In fact, such was the depth of their despair that those who had cheekily tipped Arsenal to end their seven-year trophy drought by finishing third in Group F and going on to lift the Europa League may have wondered whether they had been a little ambitious in backing a team apparently in terminal decline to reach such 'heady' heights so soon.
Now, after the agony of that horrible 8-2 defeat at Manchester United and what was arguably an even more desperate afternoon that ended in a 4-3 loss against lowly Blackburn at Ewood Park, Arsenal find themselves delighting in a run of form that is being celebrated by supporters whose optimism is slowly edging upwards once again.
In many ways, the slump in expectations inspired by that early season misery has removed all the pressure from Arsenal, with supporters who had written off this campaign as one that would produce little more than agony daring to believe anything and everything is possible once again.
Skipper Robin van Persie was their matchwinner once more, with the Dutchman's two goals taking his tally to a remarkable 38 goals in his last 41 games. A one-man team maybe, but if that man is RVP then throwing all your eggs into his basket is a wise move.
Still, Arsenal took their time to click into gear against a Dortmund side who threatened to offer a potent threat to their hopes in a closely contested and somewhat dour first half. The Germans may well have edged them in the early exchanges, even though they lost Mario Gotze after half an hour with a knee injury, with their magnificent travelling supporters chanting their way through what proved to be a final night on their Champions League travels. Bouncing and clapping in impressive unison, the yellow-shirted travelling hordes were the stars of the first half.
Kicking towards their fanatical followers in the second, Shinji Kagawa had a chance to hand Dortmund a flying start when he sliced through the Arsenal defence and was denied by a smart save from Wojciech Szczesny, yet it was to be their final chance to claim the win they needed to keep their qualification hopes on track.
Uncharacteristic skill saw Alex Song burst past four players to free himself brilliantly on the left flank and stand up a cross that picked out Van Persie at the back post. Inevitably, the form striker in European football made the most of his first chance of the evening as his head was placed perfectly to find a way past Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller.
Van Persie's second in the closing stages added icing to the Arsenal cake and Kagawa's last-gasp consolation counted for little on a night when finding flaws in the Arsenal make up were not necessary. This was a moment for Wenger to gloat in his achievement of sparking a comeback from the brink of his previously unthinkable demise and he did just that as he met the media.
"We were drawn in a difficult group and when you consider the place we were in at the start of this journey, it's remarkable that we find ourselves qualified with a game to spare," said a perfectly-groomed Wenger. "You would not have been wise to bet too much money on us being in this position when we were struggling against Udinese in a play-off a few weeks ago, but we have worked hard to be here."
His praise of talisman Van Persie was typically fulsome; he believes the burden of the captaincy has helped rather than hindered his mental approach to the game. "Robin is a guy who focuses completely on football in his life," he suggested. "He thinks about it night and day and I always believed he could help to turn our season around. He is on an amazing scoring run at this moment and the goals are coming for him without even needing to think."
Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp spoke of his side's 'lack of application in the final third' and lamented the early loss through injury of Sven Bender and Mario Gotze, but the truth was his side had not fought hard enough to maintain their Champions League hopes for this season. 'Must do better' would be the epitaph of their return to Europe's biggest stage.
As for the new-look Arsenal, well they may be relying a little too heavily on Van Persie and it is impossible to ascertain at this point whether this brief run of success can be converted into genuine success in the next few months, but at least Wenger and his troops have navigated a way out of the dark hole they fell into at the start of this season.
All involved are relieved to be glimpsing some shafts of light once again.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Alex Song
Song deserved to claim this honour thanks to his moment of magic on the flank that set up Van Persie for his opener. The dribble that preceded his pinpoint cross was delightful.
ARSENAL VERDICT
Their steady progress shows no sign of waning and with their Champions League commitments all but complete for the next three months, they can focus on their pursuit of a top-four finish in the Premier League. They could just be about to defy their critics and achieve that feat.
DORTMUND VERDICT
A decent first half fizzled out for the visitors who failed to make the most of the half chances that came their way. Their heads seemed to drop after Van Persie's first goal and they will have to beat Marseille 4-0 and hope Arsenal beat Olympiakos to secure progress.
THOMAS THE TANK
The return to fitness of Thomas Vermaelen has given an quick fix to an Arsenal defensive line that looked incapable of keeping out a balloon coming in their direction at half a mile an hour a few weeks ago. They will face sterner tests than Dortmund provided, but even the accident-prone Per Mertesacker looks more secure alongside the impressive Vermaelen.
Source: Kevin Palmer, ESPN Soccernet on 23 Nov 11
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