A draw in Dortmund, that’s enough right? A bright future with the Reserves!

Known as a troublemaker, even Arsene Wenger would struggle to do mischief up here...

Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Arsenal

Highlights | Szczesny reaction | Koscielny reaction | Benayoun reaction

Hello all. How about a match report that you can listen to rather than read? There you go. If you feel the urge to contact me about it, please say more than just telling me that I sound posh. I’ve heard that a lot over the last twenty-four hours. Nice to know though. Thank you commoners. I might have forgotten Yossi Benayoun during my match report. Bad times. A decent performance, didn’t suit the match really, much like Arteta.

Reaction

Pat Rice reckons we’ve turned a corner with recent performances. I’d click that link, even just for the fun of hearing Pat Rice’s voice. To read his full post-match reactions be sure to have a read of this. Speaking after the match, Pat Rice says that there’s a real buzz in the dressing room at the moment, what with all the players who have come in recently and the recent results. I have to be honest, I don’t think Arsenal are in as much of a crisis as most of the press are making out.”Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated”, to misquote Mark Twain. He also spoke specifically about the players brought in. I think we’ve played a few blinders, especially with the addition of Arteta. I keep forgetting about Gervinho, Oxo and Jenkers on top of the last-week signings.

A few of the players also spoke after the match, Per Mertesacker admitting that we had a bit of luck while Koscielny and Sczcesny agree that we have to build on this performance and that it will help the squad’s confidence. I suppose the next step now is to try to get another three points this weekend against Blackburn. It could be interesting with rumours of a fans’ protest, more news on that if anything develops.

Reserves

The reserves played Bolton yesterday and managed a 3-3 draw. It was a good match with big players featuring for both sides. The Arsenal side included Jenkinson, Miquel, Coquelin, Miyaichi and an impressive Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Young prospects such as Chuks Aneke, Emi Martinez, Luke Freeman and Ozyakup also featured. Neil Banfield was pleased after the match. With a much larger squad this year, we should see our reserves composed of more ‘first-team’ players.

The match was also an audition for some, with the Carling Cup tie at home to Shrewsbury next week. The likes of Oxo and Miyaichi are likely to be pencilled in, but for players like Chuks Aneke it’s a chance to prove they should be in the squad.

Righto, that’s about it then. Nick should be here tomorrow with his take on the last few days. I’ll have something up either tomorrow or the day after. Probably. While you wait in darkness for my next blog post, why not follow me on twitter or like us on facebook? Be sure to comment below on the match as well. Obviously there’s the reserves as well, who would you like to see given a chance in the Carling Cup?

Victoria Concordia Crescit – Victory Comes Through Harmony