Viktor Gyökeres the difference as Arsenal claim nervy win against Slavia Prague

Another away day, another victory for Arsenal. This time, the much-maligned Viktor Gyökeres stole the show as poor Slavia Prague matched the longest winless streak in European Cup and Champions League history despite a spirited late comeback. That now stands at 23, equalling the mark set by AEK Athens and FCSB, formerly known as Steaua Bucharest, while Arsenal are now unbeaten in their last 10 away European trips. After last week’s wobble against Fleetwood, there was no prospect of Arsenal making the same mistake again as soon as Noni Madueke fired them ahead early on after being superbly set up by Gyökeres.

That was his third assist in his last five appearances, although Mikel Arteta will have been even more encouraged by the emphatic finish that had seemed to put the game beyond Slavia’s reach just before the break. While Kai Havertz remains his undoubted first choice, having another striker in form will only boost Arsenal’s challenge and it was noticeable that there was an extra spring in the 28-year-old’s step after his goal.

Slavia’s solitary victory in this competition came in their first-ever match in 2007 and, after losing 3-0 to Arsenal here exactly a year ago, the Czech champions knew their chances of avoiding the unwanted milestone were extremely slim. While Fleetwood’s giant-killing against the Premier League champions in the EFL Cup last week may have given them some hope of an upset, Arteta’s side has developed a killer instinct on their travels in Europe. Not since May 2025, in the second leg of their semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain, have Arsenal lost an away game. The 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich two weeks ago underlined their credentials as genuine contenders once again.

After their exploits at Anfield on Sunday that took them three points clear at the top of the Premier League, Arteta heavily rotated his side again with six changes. Martín Zubimendi was handed only his third start of a frustrating campaign for the Spain World Cup winner, while Gyökeres led the line for the third time in Arsenal’s past four matches.

The Sweden striker finished as top scorer last season with 21 goals and finally got off the mark against Fleetwood with a scrappy finish, although he has clearly been struggling for form and confidence. Yet there was no doubting the quality of his assist for Madueke’s goal after just eight minutes. David Raya’s long ball should have been dealt with by the Slavia defence but they made the criminal error of allowing it to bounce. That was the cue for Gyökeres to come alive as he beat his marker to the ball, chested it down and played the perfect pass for the England forward to run on to and score. Arteta’s reaction on the touchline suggested he enjoyed it too.

Mikel Merino was Arsenal’s hero here last year with two goals and he could have extended their lead on three occasions before the half-hour mark. The lively Madueke created his best opportunity after cutting the ball back to Merino but he could not beat Nazar Domchak in Slavia’s goal.

With Martin Ødegaard watching from the bench next to William Saliba, on his return from a long-term back injury, Arsenal lacked some of their usual fluency in attack. But Slavia were still no match for them and their task became almost impossible seven minutes before the break. Gyökeres exchanged a smart one-two with Merino inside the area before curling a brilliant shot into the far corner. It needed a goalline clearance from Michal Sadilek to prevent a rampant Arsenal inflicting more damage before half-time.

To their credit, Slavia started the second half with much more aggression after introducing their record signing Ange N’Guessan from the bench. The hosts came within a few centimetres of being awarded a penalty when Emmanuel Ayaosi was brought down by Ezri Konsa on the edge of the area. The England defender and Rice both found themselves in the book as Arsenal struggled to recapture their rhythm from the first half without ever looking in danger of conceding.

But that all changed in the last 20 minutes after David Jurasek let fly from long range and his effort was deflected just wide of Raya’s goal. From the resulting corner, Gabriel Magalhães somehow managed to clear two goalbound headers off the line in a matter of seconds. The Brazilian celebrated with a massive fist pump.

Mikulas Konecny should have done much better with another headed chance as Arsenal’s formidable defence was put to the test in the final 15 minutes. A spectacular save denied Oskar Kubiak as Raya managed to push the ball on to the post at full stretch. Slavia eventually scored the goal all their endeavour deserved in the final minute of normal time when Wiktor Nowak fired in at the far post. There were a few nervous moments in stoppage time and Arteta breathed a sigh of relief at the full-time whistle as Slavia were condemned to their fate.