A brace from Robin van Persie ensured Arsenal beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 to win Champions League Group F with a game to spare.
Gunners win to secure top spot in Group F
A brace from the in-form Robin van Persie ensured Arsenal beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 to win Champions League Group F with a game to spare.
The Dutchman, who passed the 30-goal mark for 2011 with a double at Norwich on Saturday, repeated the feat against the German side at the Emirates.
After a quiet first-half Arsenal came out firing after the break, with van Persie nodding home at the far post on 49 minutes after great work down the left by Alex Song.
The flying Dutchman sealed the points with four minutes remaining, sweeping home at the far post after Thomas Vermaelen had flicked on Mikel Arteta's corner.
Shinji Kagawa slid home a late consolation for Dortmund but it was not enough to prevent them from falling to the foot of Group F and send a joyous Arsenal side through to the knock-out stages.
Jurgen Klopp's team were well organised, having come into the European tie on the back of a 1-0 league win at Bayern Munich, which cut the deficit at the top of the Bundesliga to just two points.
Cheered on by a vocal travelling support of some 8,000, Dortmund - unbeaten in six games, winning five - settled quickly.
Poland striker Robert Lewandowski - a reported target for Liverpool - stretched the Arsenal backline, with Kagawa forcing a low save from Wojciech Szczesny.
Block
It was nearly 20 minutes before the home side mounted a serious attack, with Aaron Ramsey's pass sending Theo Walcott away down the right. Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller was out quickly to make the block.
There was then a delay after Thomas Vermaelen and Sven Bender collided when they challenged for a 50-50 ball, with the Dortmund midfielder falling awkwardly and eventually needing to be carried off on a stretcher, replaced by Moritz Leitner.
Dortmund were forced into another unplanned change when much-hyped 19-year-old Gotze, who scored the goal that saw off Bayern and who has been linked with a £30million move to Arsenal, limped off and Croatian Ivan Perisic came on.
Walcott continued to be the main outlet down the right for Arsenal, and he was correctly flagged just offside from Van Persie's pass as he ran through to tap the ball into the net.
The England man turned provider when he drilled in a low ball across the six-yard box, which Weidenfeller palmed away just as Van Persie looked set to pounce.
Dortmund continued where they had left off at the start of the second half, as Per Mertesacker hacked the ball behind for a corner.
However, the Gunners had the lead after 49 minutes.
Song charged down the left, before barging his way through three defenders with no little skill and chipping the ball towards the far post.
On cue
Van Persie arrived on cue to send in a downwards header, which Weidenfeller got a hand to, but could not keep out as the frontman made it 16 goals for his season.
After Dortmund rallied, Arsenal had a great chance to double their lead as Ramsey's toe-poke put Gervinho clear.
Although the Ivory Coast forward rounded the goalkeeper, he had allowed covering defender Mats Hummels enough time to knock the ball behind.
As the match entered the final 20 minutes, Gervinho was replaced by on-loan Chelsea midfielder Yossi Benayoun as Wenger looked to protect his side's lead.
Walcott was also withdrawn in the latter stages, giving Abou Diaby the chance to make a welcome return from another frustrating spell on the sidelines.
Van Persie made sure of victory after 87 minutes when he swept home unmarked at the far post following Vermaelen's flick from a corner.
Dortmund gave their excellent supporters a consolation goal when Kagawa shot home from close range in stoppage time.
With Olympiakos winning in Marseille, the Germans mathematically still have something to play for in their final group match, but they most likely face the prospect of Europa League football at best.
Arsenal, though, can head to Athens next month safe in the knowledge qualification and crucially top seeding for the last 16 is assured - which means there will, for now at least, be no chance of another clash with the likes of Barcelona.
| Arsenal |
Team Statistics |
Borussia Dortmund |
| 2 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 3 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
| 1 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 1 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 4 |
Corners |
4 |
| 12 |
Fouls |
23 |
| 6 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 3 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 76.1 |
Passing Success |
72.3 |
| 38 |
Tackles |
32 |
| 73.7 |
Tackles Success |
71.9 |
| 59.4 |
Possession |
40.6 |
| 38.8 |
Territorial Advantage |
61.2 |
| 540 |
Total Passes |
368 |
| 14 |
Total Crosses |
14 |
| 207 |
Lost Balls |
192 |
| 71 |
Recoveries |
70 |
|
