Arsenal vs. Borussia Dortmund: Are the Gunners under pressure to triumph in Sunday's Emirates Cup fixture?

Ahead of Arsenal's pre-season affable with Borussia Dortmund connected Sunday, Sports Mole's Site Coordinator Ben Knapton discusses the contest.

Ben Knapton, Site Coordinator: "How overmuch does it really matter?"

This Dortmund squad has mislaid 2 of their apical four scorers from last play though. Julian Brandt has gone to Ajax. Karim Adeyemi is now at Barcelona. 

Their pre-season has been mixed: 2 wins and 2 defeats. They bushed Tokyo 1-0 past clip out, with a victor from Fabio Silva, who the Wolves fans among america volition remember. 

He truly struggled past play with lone 3 goals successful each competitions, truthful helium is not the main threat. But Serhou Guirassy came disconnected the seat successful that game. 

He was the apical scorer past play by far, with 22 goals successful each competitions. He was formerly linked with Arsenal erstwhile they were looking for a caller striker. 

I retrieve him from his clip astatine Rennes, and successful a caller Champions League play helium was either winning oregon pushing hard for the Golden Boot. 

The Arsenal centre-backs volition person to ticker retired for him. Similarly, Maximilian Beier got 10 goals past play but interestingly played arsenic a helping backmost successful the Tokyo win. 

It'll beryllium absorbing to spot what presumption helium takes up. His German teammate Felix Nmecha had a decent World Cup for Germany: disappointing collectively, but helium was a subordinate who stood out. 

He's besides a subordinate Arsenal could beryllium facing successful the Premier League adjacent season, with Newcastle pushing for him arsenic their Bruno Guimaraes replacement. 

Finally, there's Konstantinos Karetsas, the 18-year-old Greek forward. Arsenal were linked with him past year, and determination were adjacent reports successful Greek media of precocious talks to motion him. 

That didn't travel off, but he's present astatine Dortmund, which is simply a fantastic determination for immoderate young player. Lots of creativity and tons of goals successful that Dortmund squad that Arsenal are going to person to support a lid on. 

It's ever that perpetual statement successful pre-season: however overmuch does it really matter? Any win, nary substance wherever you're playing oregon who you're playing, is simply a bully win, but it's not the be-all and end-all. 

Arsenal bushed Man City successful the 2023 Community Shield and ended up not winning the Premier League. 

They broke truthful galore goalscoring records that year, truthful possibly that momentum carried forward, but it didn't assistance them triumph a trophy astatine the extremity of the season. 

In 2020, they bushed Chelsea successful the FA Cup final, past bushed Liverpool successful the Community Shield. That 2020-21 play was truly poor, with Arsenal and relegation being utilized successful the aforesaid sentence. 

It's perfectly not the be-all and end-all, but you privation to triumph each game. Arteta said the players were fuming aft the Real Betis defeat, which is simply a truly bully sign. 

The goals came from mistakes, and it wasn't a wholly full-strength Arsenal team. In the expansive strategy of things, it doesn't mean truthful much. But this Arsenal squad are winners now. 

They've won the Premier League, and winners privation to triumph each azygous match. The Emirates Cup is simply a fixture Arsenal thin to crook up for. Their past 4 Emirates Cups, they've won. 

They bushed Athletic Club three-nil past season, bushed Lyon the twelvemonth before, Monaco connected penalties, and successful 2022 they bushed Sevilla six-nil.

During the banter years, we'd ever accidental 'oh, we've won a trophy' and it was the Emirates Cup, but thankfully we've won bigger trophies since then.