Match report – Player ratings – Arteta’s reaction – Video
Arsenal picked up another away win last night, this time beating Slavia Prague 2-1 in the Champions League thanks to goals from Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokerez.
He rotated in some areas with starts for Mikel Arteta, Ben White, Piero Hincapie, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino and Eberechi Eze, but he also relied on the basic stability of Declan Rice with Ezri Konsa and Gabriel behind him. We started lively and took an early lead.
David Raya played long, Gyokeres caught him well and pulled the ball forward and Madueke’s pace took him beyond the defender and into the box before finishing between the keeper’s legs. A solid game from two players who can sometimes be guilty of exaggerating their lines when it comes to these basic moves. This time they were right.
We had more chances to score. Eze showed great skill in the box but had his shot blocked; Gyokeres turned back to goal for Merino, but he held his head up; the Spaniard saw a long shot go over and his smart near-post run and right-footed shot from Ben White forced the keeper into another decent save; and there was a brilliant counter and pass from Rice, who drifted towards the back post without any Arsenal players attacking him to score.
We found a second, though. Gyokeres linked up well with Merinos around his box and he opened up his body really well when he played to make it 2-0 with a nice finish from close range and a tight angle. I don’t think the goal at Fleetwood would have done much for his confidence, it was more like the type of strike he needed to produce – for himself as much as for the team.
So we had a good lead at half-time but it was a game of two halves. In the first, we had 60% possession, outscored the opposition 8:2, and passed about 90% successfully. Second, the tables have turned. Slavia Prague had 17 shots on 4 and our pass success dropped to 77%. We were sloppy and sloppy, they made a tactical change at half-time which was good for them and although we weren’t necessarily sloppy, the whole dynamic of the game changed and we couldn’t cope.
It took a brilliant save from David Ryan to keep them out before Gabriel headed over the line, but they found the target in injury time, which I think their second-half performance (and ours) probably deserved. They hit a poor ball from the left, the striker applied a close-range finish and went clean.
Afterwards, Mikel Arteta was delighted with the win but unhappy with the second half, saying:
First of all, you have to appreciate that it is very difficult to win at home. We did it against a very tough opponent, we expected that toughness. In the first half, we played at a really high level in terms of intensity, pace, quality and clarity of what we had to do and what the game required. We were very efficient – we should have scored three, four or five goals.
But here’s what went wrong after the break:
I’ve talked about some things we no longer do, and some I’d rather not mention. That’s a big lesson, and one we’ll learn from in the second half. It’s our third away game in a row and we’re the only team in the Champions League to have played three away games and one at home – there are many factors – but I don’t like to use that because we were at the level we wanted in the first half. I take full responsibility for the landing in the second part.
I don’t think the team played very well in the second half, but I think how we could have done things differently. For example, I think Declan Rice played within himself in that second half, and frankly, I can understand why. Personally, even if I accept that he and the manager know more about fitness than any of us, I think it’s a bit crazy for him to spend 90+ minutes in a game like this. Maybe he needs to be like a steam train, moving all the time, but when you have quality options like Myles Lewis-Skelly and Bruno Guimaraes on the bench, using them certainly allows for the best of both worlds: some rest for Rice and fresher legs in the midfield when the game swings in the opposition’s favour.
It’s a really strong bench we have, but I don’t think the changes we’ve made are working that well. The question, of course, is whether they are absolutely necessary. We had a two-goal lead until recently and three days ago we took all three points at home after a tough and physically demanding game at Anfield. I just found the Jekyll and Hyde nature of the two halves a little relatable, but only a little. 10 of the sixteen games we’ve played this season have been away at home, winning seven of them, a decent return added to this win.
In the end, it’s an unforgettable match where we leave the Champions League with three points. Apparently, a year has passed since we played Slavia Prague last season, I don’t remember. Which might say more about me than anything else, but these kinds of devices don’t stick in the memory for long. They want grist for the mill at this part of the season, we had a job to do and we did it and the focus now turns to the three points we need there before Hull and Interlull on Saturday.
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We can talk a little bit more about this game on Arsecast a little later this morning before I leave for London a little later this afternoon. For those of you who have signed up to come to the launch of The 22 at Big Red tomorrow, please note that you can get the book via email sent to you (check your junk folders if you don’t see it), so you can just turn up and collect for the night. If you don’t want to do this, we also accept credit card etc. We can facilitate sales through
If you purchased through the Patreon presale, those books are not for collection tomorrowand will be sent to you in time. There are also some opportunities to spec on the night and we should have copies available, but obviously priority is given to registrants. Then there will be the final batch of books going on general sale online on Saturday evening after the Hull game. You can follow the full details of this on the site and via Arseblog on BlueSky.
Well, I’ll leave it there for now. The pod will be released mid-morning, until then have a good time.