Arsenal hold off Slavia Prague fightback for 2-1 Champions League win

Arsenal survived a second-half fightback from Slavia Prague to win 2-1 at the Fortuna Arena and keep their unbeaten start to this season's Champions League campaign, according to a Sky Sports report. The result gave Mikel Arteta's side a third win in four games in the league phase and lifted them to third in the table.

Arsenal, runners-up in the competition last term, looked set for a comfortable victory after a one-sided first half in which they scored twice. Noni Madueke opened the scoring with a calm finish after being played through by Viktor Gyokeres, and Gyokeres then added the second with a curling effort following a combination with Mikel Merino. Arteta had made six changes from the side that beat Liverpool 1-0 on Sunday. Arsenal missed chances to extend their lead before the interval, and the report said the scoreline could have reflected three or four goals.

The game changed after the break. Slavia switched from a back four to a back three, committed more players forward and produced 17 second-half shots after managing only one before the break. David Raya made several saves, including pushing an Oskar Kubiak header against the post shortly before Slavia scored, and Gabriel Magalhaes cleared a shot off the line. Wiktor Nowak's late goal from close range set up a nervous finale, but Arsenal held on.

Arteta, quoted in the report, said winning away in the Champions League is extremely difficult and described two very different halves. He said Arsenal were exceptional at times in the first half and should have scored three or four, but that he warned his players at half-time that Slavia would keep running and believing and become more chaotic. He said his side did not control that, were on the back foot and very sloppy, gave away many balls and bad clearances, and had to suffer because Champions League teams are very good.

A player quoted in the report said Arsenal played really well in the first half, dominated and created chances, but that the second half was completely different as Slavia went up a gear and became man-to-man across the pitch. The player said the team was a little surprised and found it difficult, which they must learn from, and was delighted with the win while acknowledging things to improve.

The report also noted that William Saliba returned to Arsenal's squad for the first time this season as an unused substitute after a back injury. It said Gyokeres had not scored in his first 10 appearances of the season but now has two goals in his last three, following his Carabao Cup goal against Fleetwood Town, and that he will need to produce against stronger opposition to displace Kai Havertz as Arteta's first-choice No 9. The report described his finish, into the far corner from the left side of the box, as his biggest source of satisfaction, and said he created the opener with a smart pass and linked play well with his back to goal.