Arsenal suffered back-to-back pre-season defeats on Sunday as Borussia Dortmund edged the Gunners 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium to lift the 2026 Emirates Cup.
Softfootball understands that Mikel Arteta’s side dominated possession and created more opportunities, but their defensive shortcomings once again proved costly. Dortmund took control inside the opening half-hour, with Samuele Inacio opening the scoring in the sixth minute before Konstantinos Karetsas doubled the visitors’ advantage in the 28th minute.
Arsenal had opportunities to respond before the break, with Viktor Gyokeres seeing an effort hit the crossbar, but Dortmund went into half-time with a two-goal cushion.
The Gunners came out with greater intensity after the restart and pulled one back in the 54th minute. Ethan Nwaneri collected a loose ball on the edge of the area before firing a precise finish into the bottom corner.
Arsenal refused to surrender, with Christos Tzolis continuing to cause problems for the Dortmund defence. The Greek winger won a penalty in the 69th minute after being clipped inside the box, allowing Gyokeres to calmly convert and reduce the deficit to 3-2.
Arteta’s men pushed desperately for an equaliser late on, but Alexander Meyer produced a crucial save to deny Nwaneri, while Dortmund’s defence held firm through five minutes of stoppage time.
Player Ratings
Arsenal
| Player | Rating |
|---|---|
| Kepa Arrizabalaga | 5.4 |
| Riccardo Calafiori | 4.7 |
| Gabriel | 5.3 |
| Cristhian Mosquera | 6.2 |
| Ben White | 6.2 |
| Kai Havertz | 6.2 |
| Myles Lewis-Skelly | 6.0 |
| Martin Odegaard | 6.5 |
| Christos Tzolis | 8.1 |
| Viktor Gyokeres | 7.6 |
| Max Dowman | 6.5 |
Borussia Dortmund
| Player | Rating |
|---|---|
| Alexander Meyer | 7.7 |
| Ramy Bensebaini | 7.8 |
| Joane Gadou | 8.1 |
| Filippo Mane | 7.3 |
| Daniel Svensson | 7.9 |
| Jobe Bellingham | 6.5 |
| Felix Nmecha | 7.7 |
| Maximilian Beier | 6.9 |
| Konstantinos Karetsas | 7.6 |
| Fabio Silva | 6.8 |
| Samuele Inacio | 7.7 |
Match Statistics
| Statistic | Arsenal | Dortmund |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 57% | 43% |
| Shots | 14 | 8 |
| Shots on target | 7 | 4 |
| Corners | 8 | 3 |
| Fouls | 17 | 16 |
