The 2-0 defeat away to Arsenal FC in the UEFA Champions is not the end of the world in terms of the table, but it was, as Matthias Ginter put it, “a step back”, while Neven Subotic insisted that “the level of performance we produced tonight will not be enough against Anderlecht” in the last game of the group stage.

Neven Subotic: “We wanted to play with confidence and courage, but after conceding a goal so early in the game that proved to be difficult. We sat too deep tonight. Arsenal had way too much time on the ball. In the second half things looked a bit better but that wasn't the level at which we can play. Too often we were late coming into challenges and couldn't put our opponents under any real pressure. Looking at our performance today, it was not an undeserved defeat for us. Now we must seal the group in the last match at home, but the level of performance we produced tonight will not be enough against Anderlecht.”

“Arsenal were much more aggressive”

Michael Zorc: “Overall, Arsenal were more robust, more physical and much more aggressive. We had five against three, yet still conceded the opening goal and were forced to chase the game. All in all, it was a deserved defeat. It wasn't a great performance by us. Up to now we haven't been able to follow up our Champions League victories with a win in the Bundesliga. Maybe this time things will be different. The positive from this game is that we didn’t lose the head-to-head against Arsenal, meaning a draw against Anderlecht could be enough to win the group. But that’s about all the positives we can draw from this game.”

image
Marcel Schmelzer: “It wasn’t a good performance.”

Lukasz Piszczek: “The early goal opened the game up for Arsenal. We were too passive in the opening 10 minutes, and that’s why we conceded. We tried to turn the game around, created some chances, but in the end it was not enough. Arsenal did a good job, they played a high line to begin with and attacked us early on. We lacked a bit of creativity.”

Matthias Ginter: “We didn't play well. We created hardly any scoring chances. In the first half we had little possession. And when we did get the ball there wasn't enough movement and we were pressed back. It was the opposite in the second half when Arsenal played deeper, but we we still couldn't figure out how to break them down. We have made a bit of progress in the last couple of weeks, but our performance in London was a step back.”

Marcel Schmelzer: “We knew they would put us under pressure right from the start, but we still weren't able to prevent the goal. That was exactly what Arsenal wanted. We struggled to get into the game. We can’t even say that we managed to find a foothold on the game. We created two or three chances and could have even scored, but overall it wasn’t a good performance.”