Borussia Dortmund saw off Arsenal 3-2 in the Emirates Cup on Sunday but lost 5-4 on penalties after Mathis Albert's effort from 12 yards was saved by Illan Meslier.
Niko Kovac's side outclassed the reigning Premier League champions with some cutting edge finishing though questions remained over their defensive resilience.
Goals from Samuele Inacio and Konstantinos Karetsas had put the BVB 2-0 up at the break before Ethan Nwaneri pulled one back for the Gunners shortly into the second half.
In the 58th minute, just four minutes from Nwaneri's strike, Joane Gadou restored Dortmund's two-goal advantage from a corner but Arsenal had their second a while later from the penalty spot.
A mistimed challenge from Kaua Prates on Christos Tzolis gave the hosts a penalty which Viktor Gyokeres converted to make it 3-2.
They thought they had equalized in stoppage-time from a corner of their own but the referee ruled it out for offside as Dortmund won the clash in normal time.
In the penalty shootouts though, Albert's attempt was saved by Meslier as Arsenal converted all five of theirs to prevail 5-4 and salvage some pride.
Dortmund come flying out of the blocks
Borussia Dortmund made five changes to their lineup from the match to FC Tokyo last weekend as head coach Niko Kovac fielded a completely new backline with Alexander Meyer coming back in-between the sticks for Patrick Drewes while Joane Gadou, Filippo Mane and Ramy Bensebaini formed the back-three as Bensebaini made his first preseason appearance after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Latest signing Konstantinos Karetsas was also handed his club debut.
Die Schwarzgelben came racing out of the gates and took only seven minutes to go in front as Inacio completed a lovely team-move that left Arsenal exposed at the back. Fabio Silva controlled the ball near the edge of the box after receiving a pass from Daniel Svensson and made a quick turn to lay it off for Felix Nmecha, who in-turn cheekily passed it right between two Arsenal players for Inacio to latch on to and the Italian teenager sumptuously finished it beyond Kepa Arrizabagala for 1-0.
In the 29th minute, Karetsas doubled their advantage with a brilliant solo effort as Daniel Svensson won back possession before the halfway and quickly laid it on for the Greek international, who calmly took the ball into his stride and went hell for leather, racing into the Arsenal half completely unmarked before cutting onto his left and curling a peach of a strike into the bottom corner.
Arsenal regurgitate in second half but Dortmund hold on
Borussia Dortmund appeared to lose control of the match after going 2-0 up as Arsenal came close to scoring a few times but lacked the cutting edge to make them count. But the script changed after the break with Ethan Nwaneri making it 2-1 for the Premier League champions with a close-range finish off Christos Tzolis' lay-off.
Only four minutes later though, Dortmund restored their two-goal advantage after the Gunners failed to clear a corner. Samuele Inacio knocked it into the box that resulted in some scuffle near the byline before it was played to Joane Gadou, who chested it down and slammed it home as the BVB led 3-1.
Arsenal were handed another chance to reduce the deficit when substitute Kaua Prates, who was also making his debut for Dortmund today, brought down Tzalis inside the box and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Viktor Gyokeres stood up to the take it and sent Meyer the wrong way and bring the English champions within a goal of Dortmund.
They seemed to have equalized in stoppage-time through Gabriel Martinelli after he played a corner short to Gabriel Jesus, who made a squared it back to him with a cheeky backpass and the Brazilian raced forward inside the box before arrowing a low-drive beyond Meyer, but much to Arsenal's chagrin, it was ruled out for offside.
Dortmund lose in penalty shootouts
While the Bundesliga giants won the match in normal time, Arsenal took the cake in penalty shootouts after Mathis Albert's effort was saved by Illan Meslier. Until then, the scores were level at 3-3, but Arsenal led thereafter with Martinelli dispatching his attempt before Nwaneri struck the winning kick.
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