Perisic’s late intervention denies Arsenal victory in Dortmund

ARSENAL were denied a victory in their Champions League encounter at Borussia Dortmund as an exquisite volley from substitute Ivan Perisic secured a last-gasp draw.

With manager Arsene Wenger forced to watch from the stands due to a touchline ban, it looked as if Robin van Persie had snatched an unlikely victory in Germany after the Gunners withstood a barrage of first-half attacks.

The Holland international latched onto Theo Walcott’s through ball to fire home three minutes before the break.

However, Dortmund continued to dominate in the second period with their brand of free-flowing football and their tactics paid dividend with just two minutes remaining.

The ball broke free to Perisic on the edge of the box and the summer signing unleashed a superb volley to equalise, much to the delight of the raucous home support who were watching their side in Champions League action for the first time in nine years.

Heading into the Group F clash, Yossi Benayoun was handed his first Arsenal start. The on-loan Chelsea midfielder was one of three changes to the side that defeated Swansea 1-0 at the weekend, with Alex Song and Gervinho coming in for Andrey Arshavin and the injured Aaron Ramsey.

While the home side dominated early proceedings, the north Londoners were looking dangerous in their fleeting attacks and Weidenfeller was forced to save well when Van Persie broke free. The Holland international was not be denied for long and, after winning possession on the halfway line, he ran onto a Walcott ball to fire past Weidenfeller.

Despite the visitors taking the lead, Dortmund stuck with their plan in the second period and continued to knock the ball around nicely.

With less than 15 minutes remaining, Arsenal brought on Emmanuel Frimpong for Walcott in a bid to shore things up as they strained to keep Dortmund at bay. Szczesny did well to prevent Neven Subotic scoring from close range in the 82nd minute. Gotze screwed wide moments later as Dortmund pressed for an equaliser, which came in the 88th minute through Perisic’s wonder goal. The ball fell kindly to the substitute from a corner and he unleashed a volley into the top right-hand corner.

Borrusia Dortmund: Weidenfeller, Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer, Bender, Kehl (Blaszczykowski 68), Gotze, Kagawa (Zidan 85), Grosskreutz (Perisic 69), Lewandowski. Subs Not Used: Langerak,Da Silva,Gundogan,Felipe Santana. .

Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Song, Arteta, Walcott (Frimpong 76), Benayoun, Gervinho (Andre Santos 86), van Persie (Chamakh 85). Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Park, Djourou, Arshavin.