Friday 25 October 2013

Arsenal 1-2 Borussia Dortmund (Fiddler's Elbow, Salt Lake City)


I'm in Salt Lake City, Utah the land of the Mormons and the latest city on my quest.

My 'unbeaten' run has come to an end, or at least that's the case for the Champions League. Thankfully, that #KeepGoonerOnTheRoad hashtag still applies to the Premier League, where we haven't lost a game whilst I've been out of the country.

Although my time in SLC was short, I managed to make the most of it by visiting the Mormon Temple and seeing some of the wonderful scenery on offer. For the first time, I had a rental car at my disposal so I took a drive into the mountains to see what Mother Nature had done to this continent when she was at her most creative. I wasn't disappointed, this was the first real opportunity I had to get away from all the concrete jungles I had stopped off at previously and, on the way it made me feel emotionally, it's been the highlight of my trip on the road so far.

Beautiful, and just a stones throw from Salt Lake City
The Gooners in Salt Lake City are few and far between in comparison to other supporters clubs, but there is no loss of passion. Unfortunately, I didn't get to witness this group at their most passionate because we lost to Dortmund and, as you can see by the picture below, we were all a bit down. They are all blaming it on the fact that, for the first time on the road, I was drinking an orange juice rather than a beer. They told me to get out of Utah...

Not exactly a happy bunch of Gooners after the Dortmund loss
The match itself was actually a good one for the neutral to watch. In the end we were subject to a few bad decisions and, despite Giroud demonstrating once again his determination levels, we succumbed to our first Champions League defeat of the season. We missed Flamini, whilst Özil had his quietest game so far in an Arsenal shirt. Still, it is what it is, we're still top of the group, still top of the league and we don't have to worry about playing a team called 'Sheriff' on Thursdays. And of course, we know what we're capable of doing to German opposition on their own turf.

COYG

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