mertesacker, “We managed to do it quite well but lost him in that one situation”.

The fact that it had not been the Arsenal defender’s mistake – right-back Bacary Sagna was half-way up the Dortmund pitch when the ball broke, and Mesut Özil was too slow to cover – served as scant consolation for the German.

Lewandowski’s goal served as another confirmation, if one was still needed, that his club had been wise to take a pragmatic line in the summer.

Lewandowski wanted to move to Bayern and kicked up quite a fuss, but Dortmund thought he’d be professional enough to perform anyway. Their judgement was sound, and one of the club’s principles was vindicated too: if at all possible, they prefer to keep “the money” on the pitch, rather than cash in on their best players.

While Klopp praised his team’s “work against the ball” and “maturity”, Arsène Wenger bemoaned his side’s “naivety”.

“We weren’t careful enough and were punished for that at the end,” the Frenchman sold German television, in perfect German. “We weren’t at our best level and didn’t attack as well as we can. But you have to say that Dortmund did a great job (in that respect) as well.”

Interestingly, Wenger also said his team were “physically jaded” in the second half and perhaps “wanted it too much”.

You can hardly blame the players for pushing for a winner in the final minutes, however. They were playing at home, had a chance to make qualification for the knock-out round almost certain and they are Arsenal, a side that’s not built to play for draws.

The reference to fitness levels was more relevant: without a host of injured players like Podolski, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain, birthday boy Wenger had limited options to provide fresh impetus from the bench.

It was telling that substitute Santi Cazorla was the most effective Gunners player on the night; sadly, a replacement of similar quality wasn’t available to relieve Olivier Giroud, who seemed to run out of the steam.

Mikel Arteta felt his team had been unlucky to lose the game, Klopp said his team “deserved” the win. What the 46-year-old probably meant was that his team had “earned” the result: the German verb “verdienen” has both these meanings.

It was noticeable that the manager had improved his English during the summer break. This development won’t substantiate spurious links with Premier League teams – he won’t leave Dortmund for a good number of years yet – but shows that he’s a) thinking long-term about managerial career, and b) determined to represent his club with even more aplomb going forward.

“We are back in business as far as the group stage is concerned,” he said.

With Marseille losing again, this group looks set to be a mini-league between Arsenal, Dortmund and Napoli. As a result, the away win was even more significant.

Dortmund can take great encouragement from frustrating one of the most in-form sides in Europe and finding a way to win a game without creating too many chances.

Arsenal, on the the other hand, shouldn’t be too despondent. The worst you could say about them was that they took a bit too long to realise that spaces were to be found in wide areas. They’re not quite world-beaters yet, but are undoubtedly on the right track.