Arsenal won 2-1 at Slavia Praha on League phase matchday 4 of the Champions League, scoring twice in the first half and surviving a late goal at the Fortuna Arena.
Noni Madueke put them ahead after nine minutes and Viktor Gyökeres doubled the lead in the 38th. Wiktor Nowak pulled one back in the 90th minute, but Slavia had no time to find an equaliser.
The goals that decided it
Madueke's opener came from Gyökeres, who set it up. Arsenal's second reversed the roles. Mikel Merino provided the assist and Gyökeres scored in the 38th minute, which gave the visitors a two-goal cushion at the break.
The second half brought two Arsenal bookings, Ezri Konsa in the 53rd minute and Declan Rice in the 68th. Slavia's only yellow card of the night went to David Moses in the 20th minute.
Nowak's goal came right at the end, set up by David Jurasek. It made for a tense finish, but it was not enough to earn a point.
What the numbers say
The statistics show a closer game than the scoreline suggests. Slavia had 17 shots to Arsenal's 12, and six of them were on target against five for the visitors. They also won the corner count 4-2.
Arsenal had more of the ball, with 56% possession to Slavia's 44%. Slavia committed 15 fouls to Arsenal's 10 and were flagged offside three times to Arsenal's once. Slavia also had five shots blocked, to Arsenal's four.
The difference was in how many chances each side took. Arsenal needed only five shots on target to score twice, and Slavia scored once from six.
What it means in the table
Arsenal now have 10 points from four games, with three wins, a draw and a goal difference of +5. That puts them third in the league-phase table, behind only PSG, who have 12 points from four wins and a goal difference of +15. The top eight go straight through to the Round of 16.
Arsenal's season averages so far are 2 goals scored and 0.75 conceded per game. They have kept two clean sheets and are averaging 2.5 points per game. Their earlier results were a 2-2 draw at Bayern, a 3-0 home win over Lille and a 1-0 win at Napoli.
The result extends their record against Slavia. Arsenal won 3-0 in Prague on 4 November 2025 and 4-0 in April 2021, after a 1-1 draw in the first leg of that tie. They have won three and drawn one of the four meetings in that list.
For Slavia the picture is harder. They are 34th with one point from four games and a goal difference of -4. They have not won in the competition and are yet to keep a clean sheet this season. They are conceding 2.25 goals per game and scoring 1.25. Only Slovan Bratislava sit below them in 36th, with no points and a goal difference of -16.
Ninth to 24th qualify for the knockout play-offs, so Slavia have a lot of ground to make up in the four league-phase games they have left.
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