By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Borussia Dortmund claimed the Emirates Cup on Sunday after beating Arsenal 3-2 in a thrilling final at the Emirates Stadium, with the German side holding off a late fightback from Mikel Arteta’s men.

Dortmund took control early and raced into a two-goal lead before half-time, with Samuele Inacio opening the scoring in the seventh minute before Konstantinos Karetsas doubled the advantage with a spectacular strike in the 29th minute.

Arsenal struggled to break down Dortmund’s defence in the opening period, although Viktor Gyökeres came close when his effort crashed against the crossbar.

The Gunners returned from the interval with greater urgency and pulled one goal back in the 54th minute through Ethan Nwaneri.

Nwaneri finished neatly inside the box after receiving a precise pass from Christos Tzolis, giving Arsenal renewed hope of completing a comeback.

But Dortmund immediately restored their two-goal cushion.

Four minutes later, Joane Gadou reacted quickest to a corner that had caused confusion inside the Arsenal box and calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 3-1.

Arsenal refused to surrender and were handed another lifeline in the 68th minute when they were awarded a penalty.

Gyökeres took responsibility and converted confidently a minute later, reducing the deficit to 3-2 and setting up a tense finish.

The Portuguese striker had earlier struck the crossbar, while Arsenal continued to push forward in search of an equaliser.

Arteta made a raft of substitutions in the closing stages as Arsenal threw more attacking players into the game, but Dortmund managed to protect their advantage.

Arsenal thought they had found a dramatic equaliser in stoppage time when Gabriel Martinelli put the ball in the net, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.

Dortmund survived the late pressure to secure a 3-2 victory and lift the Emirates Cup, while Arsenal were left to reflect on another pre-season defeat.