ARSENAL comfortably saw off Slavia Prague 3-0 in the UEFA Champions League tonight in Prague to extend their winning run in all competitions to eight matches.
It was also an eighth consecutive clean sheet, equalling a club record set back in 1903 over two different seasons.
Emergency striker Mikel Merino struck twice for the Gunners as he filled in for the injured Viktor Gyokeres.
Arsenal’s opening goal came in the 32nd minute when they were awarded a penalty after the video assistant referee (VAR) caught Lukas Provod for handball after Gabriel flicked on a corner.
Captain Bukayo Saka stepped up to slot the ball into the bottom corner.
Mikel Arteta’s side started the second half extremely well and doubled their lead seconds after the restart when Merino volleyed Leandro Trossard’s cross into the bottom corner.
Merino added his second in the 68th minute when he rose to meet a Declan Rice cross as home keeper Jakub Markovic came out but failed to collect the ball.
There was also another piece of history on the night as Max Dowman, at 15 years and 308 days old became the youngest player to feature in the UEFA Champions League when he replaced Trossard – breaking the mark set by Youssoufa Moukoko at 16 years and 18 days with Borussia Dortmund in 2020.
Slavia Prague were initially awarded a penalty late on when Provod went down after a high challenge from Ben White, but the decision was overturned by a VAR check once the referee was sent to the pitchside monitor.
The victory continued Premier League leaders Arsenal’s excellent start to the season, with four wins from four matches in the Champions League as they extended their unbeaten run to 13 matches in all competitions.
In the other early Champions League kick-off tonight, Napoli were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, leaving the Serie A champions with just four points from four games.