Even Arsene Wenger struggled to put a positive spin on a dreadful night for Arsenal this evening, which saw the Gunners comprehensively outplayed in a 2-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund.
To make matters worse, Jack Wilshere turned his right ankle in the game, and will have to go for a scan.
Wenger admitted that his Arsenal team were second best throughout the 2-0 loss at the Westfalenstadion.
“It was a difficult night,” he said. “Congratulations to Dortmund, they were the better team. We had a disappointing performance and overall the result is normal. Still the paradox of the night is that we had very good chances to score first. We were caught on two counter-attacks. It was very difficult."
Borussia Dortmund v Arsenal - player ratings
On the first Dortmund goal, a brilliant solo effort from Ciro Immobile, Wenger said: “We were still three against one at the back and it’s difficult to understand how we conceded the goal. We lost the ball 80 metres from our goal but there were enough people to stop the goal.
“They were very strong in midfield, stronger than us, I agree. On the night it is difficult to go into individual assessment of any player because as a team were not at the required level.”
Wenger also revealed his fears about a possible injury to Jack Wilshere.
The Arsenal boss said: “It’s difficult to say how bad it is. I’m a bit cautious because of his history. Normally it’s not too bad.”
Aaron Ramsey, substituted after an hour, was compelled to tweet an apology to Arsenal’s supporters, and wrote: “That wasn't good enough tonight, sorry to all the fans and thank you for your support.”
