Slavia Praha 1-2 Arsenal: Gyökeres stars, but Arsenal hang on in Prague

First half: Arsenal in control

Arsenal went ahead in the 9th minute. Gyökeres held up David Raya’s long ball and played Noni Madueke in behind, and Madueke finished under Nazar Domchak from the right of the box. It was Madueke’s fourth Champions League goal and his first in 10 games, since a brace against Club Brugge last season.

Mikel Merino went close twice, with a scooped shot tipped over by Domchak and then a looped header onto the roof of the net. Arsenal doubled the lead in the 38th minute. They won the ball back high up the pitch, Merino slid it through, and Gyökeres finished from the left of the area. Gabriel glanced a header off target on the stroke of half-time. Slavia managed just one off-target attempt before the break.

Second half: Slavia come back

Slavia were a different team after the restart, and Oskar Kubiak nearly scored 22 seconds in, with Raya pushing away his curler. In the second half Slavia had 16 shots (2.17 expected goals) and six on target. Arsenal had four shots worth 0.19 xG.

Raya flapped at a 75th-minute corner, and Mojmír Chytil’s header was cleared off the line by Gabriel. Raya then clawed away a Kubiak header that hit the post and stayed out. In the 90th minute, David Jurásek recycled a cleared long throw and Raya was drawn to the ball. Wiktor Nowak tapped into an empty net. Arsenal held on for the win.

Gyökeres: the standout

Gyökeres has eight goal involvements (five goals, three assists) in his last 10 starts for Arsenal in all competitions. In the Champions League he has 16 (12 goals, four assists) in 25 appearances, and only Zlatan Ibrahimović has more among Swedes (48 goals, 24 assists). He has two assists in his last two games, as many as he had in his first 23 games for Sporting and Arsenal.

Records and streaks

• Arsenal are unbeaten in 19 Champions League games (W14 D5, excluding shootouts) and third in the table with 10 points from four games.
• They have now gone 32 games without defeat after going 1-0 up in the competition. The last loss was 2-1 to Lens in October 2023.
• They have 13 wins in all competitions this season, joint-most in Europe’s big five leagues with Barcelona and Real Madrid.
• Since 2024-25, only PSG (25) have won more Champions League games than Arsenal (23).
• Arsenal have never lost in seven European away games against Czech clubs (W6 D1).
• Slavia’s winless run is now 23 European Cup games (D8 L15), equalling AEK Athens and FCSB for the longest ever. Manager Jindřich Trpišovský has the longest winless run by a Champions League manager, at 18 matches.

What it means

Arsenal take three points and stay unbeaten, but the second-half numbers are a warning. Slavia scored late again, with three of their five Champions League goals this season coming in the 88th minute or later. Two of Wednesday’s biggest chances came from a corner and a long throw. Arsenal face Dortmund, Real Madrid and Betis next, and they will need to keep control after going ahead.

Source: Opta Analyst.