Saka and Merino star as ruthless Arsenal maintain perfect Champions League start

15-year-old Max Dowman entered the action for Arsenal in the final 20 minutes, becoming the youngest player in Champions League history. 

Stand-in striker Mikel Merino scored a second half brace for Arsenal. Pic: AP Photo/Petr David Josek

Champions League: Slavia Prague 0- 3 Arsenal

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal continued to set the standards in domestic and European football as they overcame a striker crisis to deservedly lead the Champions League table with four wins from four matches. Stand-in captain Bukayo Saka and stand-in forward Mikel Merino scored as the Premier League pace setters won with seven potential starters, including all three of their recognised strikers, out injured.

Such is their self belief and the robust nature of their well-oiled system there was a sense of inevitability about their 14th win from their 16 matches in all competitions this season. Their eighth consecutive clean sheet matched a club record dating back to 1903. History makers in the making?

Like Arsenal, the Czech champions are defensively sound, having not conceded in their previous five games, unbeaten in the league this season and undefeated here, at the Fortuna Arena, since a domestic cup defeat to Sigma Olomouc in early April. Do not underestimate how well Arsenal are playing.

Prague were more than a match for Arsenal early on too. The narrative took a dramatic turn after just over half an hour when fussy Azerbaijan referee Aliyar Aghayev intervened, with the help of a pitch-side monitor, to award Arsenal a penalty for a dubious handball. Gabriel tried to head in a near post Saka corner and the ball seemed to hit Lukas Provod’s hand accidentally before it deflected over the bar.

There is little nuance in Champions League officiating, however, and accident or not, Saka was gifted the chance to score his fifth goal of the season. He had three shots on target in the 10 minutes before scoring so had his sights well set to finish this time.

Set Piece FC now had to switch to Clean Sheet FC for an hour or so to get the job done.

The need not to concede diminished barely 30 seconds into the second half as Merino volleyed Arsenal into a two-goal lead. Leandro Trossard worked himself some space on the left wing and clipped a cross towards the near post, where Merino timed a perfect run to finish with a neat first-time volley.

The Spain international midfielder, deputising for the in-form Viktor Gyokeres, then headed in his second on 68 minutes when he glanced in a curling Declan Rice pass.

That third Arsenal goal gave Arteta the confidence to make some changes with Saturday’s huge Premier League trip to Sunderland in mind. One of them was 15-year-old schoolboy Max Dowman, who became the competition’s youngest ever player when he replaced Trossard for the final 20 minutes.

An 87th minute penalty scare threatened to ruin Arsenal’s defensive run, but this time the referee rightly overruled his own decision after a check of the replays 

ARSENAL: Raya 6, Timber 6 (White, 73), Saliba 6, Gabriel 6, Hincapie 6 (Lewis-Skelly 73), Rice 7 (Annous 81), Norgaard, Nwaneri 6 (Eze 65), Saka 8, Trossard 7 (Dowman 72), Merino 8. Subs: Setford, Rojas-Fedorushchenko, Mosquera, Calafiori, Sagoe Jr.

SLAVIA PRAGUE: Markovic 6, Chaloupek 6, Zima 6, Zafeiris 5 (Cham 70), Sanyang 6 (Kusej 74), Mbodji 6, Moses 6 (Hashioka 74), Provod 5, Sadilek 6, Chory 5 (Chytil 49), Vleck 5 (Doudera 70). Subs: Stanek, Rezek, Boril, Toula, Prekop, Jelinek, Kolisek 

Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (AZE) 5 

Attendance: 19,022