Arsenal were 2–0 up at half-time and could have had more. Then Slavia went to a back three, had 16 shots to Arsenal's four after the break, and scored only in the 90th minute.
The numbers
| Arsenal | SK Slavia Praha | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 56% | 44% |
| Shots | 12 | 18 |
| On target | 5 | 6 |
| xG | 1.49 | 2.11 |
| Fouls | 10 | 15 |
| Yellow cards | 2 | 1 |
Result the chances deserved: Arsenal 27% / 21% / SK Slavia Praha 52% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Raya, White, Konsa, Gabriel, Hincapié, Zubimendi, Rice, Madueke, Merino, Eze, Gyökeres.
SK Slavia Praha (4-2-3-1): Domchak, Vlček, Holeš, Zima, Kubiak, Moses, Sadílek, Ayaosi, Suleiman, Šturm, Nowak.
Slavia subs: N'Guessan & Chytil (46', for Šturm & Suleiman; ESPN has 45'), Konečný (61', Vlček), Jurásek (71', Ayaosi), Chaloupek (81', Moses) (FotMob, ESPN). Coach: Jindřich Trpišovský. Slavia switched to a back three at half-time (Sky Sports).
Cards: Moses (20'), Konsa (53'), Rice (68') (FotMob). A VAR check for a penalty after Merino and Nowak collided found an accidental clash of heads (ESPN).
Key moments, move by move
- Raya goes long from the back, over Slavia's press (Opta Analyst).
- Gyökeres holds it up near halfway and hooks it on first time (Flashscore, ESPN).
- Madueke runs in behind and is clean through on Domchak (Flashscore).
- From the right of the box he slides an angled shot through the keeper's legs (Opta Analyst, ESPN).
- Merino wins the ball back high up the pitch (Opta Analyst).
- He and Gyökeres play a one-two (Flashscore, Sky Sports).
- Merino slides it through and Gyökeres runs onto it on the left of the area (Opta Analyst).
- He clips it across Domchak and in off the far post: his first goal in 11 games this season (ESPN, Sky Sports).
- Slavia throw it long into Arsenal's box (Opta Analyst).
- Arsenal clear, but only as far as the substitute Jurásek (Opta Analyst).
- He sends it straight back in while Raya has been drawn out to the ball (Opta Analyst).
- Nowak taps into the empty net from point-blank range (Flashscore, ESPN).
Arsenal went over Slavia's press for a 2–0 lead, then could not keep the ball
- First half, Arsenal's: both sides started in a 4-2-3-1 (FotMob). Arsenal went past Slavia's press rather than through it. The opener came from Raya's long ball, held up and hooked on by Gyökeres for Madueke (Flashscore); the second from Merino winning the ball high (Opta Analyst). Slavia had one shot before half-time, off target (Opta Analyst).
- The switch: Slavia brought on N'Guessan and Chytil at half-time and moved to a back three (Sky Sports). Kubiak forced Raya's first save 22 seconds after the restart (Opta Analyst). Raya: "I think they went up a gear and we were a little bit surprised" (TNT Sports via ESPN).
- Arsenal couldn't keep the ball: in the second half Slavia had 16 shots worth 2.17 xG, six on target, to Arsenal's four worth 0.19 (Opta Analyst). Arteta: "We gave so many balls away, so many bad clearances" (TNT Sports via ESPN). Gabriel headed two efforts off the line and Raya pushed Kubiak's header onto the post (ESPN).
- Throws and second balls: Holeš poked wide from a long throw before half-time (ESPN), and Slavia's goal came from another long throw that Arsenal cleared only as far as Jurásek (Opta Analyst). Over 90 minutes FotMob has Slavia ahead on xG, 2.11 to 1.49.
Tactical scenes
After the break Slavia played with three centre-backs and pushed up, and Arsenal's clearances kept coming straight back. Kubiak shot 22 seconds after the restart, Gabriel headed a header off the line at 75', Raya pushed Kubiak's header onto the post and Nowak scored at 90'.
Evidence: Second half: Slavia 16 shots worth 2.17 xG, six on target; Arsenal four shots worth 0.19 xG (Opta Analyst). Slavia had one shot in the first half. Sky Sports counts 17 Slavia shots after the break. Opta Analyst: Slavia Prague 1-2 Arsenal stats · Sky Sports match report
Recreate it in FM26
Arsenal · Arsenal's first half in Prague: go long, win it high · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Arsenal's first half in Prague: go long, win it high
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Raya | Goalkeeper | Goalkeeper |
| RB | White | Full-Back | Holding Full-Back |
| RCB | Konsa | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Gabriel | Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Hincapié | Full-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RDM | Zubimendi | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Screening Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Rice | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Madueke | Inside Forward | Tracking Winger |
| AM | Merino | Attacking Midfielder | Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Eze | Inside Forward | Winger |
| ST | Gyökeres | Target Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Goal KicksLong
- Passing DirectnessMore Direct
- Attacking TransitionCounter-Attack
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- Defensive TransitionCounter-Press
- Cross EngagementContest
The idea: A 4-2-3-1 that goes long early against a man-to-man press and presses high when it loses the ball. It needs a Target Forward who wins and holds the first ball, a quick wide runner, and a midfielder who can keep the ball when the game turns.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce how fast Arsenal lost control after half-time; in the game you change the instructions yourself when the opponent changes shape.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Formation 4-3-3, Ødegaard on at 55' (for Eze), Timber on at 60' (for White). Start as Arsenal did, then go to a 4-3-3 and bring on Ødegaard and Timber soon after Slavia's switch. The aim is not more goals but more of the ball in the second half. It moves Arsenal's win chance from 27% to 38% (xG 1.49–2.11 becomes 1.54–1.56). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Arsenal needed
Martin Ødegaard
After the break Arsenal kept losing the ball in midfield; Raya counted too many giveaways. Ødegaard's calm on the ball and short passing would have slowed the game down before Slavia's 16 second-half shots piled up.
Vitinha
Slavia pushed up and pressed, and Arsenal's clearances came straight back. A midfielder who takes the ball under pressure, turns and keeps it is the profile that lets a 2–0 lead breathe.
What the analysts said
“The scoreline should have reflected three or four goals.”Mikel Arteta (TNT Sports, via ESPN)
“We gave so many balls away, so many bad clearances, we didn't keep the ball or the structure at all.”Mikel Arteta (TNT Sports, via ESPN)
“We made six changes, but we know the quality of the players we have.”Mikel Arteta (BBC Sport, via Yahoo Sports)
“I think we had too many giveaways, especially in the final third, and they were running back towards our goal.”David Raya (TNT Sports, via ESPN)
“I think they went up a gear and we were a little bit surprised.”David Raya (TNT Sports, via ESPN)
Arsenal won it in the first half in Prague and survived the second.
What's happening. Arsenal won 2–1 in Prague and are third in the Champions League table, with ten points from four games. Madueke and Gyökeres scored before half-time. After the break Slavia had 16 shots to Arsenal's four (Opta Analyst), and Nowak scored in the 90th minute. Arteta had made six changes from Anfield.
How it works. A side leading 2–0 can rest on the ball or on its block, but it needs one of the two. Slavia went to a back three and pressed higher, and Arsenal's clearances kept coming straight back. The rotated side had no one to hold the ball and slow the game down. Without that, even a good deep block faces wave after wave, and long throws and second balls turn into chances.
What the shots say. FotMob has Slavia ahead on xG over the whole game, rare against this Arsenal side. One reading: the first half showed the real gap, and Gabriel's blocks and Raya's saves only had to cover one spell. The other: for 45 minutes a side without a Champions League win in 23 games made more and better chances than Arsenal, and a sharper finish makes it 2–2.