Gunners will bounce back, insists Wilshere

Jack Wilshere insists Arsenal will recover after being outclassed by Borussia Dortmund in a disturbing start to their Champions League group campaign.

Ciro Immobile and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck in a 2-0 midweek victory for the Bundesliga club, but the winning margin should have been a landslide after the Gunners were overwhelmed at Signal Iduna Park.

It was clearly their toughest fixture in Group D but the dismal performance has raised concerns over their ability to make any meaningful impact in Europe. Adding to the despondency is the ankle injury that forced Wilshere off in the closing stages.

Arsene Wenger played down the severity of the sprain, but a more informed assessment is expected ahead of Saturday’s League trip to Aston Villa. “We’ll bounce back. Our next Champions League game (against Galatasaray on October 1) is at home and hopefully we’ll get the three points,” Wilshere said.

Arsenal’s shortcomings have left Wenger open to criticism on multiple fronts and the Frenchman faces some tough decisions.

Dortmund ran amok in midfield, exposing club captain Mike Arteta’s inability to shield the defence against bright opponents who think and act quickly. Again Mesut Ozil drifted anonymously around the pitch, playing a couple of sublime passes but otherwise contributing little and his substitution on the hour mark was barely noticed.

Wenger hopes to have full-backs Nacho Monreal and Calum Chambers available for Villa after they missed out against Dortmund through injury and illness, but problems persist in defence.

Misfortune has robbed Arsenal of Mathieu Debuchy but Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker were poor at Signal Iduna Park. Wenger’s refusal to add quality defensive cover other than Chambers and Debuchy over the summer has now returned to haunt him.

And the manager must hope striker Danny Welbeck begins hitting the target soon.