Arsenal survived a frantic finish in Prague to beat Slavia Praha 2-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday night. Noni Madueke struck inside nine minutes and Viktor Gyokeres curled in a superb second before half-time, and although Wiktor Nowak tapped in a 90th-minute reply to set up a grandstand finish, Mikel Arteta's side held on for a third win from four in the league phase.
Madueke and Gyokeres do the damage early
Arsenal arrived at the Fortuna Arena with a side reshaped by the confirmed team news that brought William Saliba back into the squad and recalled Gyokeres to lead the line, with Bukayo Saka still missing. It took them just nine minutes to silence the home crowd. Gyokeres held the ball up and hooked a pass in behind, Madueke drove into the space, held off his marker and finished for 0-1, as Sky Sports' live coverage recorded.
The Swede was running the first half. On 38 minutes he played a one-two with Mikel Merino on the edge of the box, turned and curled his finish into the far corner past 19-year-old Nazar Domchak, the Slavia goalkeeper making his Champions League debut. It was the finish of a striker answering his critics, and it took Gyokeres to 16 goal involvements in this competition in his career. David Moses collected the half's only early booking, for a foul on Eberechi Eze, and Gabriel went close with a header cleared off the line as Arsenal threatened a third before the break.
The pattern was a familiar one for this Arsenal side in Europe. Just as in the 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich on Matchday 3, they struck early, controlled the middle of the game and trusted their defensive structure to do the rest — a structure built, on this night, around Ezri Konsa and Gabriel with Saliba held back on the bench on his return.
Slavia throw everything, Nowak sets up a frantic finish
The second half was a different game. Slavia, who rescued a 2-2 draw against Fenerbahce last time out after trailing 2-0, came out swinging. Oscar Kubiak forced David Raya into his first save from range, Emmanuel Ayaosi raced clear and saw an effort deflected behind, and Konsa was booked for a late challenge as the pressure built. Declan Rice followed him into the book for kicking the ball away.
The hosts' best moments came in a breathless five minutes. David Jurasek's deflected shot spun off Gabriel, who then cleared the resulting corner off his own line. From another corner, Merino caught Nowak with a head as both attacked the ball, and VAR checked for a penalty — but cleared it, ruling an honest attempt to head the ball, as TNT Sports' live commentary described. On 84 minutes Raya produced the save of the night, fingertipping a Kubiak header onto the post.
Arteta turned to his bench, sending on Cristhian Mosquera and Christos Tzolis, then Jurrien Timber and the returning Martin Odegaard for Gyokeres and Ben White. It was not enough to kill the noise. On 90 minutes a cross from the right evaded a crowd of bodies at the near post, including Raya, and Nowak tapped in — the goal surviving a VAR offside check. Five added minutes followed, Max Dowman came on for Madueke, Slavia won one last free-kick to launch forward, and Arsenal finally heard the whistle. There were no red cards and no penalties on a night that ended far closer than it should have.
So what: Arsenal third and in control, Slavia running out of road
Arsenal move to 10 points from four matches — three wins and the draw in Munich — and up to third in the league-phase table at the halfway mark, firmly inside the top eight and the automatic last-16 places. The run-in now comes home: Dortmund and Real Madrid both visit the Emirates next in this competition, and if Arteta's side handle those nights the way they handled the first 45 minutes here, a top-eight finish is theirs to lose.
For Slavia the late goal was deserved reward for a second half full of courage, but a defeat is a defeat. The Czech champions proved against Fenerbahce, and again here, that they can trouble elite sides at home — yet moral victories do not move a team towards the play-off places, and the second half of their league phase now has to produce real points, starting with turning pressure like tonight's into results. For Arsenal, the one concern is the fade: a side this controlled should not need a post, a goalline clearance and a VAR reprieve to close out a 2-0 lead.
Beyond the Final Whistle: this was two Arsenals in one night — the ruthless one that won the game in 38 minutes through Madueke and a Gyokeres performance that had a goal, an assist and hold-up play of the highest class, and the anxious one that spent the last half-hour defending its own box. Champions find ways to win both kinds of night, and 10 points from four games says Arsenal are becoming exactly that. But Arteta will not enjoy the replays of those final minutes. Was this a mature away win or a warning sign? Let us know in the comments.
