After finally breaking their Anfield curse, Arsenal head out on the road for the 10th time this season to face Czech side Slavia Praha for the 4th match of the Champions League league phase on Wednesday.
The Gunners responded to last week’s shock loss at Fleetwood Town with a dogged result at Liverpool that would make George Graham proud. Arsenal struck first and kept the hosts at bay to see out a classic one-nil to the Arsenal scoreline while securing sole possession of the top spot in the Premier
League for the first time this season.
Most importantly, their response to their midweek loss was a resoundingly resolute one. They received pelters from all corners of the footballing media for their tepid outing at Highbury in the Carabao Cup and bounced back the way champions should. Liverpool could only throw their hands up in frustration as Mikel Arteta’s side stood firm, gave them nothing, and handed them their second loss of the season.
Arsenal are pretty damn good. Carabao Cup exit aside, they have been one of the most consistent clubs in world football. Their last Champions League match saw them go to the Allianz for one of the league phase’s most anticipated match ups where the Gunners fought back to earn a deserved 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich. For all of the sour grape-fueled accusations that the Gunners are anti-football imposters nicking a living, they continue to laugh in the face of the critics and stack up results.
Securing a top 8 spot remains the goal, and building on their Anfield success and doing what they have done so well all season – winning – will take them one step closer to that goal.
Know the Enemy
Domestic Record: 9W-4D-0L (1st)
UCL League Phase Record: 0W-1D-2L (32nd)
Arsenal all-time record against: 3W-2D-0L
Slavia Praha host Arsenal in the Champions League league phase for the second consecutive season, hoping that this time will be more successful than the last.
The reigning Czech First League champions’ domestic and CL forms are about as disparate as they come. They are once again atop their domestic league after 13 matches, unbeaten with a comfortable 7 points ahead of their next competitors and in pole position for a third straight domestic title and a 24th Czech top flight title in total.
In the CL, however, they have had a frustrating start in their first three matches. They began their league phase with a 2-3 loss to RC Lens after going down to 10 men and giving up two stoppage time goals to the Ligue 1 outfit. They followed that up with a 2-0 loss to CL debutantes Sabah FK in Baku before drawing Fenerbahce 2-2 last week in Turkey. Their form isn’t just poor this campaign; they are currently on a 22 match winless run in Europe that would tie the record of 23 winless matches if they fail to best the Gunners.
Their opening three matches were probably their best opportunity to give themselves a fighting chance of finishing in the top 24 and making it to the knockout rounds, with their first three opponents ranking 49th, 163rd, and 60th in Opta’s Global Power Ranking index, respectively.
Things get considerably more difficult for them from here on out. Arsenal come to town on Wednesday sitting atop the power rankings before Slavia host 47th ranked Villarreal next week. They close out the league phase with three away matches, facing 2nd placed Bayern Munich, 31st ranked Porto, and 10th ranked Aston Villa. Arsenal fans know all too well after last week that a global power ranking spot doesn’t guarantee anything (hello, 1656th ranked Fleetwood Town), but it doesn’t bode well for the Czech side’s CL hopes.
Sitting just four spots above the bottom of the league phase table with 1 point, they enter Wendesday desperately in need of a win; victory could potentially see them eke into the top 24 depending on other results. It’s still early enough in the league phase that they can salvage a qualifying spot, but they are facing at a massive uphill climb with no margin for error.
Slavia’s history against Arsenal is brief, but wholly one sided in favor of the Gunners. In five matches across the Champions League and Europa League, they have not been able to best the PL champions who have won the last two meetings, including a 0-3 loss for Slavia to the eventual CL finalists at home last season. Punctuating the north London dominance is the fact that they have been outscored 15-1 all-time when facing Arsenal.
It’s not impossible, or even entirely improbable, for them to win, but they will need to be at their absolute best on Wednesday and hope that the Gunners recreate last week’s Carabao Cup performance if they want to make it out of Wednesday’s match with all three points.
Injuries & Suspensions
Arsenal left it all out on the pitch in their win at Anfield. Thankfully, the win did not come at the expense of any new injuries. Max Dowman remains out for the next two PL matches, but is available for Wednesday’s CL tilt.
Bukayo Saka remains out through the month with hopes of returning to fitness before the next international break.
The Gunners’ already deep defense got a massive boost when William Saliba returned to first team training on Monday, ahead of the anticipated schedule for his recovery. With how well Ezri Konsa has been playing, there is no rush to get Wilo back ASAP, but having him for the holiday fixtures will be pivotal.
OUT: Bukayo Saka (thigh)
DOUBT: William Saliba (back)
Predicted Lineup
Attack: Eze, Gyökeres, Dowman
Arsenal’s front three at Anfield didn’t set the net on fire, but they did enough to get the job done. That being said, I think Arteta looks to make wholesale changes in the attack to keep them as fresh as possible with Bukayo Saka still a ways off and Dowman unavailable in league play for two more matches. Eberechi Eze was an unused sub at Anfield while Viktor Gyökeres came on late to help see out the win. Max Dowman gets the start to preserve Noni, who will be called upon in the league with Saka and Dowman both out.
Midfield: Rice, MLS, Ødegaard
The Arsenal midfield was superb once again at Anfield as Declan Rice earned deserved MOTM honors after notching his PL-leading 5th assist. Alongside him, I anticipate a very familiar pairing with Myles Lewis-Skelly and Martin Ødegaard. I think Arteta will come out strong and try to find some early joy with his starters. With the attack and defense more likely to rotate, the midfield is most likely to remain consistent, especially after the Fleetwood debacle.
Defense: Hincapie, Gabriel, Konsa, White
The defensive depth at Arsenal is the envy of the footballing world. One incredible defender comes off, another comes on in their place. Riccardo Calafiori was excellent at Anfield but likely takes the bench as Piero Hincapie continues to get his match fitness up. On the other side, Ben White is a shoe-in for a start after Jurrien Timber played a full 90 on Sunday. Gabriel and Ezri Konsa are as formidable as they come and will be counted on once again at the center of the defense.
Keeper: Raya
David Raya is a player you can set your watch to, and his commanding performance at Anfield was yet another example of his world class ability. He may not have faced any shots on target, but he was quick to claim crosses and come out to clean up loose balls and smother chances before they developed.
WHO: Arsenal at Slavia Praha
WHAT: Champions League league phase match day 5
WHEN: Wednesday, November 4th, 3:00pm EST/12:00pm PST/8:00pm GMT
WHERE: Fortuna Arena, Prague
HOW TO WATCH: Streaming on the Paramount+ app
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