Match Report – Player Ratings – Infographic – Video Highlights
Dortmund v Arsenal
UEFA Champions League
Westfalestadion
Kick off: November 6, 2013 7:45 PM BST
An absolutely fantastic win away from home at one of the toughest stadiums in Europe. Ramsey’s goal separating the two sides as Arsenal beat Dortmund one nil to stay top of the group. Here are the player ratings:
Wojciech Szczesny | 7.5: Made the saves when he needed to, but aside from a few crosses and long shots that got through, he was very well protected by his outfield players.
Bacary Sagna | 8.0: Sagna was absolutely fantastic tonight, he showed his experience and discipline by knowing when to get forward and when to stay back and neutralize the counter attacking threat.
Laurent Koscielny | 8.5: Our centre backs were superb, weathering a bit of a storm in the first half, and then dominating their attackers in the second half.
Per Mertesacker | 8.5: (MotM) Mertesacker was winning every header tonight, and almost scored down the other end. Made a number of great tackles and interceptions too, this partnership is just getting better and better.
Kieran Gibbs | 7.5: Looked possibly the weakest out of a very strong defensive line, letting a few too many crosses into the box, but still put in a great shift. His pace was vital for us and it’s great to see his injury wasn’t serious.
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Mikel Arteta | 7.5: Looked a bit shaky in the first half, picking up an early yellow card. Was brilliant in the second half though, protecting the back four diligently.
Aaron Ramsey | 8.5: Played a lot deeper than he’s used to, preventing the loss rather than pushing for the win. But when he needed to the man of the moment popped up in the box with that vital goal.
Mesut Özil | 8.5: Was our only real outlet before we took the lead, consistently getting the ball out and trying to make things happen. Provided the cross that created the goal, and was at the heart of everything that went right for us going forward.
Santi Cazorla | 7.0: Was finding it hard to get on the ball, Dortmund’s pressing game not giving him the freedom in the middle of the pitch. Was the first to be substituted, bearing in mind he’s still just back from injury.
Thomas Rosicky | 8.0: Rosicky was trying hard to make things happen in the first half, but it wasn’t coming off for him. Was far more effective in the second half, and put in a fantastic defensive shift too, getting back and putting in some great slide tackles.
Olivier Giroud | 7.0: By his recent standards the big Frenchman was relatively poor, his hold up play wasn’t great in the first half and he seemed to rush a lot of his passes. He stuck at it though and got the assist for the goal.
Substitutes:
Nacho Monreal | 6.5: Came on to give us some defensive stability, didn’t contribute a huge amount, but put pressure on Dortmund late on.
Nicklas Bendtner | N/A: Barely touched the ball.
Thomas Vermaelen | N/A: Made a couple of defensive clearing headers in the dying minutes, but was barely on the pitch.
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