Arsenal suffers second pre-season loss, beaten by Dortmund

Arsenal's underwhelming pre-season continued with a second successive defeat as they lost 2-3 to Borussia Dortmund in the Emirates Cup on Sunday, a result that saw them concede the trophy on home soil. Sub-par defending proved costly for the Premier League champions, who struggled to contain the German side.

Borussia Dortmund took a commanding 0-2 lead in the first half with goals from Samuele Inacio in the seventh minute and 18-year-old prodigy Konstantinos Karetsas in the 29th minute. Arsenal had chances to pull back, notably when Viktor Gyokeres hit the woodwork in the first half, but couldn't convert.

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We lost the game, obviously not happy about it. Things obviously have to be improved. Certain players need to get more minutes and rhythm, which is going to be really helpful.

In the second half, Ethan Nwaneri scored in the 54th minute to give Arsenal hope, but Joane Gadau restored Dortmund's two-goal advantage in the 58th minute. Gyokeres converted a penalty in the 69th minute, narrowing the deficit to 3-2 and keeping Arsenal in the fight, but Dortmund held on for the win.

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It has to hurt, whether it is a friendly match, a test or whatever you want to call it. But yeah, we know where we are. We know that we are missing still a lot of players and some players that haven't had enough training. And yeah, sometimes losing is good.

Manager Mikel Arteta expressed his dissatisfaction with the result and the team's performance, particularly the defensive lapses. "We conceded some poor goals the other day, some poor goals today, in the way we competed, especially," Arteta said, as quoted by Sky Sports. He emphasized that the responsibility is collective and that improvements are necessary with the current squad.

With just seven days remaining before their FA Community Shield match against Manchester City, Arsenal faces significant challenges. The team's pre-season run has included a 3-1 loss to Real Betis after an initial 4-1 victory over Girona. Arteta acknowledged that while losing friendlies can be difficult, it can also serve as a catalyst for improvement, especially with several key players still missing and others lacking sufficient training.

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We conceded some poor goals the other day, some poor goals today, in the way we competed, especially. But that's a very collective responsibility. So, we need to improve with the players that we have. And we want to improve, for sure we will.