Arsenal fell to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund as Mikel Arteta‘s side showcased some defensive frailties in the clash at the Emirates.
Samuele Inacio and Konstantinos Karetsas gave the Bundesliga club a 2-0 advantage inside the first 30 minutes, before Ethan Nwaneri halved the deficit shortly after half-time for the Premier League champions.
Joane Gadou restored the advantage soon after, but Viktor Gyokeres struck for Arsenal from the penalty spot to reduce the arrears once more.
How the action unfolded
Dortmund were ahead after just seven minutes. Fabio Silva found Felix Nmecha on the edge of the box and the Germany international managed to poke the ball through to Inacio.
The young forward made no mistake with the finish, steering home with the outside of his boot to send the visiting fans into raptures.
It was two inside the opening half-hour, after Konstantinos Karetsas netted a stunner in the week he signed for the German club.
The Greek teenager took the ball down the right on the break before curling a sublime effort into the far top corner.
With the Gunners’ defence looking all at sea, Maximilian Beier was inches from making it three but his header was cleared off the line.
Moments later at the other end, Gyokeres slammed an effort against the bar as Arteta’s side looked to wrestle momentum in their favour.
Nine minutes after the break, the hosts did pull one back through Nwaneri. However, the two-goal advantage was restored just minutes later when, after some more suspect defending from Arsenal, Gadou was on hand to fire home.
Despite the scoreline, the Gunners continued to have chances, with Max Dowman among those to test Alexander Meyer in the Dortmund goal.
And they were rewarded in the 69th minute when Gyokeres netted from the penalty spot after new signing Christos Tzolis was clipped by Jobe Bellingham – brother of Real Madrid’s Jude.
Arteta’s side were pressing for an equaliser but it never materialised, with Gabriel Martinelli seeing an goal ruled out for offside with just seconds remaining.
