Dream debut and goal for Karetsas, while Tzolis stands out for Arsenal
Borussia Dortmund emerged victorious at the Emirates Stadium, defeating Arsenal 3-2 to lift the Emirates Cup in a match with a strong Greek presence. Konstantinos Karetsas marked his Dortmund debut with a goal, while at the other end, Christos Tzolis played a decisive role for Arsenal.
The German side took the lead as early as the seventh minute through Samuele Inacio. In the 29th minute, Karetsas doubled Dortmund’s advantage with an impressive individual move and an excellent finish. Earlier, Arsenal had come close to scoring, with Viktor Gyokeres hitting the woodwork.
The Gunners responded in the second half. In the 54th minute, Ethan Nwaneri made it 2-1 after being set up by Tzolis. However, just four minutes later, Joan Gadou restored Dortmund’s two-goal advantage. Tzolis continued to cause problems for the German defence and won a penalty in the 69th minute, which Gyokeres converted to reduce the deficit to 3-2.
Arsenal pushed for an equaliser until the final whistle and thought they had found it in stoppage time when Gabriel Martinelli put the ball into the net. However, the goal was ruled out for offside. Dortmund held on to secure the 3-2 victory and lift the trophy, with Karetsas stealing the spotlight on his debut and Tzolis producing an impressive performance for Arsenal.
Team Line-ups
Arsenal: Kepa Arrizabalaga (Meslier 46’), Ben White (Julienne 79’), Cristhian Mosquera (Ogunnaike 78’), Gabriel Magalhaes (Salmon 60’), Riccardo Calafiori (Hincapie 61’), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Vieira 78’), Martin Odegaard (Nwaneri 33’), Kai Havertz (Ceadach O’Neill 78’), Max Dowman (Ibrahim 79’), Viktor Gyokeres (Gabriel Jesus 77’), Christos Tzolis (Martinelli 78’).
Borussia Dortmund: Alexander Meyer, Daniel Svensson (Yamamoto 90’), Samuele Inacio (Prates 59’), Ramy Bensebaini (Reggiani 78’), Joan Gadou, Jobe Bellingham, Felix Nmecha (Guirassy 59’), Filippo Mane, Konstantinos Karetsas (Chukwuemeka 46’), Maximilian Beier (Sabitzer 59’), Fabio Silva (Albert Mathis 59’).