Arsenal secured another European away win on Tuesday, though they were forced to endure a tense finish against Slavia Prague. Viktor Gyökeres played a pivotal role in the 2-1 victory, which saw the Czech champions match an unwanted record: a 23-game winless streak in the European Cup and Champions League, tying the marks previously set by AEK Athens and FCSB. Equalling the mark set by AEK Athens and FCSB – formerly known as Steaua Bucharest – while Arsenal are unbeaten in their 10 last away trips, that unwanted record stands at 23. They knew their chances of avoiding the unwanted milestone were extremely slim, 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 hosts began the second half with much more aggression after introducing their record signing, Ange N’Guessan, from the bench, to their credit.
The visitors looked set for a comfortable evening after an early breakthrough. Just eight minutes in, a long ball from goalkeeper David Raya bypassed the Slavia defense. Gyökeres controlled the ball with his chest and delivered a precise pass to Noni Madueke, who fired Arsenal into the lead. Gyökeres then doubled the advantage himself shortly before the interval, curling a clinical shot into the far corner after combining with Mikel Merino. Chested it down and played the perfect pass for the England forward to run on to and score, that was the cue for Gyökeres to come alive as he beat his marker to the ball. David Jurasek let fly from long range and his effort was deflected just wide of Raya’s goal. The Brazilian celebrated with a massive fist pump but his evening wasn’t over.
Despite the two-goal cushion, manager Mikel Arteta was left frustrated by his side’s lack of focus in the latter stages. The hosts applied significant pressure in the final 15 minutes, eventually narrowing the deficit through a Wiktor Nowak goal in the 90th minute. Had it not been for a spectacular late save from Raya, who tipped an Oskar Kubiak header onto the post, Arsenal would have dropped points. Arteta’s reaction on the touchline suggested he enjoyed it too. Mikulas Konecny should have done much better with another header before Raya managed to push Oskar Kubiak’s header on to the post despite being at full stretch in mid-air.
Arteta acknowledged his team strayed from their intended game plan, noting, “At half-time, the message was clear: there is still a lot to do in this game. We were extremely far from our standards in everything that we have to do, in every basic, in every concept and in everything that we discussed to avoid the game that we played in the second half. That is a huge learning.”
Arsenal’s defensive resilience was tested throughout the night, with Slavia managing 18 shots to the visitors’ 12. Gabriel Magalhães played a crucial role in maintaining the lead by clearing two goalbound headers off the line in quick succession. The win keeps Arsenal unbeaten in their last ten away matches, a streak dating back to their loss against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2025 semi-finals. Arteta’s side have 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 in 90 minutes. Ezri Konsa and Declan Rice both found themselves in the book as Arsenal were pinned back. Arteta breathed a sigh of relief at the full-time whistle as Slavia were condemned to their fate.
The match saw rotation in Arteta’s lineup following their recent Premier League success at Anfield, with six changes made to the starting XI. Martín Zubimendi, making only his third start of a challenging campaign, appeared to tire as the game progressed. Meanwhile, the return of William Saliba from a back injury saw him named among the substitutes alongside Martin Ødegaard.
For Gyökeres, the performance marked a significant return to form. After netting his first goal last week against Fleetwood in the Carabao Cup, the striker added his third assist in five appearances. While Arsenal lacked some of their typical attacking fluidity, the result maintains their strong momentum in Europe, even as they look to improve their defensive concentration for future fixtures. He finished as top scorer last season with 21 goals but has clearly been struggling for form and confidence.
