Arsenal extended their remarkable away form in European competition by securing a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Slavia Prague at the Fortuna Arena. First-half strikes from Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres laid a solid foundation for the visitors, but a spirited late surge from the host side ensured a tense conclusion to the match.
The North London side survived a frantic second half, punctuated by a 90th-minute strike from Wiktor Nowak. Despite the nervous finish, the victory keeps Mikel Arteta’s team positioned third in the UEFA Champions League standings and top of the Premier League.
Arteta Reflects on Tale of Two Halves After Prague Triumph
Reflecting on the performance in the Czech Republic, manager Mikel Arteta described the encounter as a dramatic game of two halves. While pleased with the ultimate outcome, the Spanish coach made it clear that improvements are necessary to prevent further late scares.
“I’m very happy with the result,” Arteta explained. “It’s always very tough to win away from home in the Champions League. We played four games in the competition – three away from home already – so it’s been a very difficult task.
“Today, we had two very different halves. In the first, we showed incredible standards, high quality, a very high tempo and probably the scoreline should have reflected three, four or five goals. We didn’t make that gap, and at half-time, I said there is a lot to do in this game. This is a team that has huge spirit, they will find a way to create a chaotic moment if you give them the option to do that, and they are able to put you on the back foot.”
Second-Half Drop-Off Serves Crucial Lesson for Gunners
The momentum swung dramatically after the interval as Slavia Prague seized control of the contest. Arteta pointed out that a lapse in discipline and basic structure allowed the home side back into the match.
“They did that right from the beginning [of the second half],” Arteta noted. “We dropped our standards, we did some basic things really poorly, we didn’t respect any structure, no concepts applied. When you start to do that, you give them hope. We suffered much more than expected, and that’s credit to them as well.
“We made six changes, that’s a lot, but as well it was our third away game in a row in seven days that we’ve had to do. A lot to learn from the many positives we had in the game, and from some of the struggles we had that we need to put right.”
Historic Away Run Maintained Amid Demanding Schedule
The victory in Prague highlights an extraordinary period of travel for Arsenal, who have played away from home in 11 of their 16 fixtures across all competitions this season. That grueling run included recent trips to Fleetwood Town and Liverpool.
Despite the heavy travel schedule and demanding environment, Arsenal stretched their unbeaten away record in the Champions League to 10 matches—a historic milestone for the club.
“It’s unbelievable, 11 away games already. It’s going to have to level up at some point, because we’ve still got a lot to do,” Arteta added. “But as I said, it’s always really positive to win away from home in the competition; we value that, but the test that we had at the end – the second-half performance should be much, much better.
“It’s really tough away from home, it’s so hard to win, and we are there. So we’re happy in certain aspects, but there’s still a lot to improve.”