We head to Prague on Tuesday looking to take another giant step towards the last 16 of the Champions League when we face Slavia (5.45pm UK).
Nine points from nine have been taken so far without conceding a goal to leave us as one of five teams with a 100% record so far. With 16 points the benchmark to finish in the all-important top eight last term, a victory in the Czech capital would leave us needing just four points from our final four games to hit that target.
While we’re seeking a fourth successive continental victory, Slavia are targeting just their second-ever Champions League win, in what is their third season in the competition. You have to go back to September 2007 and their first-ever game against Steaua Bucharest for the previous occasion, but their recent record shows they are winless in their last 10 in major European competitions, stretching back to September 2024.
Solid Slavia hit top spot
Things weren’t going to plan for Slavia in 2025/26, as while they headed into last weekend unbeaten in the league, they had drawn four of their previous five games to slip from first to third spot in a tightly contested championship race with Sparta Prague and Jablonec.
However, Saturday’s 2-0 home win over Banik Ostrava, courtesy of second-half goals from Tomas Vlcek and Chytil, coupled with defeats for both title rivals saw Slavia jump back into top spot on goal difference ahead of their neighbours. Like us, they are defensively solid and have kept five straight clean sheets across all competitions.
They have advanced to the quarter-finals of the Czech Cup but are winless in the Champions League so far. Matchday one saw them squander a 2-0 advantage to draw 2-2 with Bodo/Glimt at home, before Inter Milan ran out 3-0 victors at the San Siro – their only loss of the campaign thus far. They then returned to Italy a fortnight ago to play out a goalless draw with Atalanta to leave them 28th in the table.
Read more
Everything you need to know about Slavia Prague
What the managers say
Arteta: “The team has been competing really well in all different competitions and tomorrow we know that we have a really tough match here, they are unbeaten here at home all season. It’s a team that are very used to playing together; they have a very clear philosophy, they create a massive atmosphere as well, so we know it’s going to be a really tough match.
“[Clean sheets] are a huge platform to win games and the difficulty of that in this competition and when you’re playing away, even more so. Tomorrow, we know we’re going to face a really good challenge here and, in the team as well, they are very intense, very direct, very vertical and we’re going to have to be really good to achieve what we want.” – read every word from Mikel’s pre-match press conference
Read more
Every word from Arteta’s pre-Slavia Prague presser
Jindrich Trpisovsky: “We played a very demanding game on Saturday, one of the most demanding games of the whole season in terms of intensity. So we will see after the training what condition the players will be in. Some of them have played three games this week, so of course, it adds up.
“If I were to list everything that is dangerous about [Arsenal], we wouldn’t make it to training. They’re a mature team that controls games. It has tremendous technical quality, the players are big, strong, fast and also in top form right now. If, for example, Igoh Ogbu, our most dominant player in defensive situations, were available, it would be different. I have to say that Arsenal’s standards are astounding. I’ve never seen anything like it. They have everything coming together – height, power, timing, head play and most importantly, that playmaking from Rice.”
Team news
Martin Zubimendi won’t travel for this game as he has accumulated three bookings during the league phase and is suspended, a fate that could befall Declan Rice should he receive another caution in our next five European matches.
Viktor Gyokeres missed training on Monday after suffering a muscular injury against Burnley on Saturday and is out, whikep Kepa Arrizabalaga also missed training on Monday.
Gabriel Martinelli won’t have the opportunity to score in all four of Champions League games so far as he remains out with a groin issue, while Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus are unavailable with their knee injuries.
Trpisovsky has issues in the heart of his defence with three centre-backs missing. Club captain Jan Boril, fellow Czech international Tomas Holes and Nigerian Igoh Ogbu are all unavailable through injury, but he did welcome Czech international midfielder David Doudera back to training again ahead of the game.
Wingers Ivan Schranz (muscle) and Filip Horsky (knee) are not fit for selection, while veteran midfielder Petr Sevcik as well as Slovakian left-back Dominik Javorcek weren’t included in their Champions League squad after suffering long-term knee injuries.
Talking tactics
Adrian Clarke: Slavia began their Champions League campaign using a 4-2-3-1 formation in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Bodo/Glimt, but away to Inter Milan and Atalanta, they deployed a more cautious 3-4-2-1. Domestically, Slavia are an aggressive, attacking side, but on the big stage, they have to modify their tactics. They will not just soak up pressure all game – they are averaging 44% possession – but they will almost certainly relinquish control.
They like to attack down the wings, and no team in the competition has made more successful open play crosses (15). Key to that is Czech international Lukas Provod [above], a tall, rangy attacking midfielder, who is their biggest threat. He will probably be used as their right-sided No.10, with an inclination to drift wide. His fabulous far post deliveries assisted left wing-back Youssoupha Mbodji for a quality brace on matchday one.
Provod has created nine chances from open play in three appearances, the same as diminutive forward Vasil Kusej, who will be their left-sided No.10. He is a tricky, hardworking player who will hassle our defenders.
When we have the ball, the hosts will be hostile, getting tight to us and making tackles. One of their key strengths is their ability to recover possession, so we must be wary of transitions. However, Slavia have given up a lot of chances across their three fixtures, and their 9.1 expected goals against is the fourth-highest among the 36 teams, so we should have opportunities to score.
Facts and stats
Slavia Prague have won just one of their seven home games in the Champions League (D2 L4), failing to win their last six since their very first home match – a 2-1 win over Steaua Bucharest in September 2007.
We have lost just one of our last 15 group stage games in the Champions League (W12 D2), winning each of our last seven since a 1-0 loss at Inter Milan in November last year.
We have won five of our last six away Champions League matches, this after winning just one of our prior eight on the road in the competition (D2 L5).
Slavia Prague have only won one of their eight home games against English teams in European competition (D2 L5), going winless in seven since beating Leeds United in March 2000 in the UEFA Cup, scoring just once in that time.
Slavia are winless in their four meetings with us, only facing Anderlecht (5) more times in European competition without managing a victory.
We are unbeaten in our 10 matches against sides from the Czech Republic, with eight of those ending in wins. We have scored 27 goals across those games, while only conceding three in return and keeping eight clean sheets.
We are looking to win our opening four Champions League games of a season for the first time since 2005/06, while the only English team in European Cup history to win their first four matches of a season without conceding were Leeds United in 1969/70.
Lukas Provod has assisted four goals across his last five games in major European competition.
David Raya has kept a clean sheet in his last three Champions League appearances – the last Gunners goalkeeper to record a shutout across four in a row in the competition was Manuel Almunia in 2007.
Mikel Arteta has won 63% of his Champions League matches (won 17 of 27 games) – the eighth-best win ratio for a manager to take charge of 20+ games at a club, and the best at an English side.
Match officials
Azerbaijani referee Aliyar Aghayev has been handed the keys to this match, which will be his first overseeing both ourselves and Slavia. Added to the FIFA list in 2013, he has been a fixture in the Azerbaijan top-flight since 2009.
In November 2022, he became the first official from his nation to referee a Champions League match, and he has since gone on to take charge of four others, including the Copenhagen v Bayer Leverkusen match in September.
Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (AZE)
Assistants: Zeynal Zeynalov, Akif Amirali (AZE)
Fourth official: Elchin Masiyev (AZE)
VAR: Rob Dieperink (NED)
Assistant VAR: Jeroen Manschot (NED)
Previous meetings with Slavia
Slavia’s first-ever qualification for the Champions League proper saw them placed in the same group as us, and we hit the Czech team for seven in a thumping 7-0 victory at Emirates Stadium as Theo Walcott and Cesc Fabregas scored braces while strikes from Alexander Hleb, Nicklas Bendtner and an own goal secured our joint-biggest European victory, but a goalless draw was played out in the return game in Prague.
Fast forward to 2021 and we met again in the Europa League quarter-finals, as Slavia aimed to match their best continental achievement when they reached the last four of the same competition in 1995/96. Current star Holes’ late equaliser at Emirates Stadium cancelled out Nicolas Pepe’s opener in N5, but we turned on the style in the Czech capital, with a brace from Alexandre Lacazette plus strikes from Pepe and Bukayo Saka seeing us cruise to victory.
Read more
Recalling 2007’s 7-0 record win over Slavia Prague
Live coverage
This season, Live From N5 is the place to be for live commentary of all our men’s first-team games across 2025/26.
Tune in from just before kick-off, when Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke will once again be behind the mics to guide you through the on-field action.
You can also find out which broadcasters are showing the action live, wherever you are in the world.
Read more
How to watch Slavia Prague v Arsenal on TV
Copyright 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
