Borussia Dortmund 1 v Arsenal 1 - The Sun

ARSENE WENGER attempted the mind games in Germany last night but had no answer to the wonderful left boot of Ivan Perisic.

Arsenal looked set for a win they hardly deserved before the Dortmund sub grabbed a stunning equaliser with two minutes left.

Watching from the stands due to his touchline ban, Wenger will probably have left a few boot marks on the seat in front of him.

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Yet, as heart-breaking and dramatic as this result was last night, the Gunners boss could not have too many complaints.

After just 12 minutes, Arsenal could have been 3-0 down.

No one saw Robin van Persie's tremendous 42nd-minute strike coming.

Then a mixture of bravery and good luck saw Arsenal so close to the finishing line before Perisic's stunner.

Yet when you look at the last month Wenger has suffered, a draw at the Bundesliga champions is hardly a disaster.

Arsenal's away results have been patchy over the years but they have still managed to get into the final stages of the Champions League.

Whether they will do so with this team remains to be seen.

Centre-backs Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny were all over the place during one horrendous first-half spell, while new boys Yossi Benayoun and Mikel Arteta were lightweight.

Alex Song, particularly in the second half, delivered a towering performance, Bacary Sagna stood strong at the back while Wojciech Szczesny put his body on the line when he needed to.

Yet there were also worrying signs for Arsenal who, at times, were overwhelmed.

Although he threatened to send telepathic messages to his players, it seemed Wenger must have got into the heads of the Dortmund players who were left wondering how the hell they were not finding a way past Szczesny.

Some of Dortmund's midfield play was mesmerising with German wonderkid Mario Gotze a player Arsenal inquired about last month absolutely sensational.

The 19-year-old is a star to watch, there is no doubt.

Dortmund claim they would not listen to offers of even 300million for their starlet.

But considering they can only afford to pay Gotze 15,000 a week, you would not bet against this player performing in the Premier League or La Liga in a year's time.Arsenal were ripped apart three times in the opening 12 minutes with their centre-backs having a nightmare.

Kevin Grosskreutz wasted the first opportunity, then Shinji Kagawa sprinted clear of Mertesacker and Koscielny before rushing his effort.

Mertesacker should have looked immediately at home here considering he has only just arrived in a 9m move from Werder Bremen.

Yet he was struggling with the intensity and speed of Dortmund's game and that weakness will certainly feature in a few scouting reports this season.

Still not learning their lessons, Arsenal were again caught out with a ball over the top.

This time striker Robert Lewandowski rounded keeper Szczesny and thought he had scored only to be denied by a magnificent clearance off the line from Sagna.

Lewandowski wasted two more openings and was made to pay as Arsenal struck.

Dortmund midfielder Sebastien Kehl was guilty of some exceptionally sloppy play and lost possession, with Van Persie winning the ball and sending it to Theo Walcott.

The England winger then dissected the home defence with a brilliant pass for the Dutchman, who, having lost his marker, took the ball to the edge of the box.

Keeper Roman Weidenfeller was left completely exposed and, as he advanced, Van Persie thumped home a right-foot shot for his third goal of the season.

Wenger was still looking nervous, and when half-time came how he would have loved to have dived into a laundry basket like Jose Mourinho did during one of his bans and get into the dressing room.

This was Dortmund's first Champions League game for nine years and the 75,000 fans at the BVB Stadion were well up for it.

Gotze continued his wizardry after the break and found Marcel Schmelzer but, again, another poor finish was met with groans from the increasingly-frustrated punters.

Gervinho had a chance to grab a second but lacked a killer finish.

But when Szczesny made a terrific block from Neven Subotic, it seemed Arsenal would be heading back with all three points.

Yet Schmelzer's free-kick, although blocked by Kieran Gibbs, looped out to Perisic, who showed tremendous technique to fire a left-foot rocket past Szczesny.

For Wenger, though, it could have been a lot worse.