Arsenal have "lingering defensive issues" ahead of final pre-season friendly of the summer vs. Como

Following Arsenal's 3-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in pre-season, Sports Mole's Site Coordinator Ben Knapton discusses Sunday's fixture at the Emirates Stadium.

Ben Knapton, Site Coordinator: "Very frustrating for Arsenal"

Just like the Community Shield, if we had won the Emirates Cup it would be a major trophy; because we lost it, it's a completely inconsequential friendly. 

The performance itself, Arsenal were the dominant force throughout, certainly in terms of the overall game state. But that was another match, just like the Real Betis one, where the defensive absences of Saliba and Timber were well and truly felt. 

The Betis loss was more due to individual mistakes from Kepa and Kai Havertz. Breaking down the goals: the first goal for Dortmund was a really slick move down the right-hand side with Silva and Nmecha involved, then through to Inacio. 

Cristhian Mosquera gets caught by that blindside run, which Inacio spots and Mosquera doesn't. It's a brilliant finish. The second goal from Karetsas is just individual brilliance. 

He was linked with Arsenal quite a bit last year, showing them a little of what they're missing out on. Gabriel could maybe have closed him down a bit more, but it was his first start since the World Cup, so he was going to be a little rusty. 

The third goal, Arsenal have now conceded from set pieces against both Girona and Real Betis, and again it was a bit of a mess inside the penalty area. 

The players haven't played with each other before, and it's an unfamiliar goalkeeper. Meyer made a really good save from the first effort, but Dortmund just bundled it home. 

It was a mess defensively again, and another game that highlighted that Arsenal should ideally go to the market to sign another defender. A lot of people are saying this shows why Arsenal need more cover, because Mosquera got caught out for that first goal. 

Marli Salmon, still only 16, made a really good tackle on Guirassy in the second half, but you cannot expect him to be filling William Saliba's boots. 

At the other end, Odegaard did start but only got 30 minutes, as Arteta has been doing throughout pre-season with players coming back from the World Cup. He couldn't really impact proceedings that much. 

Dowman tried his best, but he's had better days; his decision-making was a little off here and there, but he's 16, so he'll learn from it. Tzolis was Arsenal's brightest spark, which was promising. 

A good cutback for Nwaneri, who couldn't miss, and then he won the penalty for Gyokeres to convert. To be fair to Borussia Dortmund, they were aggressive, had a good structure, and always looked threatening going forward. 

It was very frustrating for Arsenal to have that last-minute goal from Martinelli disallowed. Whether it was actually offside or not, we'll never know. 

It looked very tight, and with VAR that would have been one you'd spend three or four minutes trying to figure out. Arsenal did win the penalty shootout in the end, so it was basically a draw in my eyes rather than a defeat. 

It's more minutes in the legs, which is good, and we've got more players back from the World Cup in time for the Community Shield if not this game. But it was another match that highlighted some lingering defensive issues.