By Tony Attwood
To say that there have been varied encounters between Arsenal and Slavia Prague is to exaggerate the situation somewhat… just take a look at the results.
The first pairing was almost 20 years ago, and I have the feeling that in the return match Arsenal did not put out the complete first team. Indeed, such memories as I have of the era suggest Arsenal seemed to be more concerned not to get any injuries rather than doing anything else. I think there was also a notion of being respectful to the hosts, after the 7-0 drubbing in the previous game.
The game in 2021 was different in that it started out at Arsenal’s ground, and Slavia Prague caused a bit of an upset, which Arsenal readily overcame in the return game. Here are the match details…
| Date | Match | Res | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Oct 2007 | Arsenal v Slavia Praha | W | 7-0 | Champions League |
| 07 Nov 2007 | Slavia Praha v Arsenal | D | 0-0 | Champions League |
| 08 Apr 2021 | Arsenal v Slavia Praha | D | 1-1 | Europa League |
| 15 Apr 2021 | Slavia Praha v Arsenal | W | 0-4 | Europa League |
| 04 Nov 2025 | Slavia Praha v Arsenal | W | 0-3 | Champions League |
In 2025, the game was, as now, one of the eight matches in the group stage where each club could only be played once by another team – with each club getting four matches at home and four away. You may well remember that last season Arsenal won all their games and so topped the entire group, going on to reach the final.
Arsenal dominated possession and had eight shots on target to the opposition’s one, with Arsenal actually knocking up a total of 24 shots throughout the whole game. The only response the opposition seemed to hae was to up the level of fouling – and that suggests that again the team needs to be warned about this. Last time the referee awarded 12 free kicks for fouls against the opposition, and three against Arsenal. As a result, Prague picked up four yellow cards and Arsenal none. The Arsenal keeper had just one save to make in the entire game, and his main task was to keep his attention on the game.
Of course, what happened last time does not indicate what will happen this week, but it does give an indication that this is not one of the toughest teams to meet, as long as we are prepared.
I am not sure if Downman’s sending-off ban only applies to domestic games, or whether it includes European matches, but even if it does not include European games I think this might not be the right game for him to return to the squad.
What we have seen in previous matches of this type is that the result is, if not a foregone conclusion, then at least very likely indeed to be an Arsenal win, is that the main activity of the opposition is not to be humiliated through conceding a lot of goals. So we can expect a 10-man defence, which can indeed lead to a crowded opposition half, which in turn can lead to some desperate defending by players who are not really defenders. It will, I suspect, be that sort of game.
Slavia Prague are undefeated after 13 games in their domestic league (nine wins and four draws) so they are on track to win a league where the outcome is as readily anticipated as it is in the German league, and the only defeats expected are those in Europe. So we might hope that the squad will be keen not to get sent off or booked, but to get back to their homeland in one piece and continue beating the lesser teams in their own league.
Matters are made even less exciting in Slovakia through the fact that the second-placed club in the league – FK Mladá Boleslav – is already seven points behind and has an 18-goal inferior goal difference after just 13 games. As a result, matches are more than likely to continue to play out as 10 men attacking against 11 men defending for the enitre 90 minutes.
Indeed, it is this lack of practice at playing against opposition that really can stand a chance of beating the favourites that reduces the ability of Czech clubs to put on a meaningful display when they come up againsts clubs from one of the major leagues in the Champions League.
Of course fans do turn up to watch Arsenal however the competition is arranged, but certainly the group stage is looking less likely to come up with any surprises in terms of kicking out one of the tournament favourites, each season.
Mind you, that is also part of the idea, I suppose. Uefa needs the top English, Spanish and German clubs to get through to the knockout phase to keep the TV audience’s interest.
