Slavia Prague 1-2 Arsenal: Madueke and Gyökeres Score as Gunners Hold On to Stay Unbeaten

Arsenal left Prague with three more points on Wednesday, Nov. 4, but not without a scare. Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyökeres scored in the first half for a 2-1 win over Slavia Prague at the Fortuna Arena in the UEFA Champions League. Wiktor Nowak pulled one back for the Czech champions in the 90th minute, setting up a nervous five minutes of stoppage time.

The result keeps Arsenal unbeaten in the competition with 10 points from four matches. The club said the win moved it into third place in the league-phase table.

Slavia Prague vs. Arsenal: the result in brief

• Final: Slavia Prague 1, Arsenal 2
• Goals: Noni Madueke 9’, Viktor Gyökeres 38’ (Arsenal); Wiktor Nowak 90’ (Slavia)
• Kickoff: 8 p.m. UTC (3 p.m. ET), Fortuna Arena, Prague
• Records (ESPN): Arsenal 3-1-0 (10 points); Slavia 0-1-3 (1 point)

A fast start for Arsenal

It took nine minutes for Arsenal to go ahead. According to Arsenal’s match report, Slavia’s Oskar Kubiak misjudged a high ball, Gyökeres held it up and hooked a pass in behind, and Madueke raced into the box, held off Kubiak and slid the ball past goalkeeper Nazar Domchak.

Arsenal kept pushing. Mikel Merino had a shot from range tipped over and headed just over, and his best chance came in the 25th minute when Ben White cut the ball back, but he scuffed it at Domchak, the club said.

The second goal came in the 38th minute. Merino won the ball in Slavia’s final third, Declan Rice found Gyökeres, and the striker played a one-two with Merino before curling a shot in from a tight angle.

BBC Sport’s player ratings gave Gyökeres and Rice the top marks among Arsenal’s starters, with 8 each. BBC Sport said Gyökeres “needed a good performance” and got one, holding up play, creating the first goal and scoring the second.

Slavia fight back after halftime

The second half looked different. ESPN’s numbers show Slavia actually finished with the higher expected goals (xG), 2.22 to Arsenal’s 1.49, and ESPN’s commentary said the Gunners “were hanging on at the end.”

There were scares in the Arsenal box. Gabriel cleared a Mojmír Chytil header off the line after a corner, and David Raya clawed away the rebound, Arsenal’s report said. With seven minutes left, Raya made an excellent save to stop a Kubiak effort from a cross on the right.

Slavia finally scored in the 90th minute, when David Jurásek’s low cross found Nowak, who fired past Raya. A late Štěpán Chaloupek header went over, and Mikuláš Konečný’s final attempt rolled into Raya’s hands, the club said.

What the result means

For Arsenal, the win extends some long runs. The club said it was its 10th straight game unbeaten away from home in the Champions League, a first in its history. ESPN added that Arsenal are now unbeaten in their last 19 Champions League games, not counting penalty shootouts, though this was the first time they conceded a goal in Czechia.

For Slavia, the night extended a painful streak. ESPN said the club equaled the longest winless run in European Cup and Champions League history, with no wins in its last 23 matches in the competition.

What’s next

Arsenal host Hull City at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday in the Premier League before the November international break. After that, they visit Newcastle United on Saturday, Nov. 21, according to the club. Slavia return to Czech league play at home against Artis, ESPN reported.

FAQ