Slavia Prague 1-2 Arsenal: Nowak 90; Madueke 9, Gyokeres 38
Arsenal win but this turned out to be a rather uncomfortable night in Prague. Mikel Arteta’s side appeared to have Slavia Prague beaten long before the final whistle, only to spend the closing minutes fighting to preserve their lead.
Viktor Gyokeres was central to the victory as Arsenal continued their impressive European run. The Sweden striker provided the assist for Noni Madueke’s opener before scoring himself to put the visitors in control.
Slavia, however, refused to accept defeat without a fight. Wiktor Nowak pulled a goal back late on and David Raya was forced into a superb save in stoppage time as Arsenal held on for a 2-1 Champions League win.
The result extended Arsenal’s unbeaten run in European away games to 10 matches. It also left Slavia with an unwanted piece of history as they equalled the longest winless streak in European Cup and Champions League history, with 23 matches without victory.
Arteta made six changes after Sunday’s win at Liverpool, which sent Arsenal three points clear at the top of the Premier League. Gyokeres was among those given another opportunity to impress after scoring his first goal of the season in the Carabao Cup defeat to Fleetwood.
The 28-year-old took little time to make an impact. Raya’s long pass caused problems for the Slavia defence, whose failure to deal with the bouncing ball allowed Gyokeres to get ahead of his marker. He brought it under control before releasing Madueke, who raced through and finished past Nazar Domchak in the ninth minute.
Arsenal threatened to extend their advantage before the break. Mikel Merino came close on several occasions, but Domchak kept the hosts in the contest with a series of saves.
Slavia briefly threatened through Tomas Holes, who found space in the Arsenal penalty area but failed to hit the target. The home side were punished almost immediately as Gyokeres doubled the visitors’ lead.
The striker exchanged passes with Merino before finding space inside the box. He then opened up his body and curled a fine finish beyond Domchak and into the far corner. It was a welcome moment for a player who has struggled to find his best form since arriving at Arsenal.
The goal appeared to settle the contest, but Slavia returned from the break with greater purpose. Arsenal were forced to defend deeper and the Czech champions began to create chances.
David Raya was called into action early in the second half, and Madueke came close to adding another goal after good work from Gyokeres. His effort was blocked by Domchak.
The pressure on Arsenal increased as the match progressed. Gabriel Magalhaes made an important clearance off the line after Slavia threatened from a corner, and the hosts continued to test the visitors’ defence.
Raya produced another fine save to push Oskar Kubiak’s header against the post. Slavia eventually found a way through in the final minute of normal time when Nowak converted David Jurasek’s cross. The goal set up a tense finish, with Slavia pushing for an equaliser, but Raya denied Mikulas Konecny in stoppage time and Arsenal survived.
