Arsenal edge Slavia Prague 2-1 in Czech Republic as Gyökeres shines

Arsenal survived a late surge from Slavia Prague to claim a 2-1 victory in Prague, keeping their unbeaten record in the last ten away matches in European competition. Viktor Gyökeres opened the scoring by setting up Noni Madueke, who put Arsenal ahead early in the first half. Gyökeres then doubled the lead before halftime with a well-timed finish.

Slavia pulled one back in the final minutes of regular time through Wiktor Nowak, and goalkeeper David Raya was required to make a crucial save to deny a second goal. The Czech side finished the match with 18 shots, compared with Arsenal’s 12, prompting manager Mikel Arteta to acknowledge defensive lapses.

"At half-time, the message was clear: there is still a lot to do in this game. We were extremely far from our standards in everything that we have to do, in every basic, in every concept and in everything that we discussed to avoid the game that we played in the second half. That is a huge learning," Arteta said.

Arsenal made six changes to the lineup that had recently secured three points at Anfield, with Martín Zubimendi and other regulars starting on the bench. Despite the rotation, the team maintained enough quality to withstand Slavia’s increased aggression after the break, including a substitute appearance by record signing Ange N’Guessan.

The win extends Arsenal’s strong form in European away fixtures and prevents Slavia Prague from matching the longest winless streak in the competition’s history.