Arsenal suffer a second straight pre-season defeat as Borussia Dortmund win the Emirates Cup 3-2.
Arsenal’s defensive problems continued as Borussia Dortmund beat them 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium to claim the Emirates Cup. The defeat was the Gunners’ second in a row during pre-season and leaves Mikel Arteta with plenty to address before the competitive campaign begins.
Just days after Arsenal conceded three goals against Real Betis, their defensive issues surfaced again against Dortmund. Samuele Inacio opened the scoring before 18-year-old Konstantinos Karetsas doubled the visitors’ advantage, leaving Arsenal two goals down at half-time despite creating opportunities of their own.
Viktor Gyokeres had one of Arsenal’s best chances before the interval, but the striker was unable to convert and also saw an effort hit the crossbar. The missed opportunities ultimately proved costly as Dortmund punished Arsenal’s defensive mistakes with impressive efficiency.
One of the brighter aspects of Arsenal’s performance was the display from new signing Christos Tzolis. The winger repeatedly looked dangerous, combining his pace with direct running and creating problems for Dortmund’s defence.
Another important pre-season workout. pic.twitter.com/I0iAOB1hVT
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 9, 2026
Ethan Nwaneri pulled one goal back after the restart following good work from Tzolis, giving Arsenal hope of completing a comeback. However, another defensive lapse from a corner allowed Joane Gadou to restore Dortmund’s two-goal advantage and put Arsenal under renewed pressure.
Tzolis refused to stop causing problems and was eventually rewarded when he won a penalty. Gyokeres stepped up and converted from the spot to make it 3-2, but Arsenal could not find the equaliser despite pushing forward during the closing stages.
The result will concern Arteta, particularly with the Community Shield against Manchester City now only seven days away. The Arsenal manager admitted after the match that his team had conceded poor goals in both recent defeats and stressed that their competitiveness and collective defending must improve.
“We conceded some poor goals the other day, some poor goals today, in the way we competed, especially,” Arteta said. “That’s a very collective responsibility. So, we need to improve with the players that we have.”
Arsenal have welcomed Bruno Guimaraes to the club, and after another defensive setback, Arteta will hope his squad can quickly find the balance and intensity required before the new season begins.
