Champions League · Slavia Praha - Arsenal · Wed, 4 Nov, 21:00
Slavia Prahavs
ArsenalArsenal edge Slavia 2-1 in Prague to sit third in the Champions League table
Three points on the road give Arsenal 10 from 4 games, while Slavia Praha sit 34th of 36 with 1 point.
Arsenal won 2-1 at Slavia Praha, and the league-phase table now tells the story plainly: third place for the visitors, 34th for the hosts.
The standings show a wide gap. The scoreline does not: this one was close.
What the table says now
Arsenal have 10 points from 4 games: 3 wins, 1 draw, no defeats. They have scored 8 and conceded 3. Third out of 36 is a comfortable seat.
Slavia are on 1 point from 4. They have 0 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats, with 5 goals scored and 9 conceded. Only 2 teams are below them.
The 1-2 here is a third defeat in four Champions League games for the Czech side. They still have a goal to show for their night.
How both teams arrived
Slavia came in on a strong run of form. In their last 5 games, across league, cup and Champions League, they had 2 wins and 3 draws, scoring 12 and conceding 3. That included a 5-0 win at Jablonec and a 4-0 cup win over Zbrojovka Brno.
The European night was different. Their previous Champions League outing was a 2-2 draw at Fenerbahçe, and that draw is the only point they hold in the table.
Arsenal's last 5, also across league, cup and Champions League, read 3 wins and 2 draws, with 7 scored and 3 conceded. They began with a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest, then drew 2-2 at Bayern München in the Champions League. A 2-0 home win over Everton followed, then a 1-1 draw at Fleetwood Town in the League Cup. The run closed with a 1-0 win at Liverpool.
So Slavia arrived with more goals in their last five (12 to 7). In the Champions League table, though, the gap is wide: Arsenal have 10 points, Slavia 1.
The head-to-head leaned the same way
Before this game the clubs had met 3 times: 2 Arsenal wins, 1 draw and no Slavia victories, with 9 goals in total.
In their 2 earlier home games against Arsenal, Slavia did not score: 0-4 in 2021 and 0-3 last season. This time they found the net in Prague, but the result had the same shape, with Arsenal on top. The 1-goal margin is the narrowest of the 3 results in Prague.
What comes next
At 10 points, Arsenal are in the top 3 of a 36-team table with 4 games played. Slavia, with 1 point, sit near the bottom of the standings.
For Arsenal, the question is whether third place holds as the other results come in. For Slavia, it is whether a second point arrives before the table settles.
