Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud Are Right to Say Arsenal Have No Need to Panic

In Arsenal’s last Champions League match, they were narrowly beaten by Borussia Dortmund, and the defeat has cast some doubt over their progression from the group stage. The Gunners will now almost certainly need to pick up points in one of two tricky away ties in Naples and Dortmund.

The fans leaving the Emirates Stadium were a little deflated. This was comfortably Arsenal’s biggest test since their August clash with Tottenham, and they faltered. Supporters may have wondered whether their great start to the season was merely down to a kindly quirk of the fixture list.

There’s no need for such despondency. This was Arsenal’s first defeat since the opening day of the season.

Arsenal lost to a sucker punch of a counter-attack at a point when they were dominating the game. What’s more, there’s no shame in losing to a Dortmund side who reached the Champions League final last season. The fact Arsenal were chasing three points rather than one is indicative of their enormous confidence. One defeat alone is not enough to halt their momentum.

As Olivier Giroud told the club's official website:

"

We lost but have won almost every game. Just Villa and West Brom [were not victories] so it's not the time to be really worried, but we want to come back on Saturday and win the game.

"

Regarding Champions League progression, Arsenal should be confident that they are more than capable of picking up results at the Westfalenstadion and Stadio San Paolo, as the players retain belief.

Jack Wilshere told the official Arsenal website:

"

There are three games left, and nine points to play for, so it's still in our hands. We know what we have to do. We've got a difficult game away to Dortmund next. It will be a hostile atmosphere but we've been there before and I thought we were unlucky not to win there. We've got the players to do it, we have to regroup and show our spirit now.

"

Arguably, this is a good time to regroup. Arsenal’s reality check may have arrived at the perfect moment.

After this weekend’s game with Crystal Palace, the Gunners face Chelsea, Liverpool, Dortmund and Manchester United in quick succession. Perhaps a timely defeat will increase Arsenal’s focus ahead of what could be a season-defining run of fixtures.

This is no time for supporters to panic. It’s clear that the players remain calm, and the manager seems relatively sanguine, too. Arsenal’s Champions League draw meant that they were always going to endure some difficult games, but it's not an irretrievable situation, and meanwhile their domestic campaign remains very much on track.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2013/14 season. Follow him on Twitter here.