Arsenal enjoyed a record-breaking night amid a 3–0 victory over Slavia Prague, ensuring they maintained their perfect start to their Champions League campaign.
A ninth clean sheet in succession broke a 122-year record, while 15-year-old Max Dowman became the youngest player in the competition’s history when he appeared off the bench in the second half.
Arsenal had been troubled by their spirited hosts in the opening period, but were able to ease to another three points when Mikel Merino, who was redeployed up top in Viktor Gyökeres’s absence, scored immediately after the half-time interval to double their lead.
Merino added a third for the visitors to confirm their victory, after Bukayo Saka opened the scoring from the penalty spot on the half-hour mark.
For the time being, they’re top of the league phase table, and here are their player ratings from their win in Czechia.
Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Slavia Prague (4-2-3-1)
GK: David Raya—7.6: Slavia were an annoyance here, but they seldom caused Raya any issues between the posts.
RB: Jurriën Timber—7.0: The right-back went about his work without much fuss on Tuesday evening.
CB: William Saliba—6.8: We saw Saliba embark on a quirky role in possession for the opening 45 minutes, creeping into midfield more than he ever has done before.
CB: Gabriel—7.1: Slavia target-man Tomáš Chory was a tricky assignment, but the striker departed proceedings after an angry 45 minutes up against Gabriel.
LB: Piero Hincapié—7.6: After impressing at the heart of Arsenal’s defence in the Carabao Cup last week, Hincapié was sturdy here while defending out wide.
CM: Christian Nørgaard—6.8: Arsenal weren’t able to move through the thirds quite as slickly in Martín Zubimendi’s absence, but Nørgaard was functional at the base of midfield.
CM: Declan Rice—8.1: An open-play Declan Rice assist! Rejoice.
AM: Ethan Nwaneri—6.8: There were a few slick jinks and jives from the teenager, but he didn’t exactly take this opportunity with both hands.
RW: Bukayo Saka—8.5: Saka’s penalty was superbly taken, and he had plenty of success at getting in behind the Slavia defence throughout.
ST: Mikel Merino—9.0: After a sloppy first half, Merino took the game beyond the hosts with two goals in the second half. It’s what he does.
LW: Leandro Trossard—7.6: Seemed to draw a lot of fouls, and was the target of Arsenal’s near-post corners early on. Wasn’t hugely influential.
Subs not used: Alexei Rojas (GK), Tommy Setford (GK), Cristhian Mosquera, Riccardo Calafiori, Charles Sagoe Jr.
Slavia Prague (3-4-3)
Starting XI: Jakub Markovič; Tomáš Vlček, Štěpán Chaloupek, David Zima; David Moses, Christos Zafeiris, Michal Sadilek, Youssoupha Mbodji; Lukáš Provod, Tomáš Chory, Youssoupha Sanyang.
Subs used: Mojmir Chytil, Muhammed Cham, David Doudera, Daiki Hashioka, Vasil Jusej
Slavia Prague 0–3 Arsenal—How It Unfolded at the Fortuna Arena
Slavia Prague were well aware of the challenge that greeted them on Tuesday night, with David Doudera, who started on the bench for the hosts, claiming ahead of kick-off that Arsenal “have almost no weaknesses”.
The Gunners entered the bout on a nine-game winning run and with a perfect record in this competition. They hadn’t conceded a goal in over a month, but Slavia’s stout backline has also been key to their recent success, keeping five clean sheets in a row.
And the nature of their defensive work would’ve surprised some here, with Jindřich Trpišovský opting for a bold man-to-man approach that forced a depleted Arsenal into some funky ploys. Most notably, William Saliba often popped up in midfield.
Their early intensity and aggression perhaps caught the Gunners off guard, with Mikel Arteta’s men struggling through the opening exchanges before a string of set pieces helped them settle. Eventually, their dead-ball pressure paid dividends, as they were awarded a penalty for Lukáš Provod’s handball that not a single player claimed for in real-time. The video assistant referee (VAR), however, punished Slavia’s captain.
Spot-on from Saka 🎯 pic.twitter.com/eX1tQjhFNg
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 4, 2025
Bukayo Saka tucked the spot-kick home with aplomb, but Arsenal continued to look uncomfortable in Czechia’s capital without ever succumbing to any pressure of note. Still, Slavia boasted a nuisance of a target-man up top and had outlets who were willing to break in behind their imperious defence.
Trpišovský must’ve been content with his side’s first-half efforts, but he was seething barely 30 seconds into the restart after Mikel Merino was left unassigned in the Slavia box to convert from Leandro Trossard’s cross and double Arsenal’s lead.
That early second-half blow ended Slavia’s hopes of an unlikely result, with Arsenal cruising through the remainder of the contest without much fuss. Merino’s second, with 20 minutes remaining, came by virtue of a Jakub Markovič mistake, as the Spaniard flicked home Declan Rice’s lofted cross.
There was a scare in the closing stages, as the hosts were awarded a penalty for a Ben White foul, but VAR was on hand to preserve Arsenal’s clean sheet record, as Slavia’s spot-kick was overturned.
Slavia Prague vs. Arsenal Half-Time Stats
Slavia Prague vs. Arsenal Full Time Stats
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Slavia Prague: Gunners Cruise on Historic Night.