Slavia Prague vs Arsenal: Gunners survive second-half scare to clinch UCL tie

Arsenal returned to winning ways in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening—after the draw against Bayern Munich—surviving a late scare to secure a hard-fought 2-1 away victory over Slavia Prague at the Fortuna Arena.

Powered by an outstanding performance from striker Viktor Gyökeres, the Gunners built a comfortable cushion early on before successfully navigating a tense closing period to escape Czechia with all three points

Arsenal took complete control from the opening whistle and required just nine minutes to break the deadlock. Capitalising on their sharp early possession, Viktor Gyökeres slipped a precise pass through to Noni Madueke, who finished coolly from inside the box to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage.

The Gunners continued to dictate the tempo of the first half, efficiently shutting down the hosts' transition attempts while probing for a second goal. In the 38th minute, Gyökeres turned from provider to goalscorer.

 After receiving a well-placed assist from midfielder Mikel Merino, the Swedish striker unleashed a fine strike into the top-right corner, sending Arsenal into the halftime break with a commanding 2-0 lead.

Slavia Prague emerged for the second half with renewed intensity, committing more bodies forward and ultimately outshooting Arsenal 18 to 12 over the course of the match. 

Despite the hosts seeing more of the ball in the closing stages, Arsenal's defence held firm for most of the half.

The visitors were finally breached in the 90th minute when Wiktor Nowak found the back of the net to make it 2-1. The late goal set up a frantic stoppage-time period, but goalkeeper David Raya and the Arsenal backline successfully saw out the final minutes to seal the victory.