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Gatting on goalless draw with Dortmund

Mike Gatting

Arsenal Under-19s coach Steve Gatting spoke to Arsenal.com after his side were held to a goalless draw by Borussia Dortmund Under-19s on Wednesday. 

Read a transcript of what he had to say below: 

on whether it was a point gained…
In the end, I think it was. We didn't lose but we could have easily won the game. We knew it would be a difficult game but these are the games the boys want to play in. Dortmund are a well-organised side and they defended well. I thought we played some good football at times, we got behind them and we missed a good chance to take the lead with the penalty but it's another lesson learnt for the team.

on Dortmund being difficult opponents to break down…
We knew they would be organised and we thought they would press us high up the pitch, which they did in the first half, but we played at a quick tempo and attacked down the flanks. In the second half they changed their system slightly and played five in midfield and one up front. We found that a bit more difficult to deal with.

on the importance of keeping a clean sheet…
It's a team thing. I think the whole team and the goalkeeper have got to take credit for keeping a clean sheet. The defence are organised at the moment but they get good support from the rest of the players.

on their position in the group…
We're in a good position and we said in the dressing room afterwards that we didn't win but we got a good point. If we keep that level of performance up we'll qualify comfortably and that's our main aim.

on the return game in Dortmund…
We know it will be a tough game. The onus might be more on them to attack us so that might leave more spaces for us to create chances.