Arsenal made it 10 consecutive victories in all competitions as they cruised past Slavia Prague 3-0 in the Champions League. Mikel Merino scored twice after Bukayo Saka's penalty, while the defence recorded an eighth successive clean sheet for the first time since 1903. The Gunners also became the first English side since Leeds in 1969-70 to go four matches without conceding a goal in the European Cup.
Manager Mikel Arteta praised his team's mindset: “The most pleasing thing probably is not the record, it’s the mindset of the players. They are talking there about how we can still do better.” He also hailed 15-year-old Max Dowman, who became the youngest player in Champions League history at 15 years 308 days. “What he’s done on the pitch… that’s personality, that’s courage and you cannot teach that,” Arteta added.
Saka opened the scoring from the spot after a VAR handball decision, and Merino doubled the lead 40 seconds into the second half with a volley. The Spaniard added a second with a header from Declan Rice's cross. Slavia, unbeaten domestically, thought they had a late penalty but the referee overturned his decision after a VAR review.
The Czech champions finally registered a shot on target in stoppage time as Arsenal maintained their formidable defensive record. Arteta rotated his squad, with Christian Nørgaard, Piero Hincapié and Ethan Nwaneri impressing on rare starts.
