- Slavia Prague v Arsenal, tuesday night
- Why defence isn’t everything but train drivers are rather necessary
By Tony Attwood
Ludicrous though it seems, Arsenal, fourth in the Champions League, are playing Slavia Prague, 28th in the Champions League. Arsenal, having won all three games and conceded no goals, have obviously nine points while Slavia Prague have won none and drawn two.
As before, each team plays eight games, each against a different opponent (so no home and away battles, and the teams in the top eight go straight through to the round of 16, while the next 16 play in another playoff round for the remaining spots. It all seems pretty bonkers to me, but it is Uefa, so that’s what you get. Here is the table so far. down as far as this week’s opponents.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Paris Saint-Germain
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 9 |
|
2
|
Bayern Munich
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 9 |
|
3
|
Inter Milan
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 9 |
|
4
|
Arsenal
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 9 |
|
5
|
Real Madrid
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
|
6
|
Borussia Dortmund
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 7 |
|
7
|
Manchester City
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
|
8
|
Newcastle United
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
|
9
|
Barcelona
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|
10
|
Liverpool
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
|
11
|
Chelsea
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
|
12
|
Sporting CP
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
|
13
|
Qarabağ
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
|
14
|
Galatasaray
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 6 |
|
15
|
Tottenham Hotspur
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
|
16
|
PSV
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 4 |
|
17
|
Atalanta
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 4 |
|
18
|
Marseille
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
|
19
|
Atletico Madrid
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 | -1 | 3 |
|
20
|
Club Brugge
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 3 |
|
21
|
Athletic Club
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 3 |
|
22
|
Eintracht Frankfurt
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 3 |
|
23
|
Napoli
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 3 |
|
24
|
Union Saint-Gilloise
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | -6 | 3 |
|
25
|
Juventus
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 2 |
|
26
|
Bodø / Glimt
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 2 |
|
27
|
Monaco
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 2 |
|
28
|
Slavia Prague
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 2 |
Their Euro games have resulted in a 2-2 draw at home to Bodo/Glimt in Prague, a 3-0 defeat to Inter Milan in Itlay, and a goalless draw away to Atalanta in Bergamo.
Slavia Prague are currently top of the League of the Czech Republic, having played 14, won eight and drawn six, meaning as you will have guessed, they have lost none. They have scored 24 and conceded eight, giving them a goal difference of 16. In 2020/21 they had an unbeaten season of 34 matches.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 3 | 15 | 25 |
| 1 | Slavia Prague | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 30 |
Arsenal are obviously on 2.5 points per game, Slavia Prague are on 2.14.
In the last ten years, they have won the league six times and come second four times, which pretty much tells you what is going on in that league.
Of course, that record helps the club recruit players since they know they are going to play in the Champions League, but it doesn’t do much for the competitiveness of the league.
However, the two clubs have only met twice at home and away, before…
| Date | Match | Result | 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 |
In the last ten years, they have come first or second each season, but in the seven years before that, their finishing position ranged from 5th to 14th.
The title of Slavia Prague’s league translates as the Czech First League or in commercial terms the “Chance Liga” and in common with the English Leagues, the season runs from August to May, which means for our game against them, we are playing a team that, like Arsenal, is well into the new campaign. Also, as per England, games are played across the weekend.
The league was reorganised in 1993 following the dissolution of the country of Czechoslovakia. Since the reorganisation, Sparta Prague have been the dominant force, although Slavia Prague has shown its strength in recent years having won the league 14 times. The league is ranked tenth in the Uefa League rankings.
A first look at the tables of the two clus in the comparative table above can look a trifle alarming, showing as it does that Slavia Praha are five points ahead of Arsenal, but that can readily be explained in a very simple manner: they have played four more games than Arsenal.
But despite the Czechness of the club there is a different story to tell in terms of the ownership for the largest shareholder in the club is Chinese housing corporation Sinobo Group which bought up the majority of shares in 2018. The previous club owner is now a minority shareholder. What I can’t find out is if the club is making or losing money.
But the Chinese involvement in buying football clubs is an interesting development, and it is clearly something that others are buying into as since the takeover, the share value has increased considerably, although it has been reported that the original owner of the club ran into significant financial problems. Quite how solid the Chinese investment is, and who or what is backing them up, I am not sure – if you have definitive knowledge, I’d be glad to read it – but as ever, it would be helpful if you could give the source of the information. Certainly, it appears that the group that owns the club is making a profit.
What we might well see is that some of these European clubs that we currently consider to be fringe players on the international stage start challenging for more significant rankings in Europe.
