Arsene Wenger may have been sat high in the stands at the Westfalenstadion, but even he must have seen Ivan Perisic’s 88th-minute equaliser coming as his side drew 1-1 with Borussia Dortmund.If winning ugly is an art form, then Arsenal must further hone their craft.
It was an unstoppable effort to secure a point from the Croatian, but it had been coming. The Gunners may have been nearing their second consecutive clean sheet following their humiliation at Old Trafford 17 days ago, but their buoyancy owed as much to fortune as it did fortitude.Dortmund started brilliantly, a host of chances missed, including a heroic stop off the line by Bacary Sagna. Gervinho had a chance at the other end, but received a fine challenge from behind. Two minutes to go of the first half, and Arsenal struck. Theo Walcott threading through a delightful ball into the path of Robin Van Persie who finished well. Exactly what Arsenal needed, just before the break.Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt, meanwhile, was certain his team would improve as the Champions League wore on: "Chelsea deserved to win the game but my team gave a very good performance. Chelsea's defense just didn't make any mistakes. But the more experience my team get the better they will get."
Leverkusen next face Belgian champs Genk at BayArena on September 28, and Dortmund next travel to Marseilles to take on last year's Ligue 1 runners-up.
On Wednesday, Bayern Munich travel to Spain to face Villarreal as the German giants look to get their Champions League season off to a winning start.
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