Merino nets double as Arsenal cruise past Slavia Prague | OneFootball

Arsenal produced a commanding display to ease past Slavia Prague 3-0 at the Fortuna Arena and continue their perfect Champions League campaign.

The Gunners were made to work early on, with the hosts pressing high and unsettling their rhythm, but once Bukayo Saka put them ahead from the penalty spot after 32 minutes, Mikel Arteta’s side rarely looked troubled.

The spot kick came after a VAR review penalised Lukas Provod for handball following Gabriel’s flick-on from a corner, and Saka calmly dispatched his effort into the bottom corner for his second goal of the competition.

Any hopes of a Slavia comeback were quickly extinguished within seconds of the restart. Mikel Merino volleyed home Leandro Trossard’s cross to double the lead. The Spaniard added his second midway through the half, rising above the defence to head in Declan Rice’s delivery after goalkeeper Jakub Markovic failed to claim the ball.

It was a clinical night for Merino, whose brace took Arsenal’s winning streak to ten matches in all competitions, while also securing an eighth consecutive clean sheet - matching a club record set back in 1903 across two seasons.

There was history, too, in the closing stages. Max Dowman came off the bench with 17 minutes remaining to become the youngest player ever to appear in the Champions League at just 15 years and 308 days - breaking Youssoufa Moukoko’s previous record set with Borussia Dortmund in 2020.

Slavia briefly thought they had won a late penalty when Provod went down under a challenge from Ben White, but a VAR check overturned the decision.

The result leaves Premier League leaders Arsenal top of the League Phase with four wins from four and unbeaten in 13 matches across all competitions - a near-perfect start to their season under Arteta.

Incidents: The story of the match

1':

Missed opportunity! Gabriel Magalhães from Arsenal took a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area, but it didn't hit the target.

1':

The match begins

2':

Missed opportunity! Lukás Provod from Slavia Prague took a right-footed shot from the right side of the penalty area, but it went wide to the left. He was set up by David Moses.

4':

Tomás Chory from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

8':

Missed opportunity. Youssoupha Mbodji from Slavia Prague attempted a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area.

10':

Tomás Chory from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

11':

Opportunity wasted. Christos Zafeiris from Slavia Prague attempted a left-footed shot from the right side of the penalty area.

17':

Gabriel Magalhães from Arsenal committed a foul.

21':

Ethan Nwaneri from Arsenal committed a foul.

22':

Lukás Provod from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

23':

Ethan Nwaneri from Arsenal committed a foul.

27':

Tomás Vlcek from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

Slavia Prague 0, Arsenal 1. Bukayo Saka from Arsenal scores by successfully converting the penalty with a left-footed shot.

32':

GOALArsenal: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) scores penalty-kick!

Bukayo Saka scores goal number 2 in the competition (3 matches) Bukayo Saka scores goal number 76 for his team (277 matches)

35':

Tomás Vlcek from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

35':

Christian Nørgaard from Arsenal committed a foul.

37':

Mikel Merino from Arsenal committed a foul.

45':

Missed opportunity! Christos Zafeiris from Slavia Prague attempted a right-footed shot from a challenging angle and long range on the right side, but it sailed over the bar. The assist came from Michal Sadílek.

45 +4':

William Saliba of Arsenal committed a foul.

45 +5':

Tomás Chory from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

45 +5':

Tomás Chory from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

Slavia Prague 0, Arsenal 2. Mikel Merino scores for Arsenal with a left-footed shot from the center of the box, finding the bottom left corner. The assist comes from Leandro Trossard, who delivered a precise cross.

46':

GOAL Arsenal: Mikel Merino (Arsenal) scores!

Mikel Merino scores goal number 1 in the competition (4 matches) Mikel Merino scores goal number 13 for his team (60 matches)

49':

Lukás Provod from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

50':

Christos Zafeiris from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

56':

Mojmír Chytil from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

57':

Jurriën Timber from Arsenal committed a foul.

61':

Stepán Chaloupek from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

65':

Gabriel Magalhães from Arsenal committed a foul.

67':

Foul committed by Michal Sadílek of Slavia Prague.

Slavia Prague 0, Arsenal 3. Mikel Merino from Arsenal heads the ball into the net from the center of the penalty area.Slavia Prague 0, Arsenal 3. Mikel Merino scores for Arsenal with a header from the center of the box, placing the ball into the right corner. The assist comes from Declan Rice.

68':

GOAL Arsenal: Mikel Merino (Arsenal) scores!

Mikel Merino scores goal number 2 in the competition (4 matches) Mikel Merino scores goal number 13 for his team (60 matches)

70':

Christos Zafeiris from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

71':

David Moses from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

75':

Christian Nørgaard from Arsenal committed a foul.

77':

Muhammed Cham from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

78':

Youssoupha Mbodji from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

79':

Myles Lewis-Skelly from Arsenal committed a foul.

86':

Ben White of Arsenal has given away a penalty following a foul committed inside the box.

90 +3':

David Doudera from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

90 +3':

Vasil Kusej from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

90 +4':

William Saliba of Arsenal committed a foul.

90 +6':

Youssoupha Mbodji from Slavia Prague committed a foul.

998':

The referee whistles for the end of the match