In 2007, Arsenal played Slavia Prague and won 7-0. A year ago, they dispatched the Czech opposition 3-0.
Well, everything was going rather swimmingly in the first-half of their latest encounter with Slavia on Wednesday night. The Gunners were 2-0 up and coasting to another Champions League when the whistle blew for the interval.
However, to coin a cliche, this really was a game of two halves. The hosts responded terrifically after the break and gave Mikel Arteta’s men a run for their money.
It took until the 90th minutes for them to find a way back into the game but Arsenal’s second half display was particularly unprofessional. It rightfully left Arteta with a sour taste in his mouth.
The big winners from Arsenal’s trip to Prague
Not everything was negative about Arsenal’s visit to Czechia in midweek, far from it. For 45 minutes, the Premier League champions were electric in the final third and looked every bit a Champions League contender.
They raced into a 1-0 lead courtesy of Noni Madueke who has really come of age in an Arsenal shirt since Bukayo Saka’s latest injury.
Signed for £52m from Chelsea in 2025, it has taken over a year for the winger to really find his groove but he is now growing into the shirt. His defensive work at Anfield last weekend earned plaudits but on this occasion he let his spellbinding attacking nature do the talking.
Madueke was a constant thorn in the Slavia defence, not just scoring but completing three dribbles, amassing two shots and winning the most duels (7) on the pitch.
|
Madueke vs Slavia Prague |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
90 |
|
Touches |
40 |
|
Accurate passes |
18/22 (82%) |
|
Chances created |
1 |
|
Shots |
2 |
|
Expected goals (xG) |
0.20 |
|
Successful dribbles |
3 |
|
Ball recoveries |
4 |
|
Ground duels won |
7/12 |
|
Aerial duels won |
1/1 |
His goal was beautifully taken, racing onto Viktor Gyokeres’ through ball before sliding the ball under the goalkeeper with his weaker foot.
Gyokeres was also particularly vibrant. Was this his finest performance for Arsenal yet? Quite possibly.
It has been a difficult start to the campaign for the Swede but like Madueke, he is now rediscovering his mojo. The big centre-forward now has five goal involvements in his last five games.
His hold-up play on Wednesday night was exceptional but it was the way in which he took his goal that was most pleasing. No one has ever doubted the striker’s ability to find the net and he demonstrated in midweek why he is Arsenal’s best finisher with a ruthless strike from inside the penalty area.
Madueke and Gyokeres certainly came away from their trip with credit in the bank but not everyone did.
The losers from Arsenal’s win over Slavia
Arsenal are the masters of control. They simply exude it. This is a team who dominate the ball and don’t let you have anything in attack.
See their trip to Anfield last weekend. For the first time in Premier League history, Liverpool had failed to have a shot on target on their own patch. That tells you just how good the Gunners are defensively.
Alas, particularly in the second half of their match with Slavia Prague, they lacked control. It became chaotic, notably towards the end of the game.
Subs were made, strange subs at that from the manager and it meant the hosts were able to rally. Jurrien Timber came on for Ben White and struggled to get to grips with the pace of the game while the moment Ezri Konsa was replaced by Cristhian Mosquera, things also went pear shaped.
However, the true nature of Arsenal’s rocky second half can be substantiated by two players who were not subbed; Declan Rice and Mikel Merino.
Come the end of the game, Rice looked exhausted with many questioning why on earth he played the full 90 minutes. Speaking at full-time, the boss said: “He was rested against Fleetwood, so he had a very good week to recover. It’s the second one that he played, not the fifth one. We expect our players to be able to do that. I think he had some very good moments.”
Fair enough, but Arsenal have won games without Rice before and this felt like an opportune moment to rest his legs again.
Likewise Merino should have come off. The Spaniard registered the assist for Gyokeres’ first-half strike but that aside he was perhaps their worst player on the night.
Up front, the World Cup winner has been a relevation in Arsenal colours, scoring ten goals in 23 matches from that role. He’s also one of their most clutch players.
Yet, when Merino plays in midfield, he has traditionally struggled for the Gunners. That much was clear in Prague.
While this was not a disastrous display, you felt that Arsenal needed more creativity and more penetration from those zones just outside of the box. In creating just one key pass, he did not offer Arteta’s side enough in that regard. In fact, the manager was spotted remonstrating with both him and Timber at full-time.
Furthermore, he missed two big chances, failed to complete a dribble and for someone regarded as a duel monster, he won just six of his 14 battles.
The 30-year-old has been a fine servant since signing for £31m but there is a feeling now that he may have passed his best levels. Where does he get into this team on a regular basis? Sadly, it’s hard to see where.
