Arsenal Stay Calm in Prague as a Young star shines and Arteta pats the team on the back

Match report

Spanish coach Mikel Arteta praised Arsenal’s composure after a difficult trip to Slavia Prague, as the Gunners claimed a 3-0 victory in the Champions League group stage.

Arsenal secured the win away from home, with Bukayo Saka converting a penalty on 32 minutes and Mikell Merino adding two strikes (46 and 68 minutes).

Arteta spoke after the match, telling UEFA that, "mentally, we handled it extremely well; this shows our consistency and defensive control against a side that is tough to face on their own turf."

He also noted that four changes from the weekend’s league clash against Burnley had all paid off, calling the performance broadly rewarding and promising for the squad.

On keeping cool under pressure, Arteta added, “In such games you can drift into tension and make wrong decisions against a team that plays direct, vertical and man-to-man all the time.”

Regarding Max Dowman, who entered the history books as the youngest player to appear in the Champions League at 15 years and 308 days, Arteta said, “There is no tougher competition than this tournament, and Max—still only a teenager—was eager to take on the challenge and seize free kicks. It shows the character of these young players.”

He finished with a nod to the youngster’s style: “With his manner of play, he draws a lot of contact, and we have a great player on our hands.”

Arsenal widened their lead to 12 points, maintaining a flawless record after four matches, while Slavia Prague stayed on two points, stuck in the relegation zone of the group.

Different records

According to Opta, Arsenal became only the second English club in European Cup/Champions League history to win their first four games of a season without conceding, a feat last achieved by Leeds in 1969/70.

Skewing the history books further, Opta revealed that Arsenal recorded eight consecutive wins across all competitions without conceding a goal—an achievement later matched by Preston North End in 1889 and Liverpool in 1920, as noted by the statisticians.

Dowman’s landmark as the youngest CL participant is also highlighted by the numbers, while Saka’s streak of away goals makes him the first Arsenal player to score in four straight CL away games.

Defensively, Arsenal’s unit remains formidable with goalkeeper David Raya and a back line led by William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães, who have kept a remarkable run of clean sheets across the campaign—13 clean sheets in 16 matches, with only three goals conceded in the Premier League and a single shot on target in the last four league games.

Offensively, Arsenal have netted 18 league goals, with 12 coming from set pieces, a figure only Manchester City surpasses with 20.

The squad’s depth is evident after around £250 million ($328m) in summer spending, which helped them counter long injury absences to Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, captain Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke, and Bukayo Saka at different points in the season.

Saka added to the mood in a Sky Sports interview: “This year we feel like a very strong group with plenty of quality.” He continued, noting that the absences didn’t derail the side and that the resilience of the squad is a key factor in maintaining their performance level.

Looking ahead, Arteta acknowledged Manchester City and Liverpool as the main domestic challengers, with City currently showing some form instability while Liverpool snapped a four-game league losing streak with a win over Aston Villa.

Numbers backing Arsenal’s ambition

Last season, Liverpool clinched the title with 84 points, while Arsenal finished second on 74. This season, Arsenal’s current momentum has them on 22 points from nine games, suggesting a potential 90-point finish if the pace holds, a pace that could redefine expectations for the title race.

Opta’s analyses put Arsenal at roughly an 80-point finish, well ahead of Liverpool and City, who hover around 69 points each. If that scenario materializes, a title could hinge on achieving around 70 points—arguably the lowest threshold to win the Premier League since its modern inception in 1992.

In another note, Manchester United still hold the record for the lowest total points by a champion with 75 in 1996-97.

Sky Sports projections put Arsenal at a 66% chance to win the title, a clear edge over City (12%) and Liverpool (11%), a sign of growing belief in the London club’s consistency and sturdiness this term.

Punchline time from Sniper-level humor: If football were a chess game, Arsenal just checkmated the board with a clean sheet—and they didn’t even lose a pawn. Punchline 2: The defense is so airtight that even the VAR referee needs a password to enter.