Mikel Arteta's Arsenal continued their terrific start to the 2025/26 campaign with a 3-0 away victory over Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Tuesday night, and they have taken their winning streak at Europe's top table to four matches. Pictures of some of the travelling contingent reading the local newspaper instead of watching the action have been posted on social media – and the reason behind their atypical matchgoing behaviour has emerged.
The ever-reliable Bukayo Saka opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark as the Englishman stepped up from 12 yards out after referee Oliyar Agayev adjudged captain Lukas Provod to have committed a handball offence in the penalty area. Auxiliary striker Mikel Merino then bagged a second-half brace to pick up all three points in the Czech Republic.
After finishing second in the Premier League three seasons on the bounce and having lost to Paris Saint-Germain in last season's Champions League semi-finals, Arteta – widely regarded as one of the best managers in world football – will be looking to secure silverware come the end of term. Their form, although their approach to games has been slammed, puts them in a decent position to do so.
Watch highlights from Arsenal 3-0 Slavia Prague below:
Why Arsenal Fans Read The Newspaper During 3-0 Win Over Slavia Prague
champions league arsenal
A team who are widely regarded as one of the biggest teams to never win the Champions League, the Gunners – whose best finish resulted in being runners-up in 2006 as they lost 2-1 to Barcelona in the final – now have a terrific chance of knocking Paris Saint-Germain off their perch. Whether they have the minerals to go all the way, however, remains up in the air.
As Arsenal were on their way to a fourth straight victory in Europe, some fans took it upon themselves to sit down to read the local newspaper rather than being fixed on watching their men in action. "Boring boring Arsenal." one fan wrote as they took to X (formerly Twitter). The same user, after picking up all three points, wrote, "Breaking news: Boring Arsenal win again."
The pictures, as expected, have gone viral on social media – and that's because of the current noise surrounding the Premier League table toppers and how they set up to win football matches.
Unfairly or not, Arsenal have been brandished as 'boring' to watch given a large chunk of their goals across all competitions are scored via set-pieces. Judging by the statistics, that notion is true – Arsenal have scored 12 goals from set-pieces in the Premier League this season, which is three more than any other side.
At the back end of August, Peter Schmeichel slammed the way that Arteta tries to win football matches. "I have never in my life EVER wanted a team to win a game of football more than Liverpool today. Arsenal bring an ugly brand of football to our game! Arteta – let your team play football! Let them loose! Let them be free!"
mikel arteta arsenal
The Emirates Stadium faithful, however, will claim that Arsenal – given the teams set up in a low block against them – are forced into playing into their moniker of being the set-piece kings. And, as a way of hitting back at the criticism, the Arsenal supporters inside Slavia Prague's Fortuna Arena pulled out newspapers instead of focusing on their men on the pitch.
It also insinuates the fact that Arsenal have been cruising to victory with relative ease in recent times. Up next for the capital club, they travel to the Stadium of Light to face a high-flying Sunderland before hosting the first North London derby of the season on November 23. The small matter of Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Chelsea in the Premier League then follow.
Arsenal – Next Five Fixtures
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08/11
23/11
26/11
30/11
03/12
At the time of writing, the north Londoners – who are currently top of England's top flight with 25 points after ten matches – are alongside Vincent Kompany's Bayern Munich as the two teams that have won all four of their outings in Europe's top-tier competition. They've scored 11 goals against the likes Olympiacos and Atletico Madrid, and they are yet to concede.