[Player Ratings] Arsenal 1-2 Borussia Dortmund: Limp Gunners Punished

A disappointing night for Arsenal as our unbeaten record was ended by a late strike from Robert Lewandowski after Olivier Giroud had cancelled out Mkhitaryan’s early opener. Here are my ratings from the game:

Szczesny  6.5/10

Very little to do other than pick the ball out his net twice. Was wrong footed for the first and couldn’t get a touch to deny his compatriot Lewandowski.

Sagna 6/10

Put in a great cross to set up the equaliser but was otherwise disappointing going forward. Also left his right-back area exposed by committing himself too far up field late on which allowed Lewandowski free to score.

Gibbs 6.5/10

Played well up until he was drawn up field which left a huge gap for Grosskreutz to attack and set up the winner. Gibbs should have realised the danger of the overlap and held his position.

Mertesacker 7/10

Decent game from the lanky German. He didn’t really give Lewandowski a sniff until the decisive third goal.

Koscielny 7/10

Was on the end of an elbow from Lewandowski with the striker lucky to escape a red card. But Kos made several important interceptions throughout the game.

Arteta 7.5/10

Was probably Arsenal’s best player on the night although his lack of pace was exposed again as Dortmund hit us on the break late on.

Ramsey 5/10

A bad night for the previously in-form Welshman. He conceded the opener after losing the ball on the edge of his own box and his night didn’t get much better from there. He wasn’t in the game as much as we’ve been used to and his passing was largely disappointing.

Rosicky 6.5/10

Another decent display from Rosicky. He always adds a bit of urgency to our attacking play and he was unlucky to see a well hit effort cleared off the line in the first half.

Ozil 6/10

Not at his best as we only saw glimpses of his quality. He improved when Cazorla came on and almost set up a superb goal for the Spaniard.

Wilshere 6/10

Frustrating evening for the midfielder as he was forced off with an ankle injury once again. Wasn’t at his best before the substitution either.

Giroud 7.5/10

Very good all-round display from the French striker. He gave Hummels and Subotic plenty of problems and his hard work paid off as he was on hand to smash home the equaliser just before half time.

Subs:

Cazorla 7.5/10 – Excellent impact off the bench. The Spaniard immediately improved our attacking play and hit the bar with a wonderful effort.

Bendtner N/A – on too late.

Gnabry N/A – on too late.

So a disappointing night over all but I thought we were the better side in the second half after a nervy first 30 minutes which Dortmund dominated. We didn’t deserve to lose but didn’t create enough to win, and will hopefully learn a valuable lesson about being caught out on the counter like that. Still all to play for in Group F.

What were your ratings from the game? Share them below.