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Arsenal's Slavia Prague win exposed a weakness Liverpool already knew
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- Arsenal's Slavia Prague win exposed a weakness Liverpool already knew
Ben White, Arsenal | David Price/GettyImages
Arsenal were painstakingly close to a clean sheet in Prague, but it was always a long shot. Slavia had the better chances throughout the game, and the home team certainly won the second half . Towards the final moments of the game, Wiktor Nowak gave Slavia hope, but despite Arsenal losing their clean sheet , they held firm for a win on the road in Europe.
All in all, Arsenal can't turn up their noses at an away win in Prague. Sandwiched between two Premier League games, it was always going to be a difficult match for the Gunners.
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What should concern Arsenal, though, is the manner in which Slavia's goal was scored.
Slavia Prague, Liverpool and Fleetwood have all targeted Arsenal's right
Slavia scored their late goal courtesy of a cross from David Jursek - the cross found its way past several Arsenal players before Nowak could score one of the easiest goals of his career.
Arsenal were sloppy in the second half, and it was quite clear that Slavia had done their homework. They attacked Arsenal in an identical manner to Liverpool, particularly in the second half. Their attack was slightly more impressive than the Reds, because they were a lot more efficient in their crossing, and it almost cost Arsenal two points.
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Both Slavia and Liverpool attempted the same attack against Arsenal - that being a relentless press, primarily from wide positions.
Arsenal must learn from all of their matches, even the ones they win. The channel which both Slavia and Liverpool saw as Arsenal's weakest was Arsenal's right. Liverpool tried to get the better of Jurrien Timber, whereas Slavia tried to get the better of Ben White.
In fact, the same can be said for Arsenal's match against Fleetwood Town. Of course, that was a slightly rotated team for Arsenal, but the trend started there.
| Team |
Attacked Arsenal's right side |
Attacked Arsenal's centre |
Attacked Arsenal's left side |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slavia Prague |
41% |
25% |
34% |
| Liverpool |
39% |
38% |
23% |
| Fleetwood |
36% |
29% |
35% |
Data courtesy of FotMob
Am I looking too much into this? Potentially. It could just as easily be a coincidence that Arsenal's three recent opponents all attacked down Arsenal's right side the most. However, it is worth noting.
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Both Jurrien Timber and Ben White have more defending to do than their counterparts on the left. The margins may be small, but they are margins nonetheless.
Thankfully, Arsenal have the luxury of rotation on their right. They have two players in Timber and White, who are good enough to make most teams in the Premier League. Nevertheless, this context is important in case frustrations begin to grow over their lack of attacking input, comparatively.
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This article was originally published on www.paininthearsenal.com as Arsenal's Slavia Prague win exposed a weakness Liverpool already knew .
