A match that had been billed as a meeting of two brilliantly fluid midfields ended up providing something more mixed, marked out in the main by two contrastingly excellent centre-forward displays from Olivier Giroud and, decisively, Robert Lewandowski, who was subdued where Giroud was at times hugely forceful, but provided an expert finish for a superbly well-worked winning goal in a 2-1 victory that was narrowly against the head.
Arsenal may have lost here but there will be some consolations. First, they played well for the middle hour of this match, pushing last year's losing finalists back for long periods. And secondly this was a nicely varied Arsenal display, their inspiration coming not from that fluid central core, but from Plan B (yes, there is one) in the shape of an excellent, driving performance from Giroud.
Earlier this week there had even been some slightly fevered suggestions that Arsenal, blessed now with a revolving carousel of soft-shoed creators, might have the best midfield in Europe. A little premature perhaps. Only time will tell if they have the best midfield in North London - just as the question here was whether they could reasonably claim to have the best midfield in Champions League Group F.
Dortmund remain one of Europe's aristocrats, not to mention a team perfectly geared to test Arsenal's adolescent strength in central areas. For long periods this was a tightly-packed and airless experience for Arsenal's cavaliers as Dortmund pressed selectively but with great cohesion. At times in the first half they even performed the neat trick perfected by Bayern Munich of appearing to have more than the regulation 10 outfield players, swarming selectively in their high-viz shirts.
This Arsenal team, however, do have something beyond those midfield riches. In fact this season they have a genuinely compelling centre-forward in Giroud 2.0 - now leaner, more aggressive, more team-orientated and with energy levels that appear to have been thoroughly Wenger-ised in the close season. Here Giroud was exceptional throughout the first half, and exceptional in an exceptional way too. It is easier for a centre-forward to excel in a team that finds itself pouring forwards behind him.
Giroud did something different here, leading Arsenal back into this match when they might have been on the verge of being shut out of it by Dortmund's yellow-hued midfield suffocation. This was a brave performance as well as a skilful and mobile one, and it came against genuinely high-grade opponents. In fact Giroud lost nothing by comparison with Lewandowski, leading his team forward from the front in what is, let's face it, a most un-Arsenal like manner. Centre forwards have been unfashionable at times in recent years, the bulkier sort occasionally appearing on the verge of being swept to one side like an outdated combine harvester. Here though was a physically commanding non-false No9 taking his hatchet to one of Europe's most stately back-lines.
Before kick-off Dortmund's supporters were as ever a brilliant spectacle of concentrated yellow in the Emirates' designated singing section (otherwise known as the away end). It is often overlooked as they battle bravely as domestic underdogs against Bayern that this is a huge club in its own right, with a sense of well-seasoned pedigree on these European nights. And while Mesut Özil may have raised both Arsenal's technical levels and their expectations this was a concerted step up from what Arsenal have faced so far this season.
In Sven Bender Dortmund have perhaps the most effective midfield space-destroyer in Europe, and a player ideally equipped both by physique and tactical sense to intrude on the spaces in which Özil thrives. Here Bender began the game by taking the ball away from Özil in a deep central area with a nudge of the hip, part of a pattern as a pair of five-men midfields effectively smothered one another for long periods.
Dortmund of course have a waspishly energetic forager of their own in Marco Reus, another from the apparently endless production line of intelligent, two-footed, German creative midfielders with a neatness to his game and a startlingly swift lateral acceleration, which he used here to create the opening goal. Robbed by Aaron Ramsey on the edge of the Arsenal box Reus sprang sideways to win it straight back and nudge to Lewandowski, who provided the perfect lay up for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to ease a nonchalantly wrong-footing finish past Wojciech Szczesny.
Giroud it was who led the Arsenal fight-back. First he might have won a penalty on 22 minutes, strong-arming his way past Marcel Schmelzer and then luring Mats Hummels into a controlled and deliberate trip. Quarter of an hour later it was Giroud's full-throttle persistence that led to Tomas Rosicky finding space for a shot that Hummels cleared off the line. And on 42 minutes he scored the goal he deserved, seizing on some hesitation between Hummels and Roman Weidenfeller to smash-volley the loose ball into the empty net. Terrible defending, yes, but induced no doubt in part by Giroud's elegant buffeting.
And so Arsenal began to dominate both territory and possession in the second half as Özil, switched to the right wing as Jack Wilshere went off, began to find space away from the Nuri Sahin-Bender lockdown in the centre. It was from Özil's low cut back that Santi Cazorla trimmed the bar with a fierce shot as Arsenal began to drive forwards, finding their Premier League gear in the final 20 minutes. To little avail as Dortmund stirred decisively and Lewandowski finally scored in England, a lovely finish to a flowing move.
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