Having scored the only goal at Borussia Dortmund, Aaron Ramsey told UEFA.com that Arsenal FC’s success was down to their tactical discipline and defensive game plan.
The Welsh international, who struck against the run of play in the second half to take his tally to 13 for club and country this season, was “delighted” with his goal and described the result as a “great achievement” by the Premier League leaders. Meanwhile Dortmund’s Marco Reus rued a lack of incision from the hosts, suggesting a goalless draw would have been a fairer reflection given the balance of play, with his team now three points behind Arsenal and SSC Napoli in UEFA Champions League Group F.
Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal midfielder
It was a great achievement. We had a game plan, we stuck to it and it worked. Obviously I’m delighted with the goal and delighted for the team.
We had more possession in the first half. I looked at the stats at half-time and we had more of the ball, but we were always wary of what they were capable of doing. They proved in the reverse fixture that they’re good at defending and catching teams on the counterattack, so we stayed nice and solid. We restricted them to long-range efforts in the first half and managed to counterattack them and get the goal.
Both teams are quite similar in their styles. They like to get the ball down and play, create opportunities and defend well as a team. That’s something we’ve improved on over the last few seasons. They came to our place the other night and scored on the counterattack and we did the same to them tonight.
There’s still a lot of work to be done but we’re in a good position. We knew what we had to do and we did it, but there are two tough games to go to finish the job off.
Wojciech Szczęsny, Arsenal goalkeeper
It’s been a good week for us. We’ve got two clean sheets and two results against quality opposition, one away from home at one of the toughest venues in Europe. Real Madrid got battered here 4-1 last season, so it’s a good feeling to come away with three points.
It was definitely very tough but we expected Dortmund to press us very high up the pitch. We had our work cut out, but every time we managed to ease the pressure we looked quite dangerous. We were solid at the back for 90 minutes, took our chance when it came and it was pretty much a perfect performance from us.
With Aaron Ramsey it seems like every time he touches the ball it goes in the net, but the key to what we have done in recent weeks has been the defensive performances of the back four and the whole team. They’ve all made my job very easy. Hopefully we can keep it going.
Kieran Gibbs, Arsenal defender
It was a massive victory and it was important, especially after the first game, because we wanted to prove something and we’ve done that. We certainly didn’t do it in style, but the way we won shows we’ve got a certain character in the team now.
It’s not an easy place to come. Not many teams come here and get a result, so we can take that as a positive and we’ve put ourselves in a strong position. Now it’s important we take advantage of that.
I’ve no idea [why Ramsey is scoring so many goals]. I’m going to have to ask him what he’s been eating for breakfast because it seems to be doing the trick.
Marco Reus, Dortmund forward
It’s fair to say the more effective team won today. It was a hard-fought encounter without many chances. A lot of the game took place in midfield and there were a lot of misplaced passes. We weren’t incisive enough and we lacked that little bit of extra determination. Even so, we shouldn’t have lost the match.
They kept it compact in the areas we like to operate in, but we kept it tight at the back too. In truth it was a typical 0-0 game, but Arsenal have come away with the three points. We need to win both our final two games now and beat Napoli by two goals, but it’s still in our hands.
Robert Lewandowski, Dortmund forward
We should never have lost this game, but it’s too late for that now. We had plenty of time to put it right, but now we’re left with two games and six points needed to win. Sometimes football is like that. We had three or four good chances but didn’t score. They had just the one and scored. In the end, all that counts is the result. We have to beat Napoli now.
Nuri Şahin, Dortmund midfielder
In the first game we were the more effective side, but this time it was Arsenal. They beat us with a fortuitous goal. We could have pulled away with a victory today, but it wasn’t to be. Whoever wants to qualify from this group is going to have to win their final two matches. The same still goes for Arsenal, in my opinion. We have to move on. Life goes on and will go on. We just have to get the three points against Napoli.
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