Arsenal’s statement victory as Gunners blast past Slavia Praha. Arsenal made a stunning character/quality statement by crushing Slavia Praha. The latter had previously won all games in the Europa league, and beating them 4-0 on the road. It was the ideal reaction to domestic disappointment of late, a performance based on passion and cold-blooded discipline.
A Commanding Response
The opening whistle was an indication of a hungry Arsenal that had been glaringly missing in their defeat against Liverpool. They were high-pressing, controlled the ball, and driven, immediately putting the Czech champions on the defensive. This was a message conveyed in plain sight. This was a new Arsenal, one that would be able to stand up to the challenge in Europe.
The First-Half Blitz
Bukayo Saka obtained the vital initial goal with a cool finish in penalty. This target drowned the fan base at home and within a few minutes, Mikel Merino scored twice to end things with a final nail in the coffin. The two fast goals provided the Gunners with a strong and justified lead in the tie before the half time.
Closing the Show
Even the remaining Slavia aspirations were put out at the start of the second half. Mikel Merino became a perpetual danger, and scored the goal just within the starting minutes of the second half. Then again at the closing 70th minute came with another goal to put things to rest. This was a near perfect game for Arsenal.
More Than Just a Win
This overwhelming performance was a masterpiece of tactics by Mikel Arteta and a great psychological boost to the whole team. It demonstrated that this young team could recover out of the bad situation in a mature, quality way. The goal was to get a statement position. But the way this became achievable sends a strong message, the project by Gunners is still having a blast and very much alive and kicking.
As featured on GoonerNews.com