Soccer: Arsenal, Dortmund both need boost

Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund are searching for form before tomorrow's Champions League clash in the Ruhr.

While the German champions suffered an unexpected 2-1 home defeat by Hertha Berlin, leaving them in mid-table, Arsene Wenger's side were one bad miss away from continuing their demoralising start to the season.

If Swansea's normally reliable Danny Graham had not spooned a golden chance over the bar in added time, Arsenal would still have been looking for their first win. As it was, their laboured success was achieved courtesy of a goalkeeping howler.

Apparently over the trauma of Old Trafford - "Why can't Wenger eat three Shredded Wheat? Because Fergie eight-two" - the urbane Frenchman was a calmer figure again yesterday, though his heart must have thumped unhealthily as Wojciech Szczesny failed to grasp a late corner and Graham blew the Welsh side's best chance of their first goal at this exalted level since Bob Latchford scored at Old Trafford in May 1983.

That venue is likely to loom large over Arsenal's season, for all the manager's excuses that his side had been drained by a tough play-off against Udinese four days earlier. They were only involved in that because they lost out on third place at the end of last season to Manchester City, who now look in a different league altogether.

Pushed at last into spending £26 million ($50.4 million) on five new players right at the end of the transfer window, Wenger was able to take some consolation from the debuts of three of them on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta was the best of the trio, suggesting from the start that he might rediscover the quality absent from his final season at Everton.

Yossi Benayoun joined him in midfield for the last half an hour, offering greater energy and dynamism than Andrei Arshavin, which is not hard.

Yet the infuriating Arshavin had won the game, scoring from close to the byline after Michael Vorm's throw-out hit his right-back Angel Rangel.

Arteta and Benayoun are still not Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, so Arsenal will need Jack Wilshere and Ramsey to continue their development at a rapid rate when they are reunited after the former's injury.

The third newcomer on show, Germany's lanky central defender Per Mertesacker, mostly acquitted himself well and should form an improved partnership with another current injury victim, Thomas Vermaelen.

"He's calm and composed and he talks and communicates," Wenger said. "When a German communicates, you listen."

Mertesacker's tips may be handy. He has already said of Dortmund: "They do a good job passing the ball ... it will be a very difficult match for us."

As for Swansea's Jacks, if they are to be as good as their Premier League masters, they must start scoring some goals.

- Independent