After a majestic opening 45 minutes from the Premier League champions in Prague, Arsenal made it much more difficult than it needed to be in the second half.
Noni Madueke opened the scoring with a well-taken goal after being played in by Viktor Gyokeres, before the Swede got on the act and doubled the Gunners' advantage with a lovely finish, following neat combination play involving Mikel Merino. Slavia ended the first half having taken just one shot, worth 0.12 expected goals, while Arsenal had generated eight shots worth a combined 1.3 xG.
The Czech side somehow finished the game with over 2 xG, as they created a series of scrappy second-half chances as the North Londoners lost control. Mikel Arteta will be frustrated with the manner in which his side surrendered their grip on the game, although he'll be enthused by several of the individual performances he saw on the night.
With that said, here's the worst-to-first ranking from Arsenal's gritty 2-1 victory over Slavia Prague in the Champions League.
Introduced in stoppage time, Max Dowman had just one touch before the referee blew the full-time whistle. He actually managed to win an important foul with this solitary contribution, but he wasn't on long enough to make any sort of impact.
Jurrien Timber was introduced in the 78th minute to restore control to Arsenal's performance, and he failed to really help in this aspect. The Slavia goal also came down his side, which doesn't reflect particularly well on him.
Cristhian Mosquera is in a difficult position in the Arsenal squad, particularly with William Saliba returning to the fold for this encounter. He needed to impress in his 30-minute cameo at the Fortuna Arena, but unfortunately for him, Arsenal's defending just became more scrappy and last-ditch after he was brought on.
When Arteta was delivering instructions to Martin Odegaard on the sidelines before the Arsenal skipper came on, the Spaniard was almost certainly asking the playmaker to keep the ball and cool the temperature of the game via this ball retention.
Odegaard responded to this remit by coming on and completing just 79% of his passes.
It certainly says something about this performance that all five of the substitutes rank as the bottom five performers. Christos Tzolis wasn't bad, but his introduction coincided with the worst period of the game for the Gunners, and he did little to relieve pressure by being an outlet.
Despite being the worst of the starters, Ben White actually wasn't bad; it's just that everyone was good for at least 45 minutes. The right-back was involved in a lot of nice combination play in the final third in the first half, before he tailed off in the second period and Arteta was forced to hook him.
Like White, Piero Hincapie didn't have a poor game. He was also involved in some dynamic build-up play, dovetailing nicely with Eberechi Eze on the left-hand side. However, the Ecuadorian was culpable of some bad give-aways in the second half as the game became frantic.
Ezri Konsa was, on the whole, very solid again. He was typically calm in possession and produced an outstanding forray forward in the second half, driving up the pitch before clipping the ball to the back post.
However, two rash challenges, one of which resulted in a booking, bring him down in this ranking.
Martin Zubimendi earned a much-needed start, and he'll be more than happy with what he was able to produce on this rare occasion. Although his second-half sloppiness contributed to Arsenal's loss of control, he was at the heart of the Gunners' dynamic build-up in the first period, whilst carrying out plenty of defensive work.
This was as dynamic a display as we've seen from Eberechi Eze off the left. He receieved the ball excellently on a number of occasions, which allowed him to drive inside and create danger.
He was also denied an outstanding solo goal in the first half when he saw his effort that followed a mazey run blocked.
Declan Rice was his usual self for about 70 minutes, snapping into challenges, carrying Arsenal up the pitch and setting the tempo with his passing, before he visibly ran out of gas. He spent the last 20 minutes lumbering about, clearly dying to be taken off. He wasn't granted this wish.
Arsenal's wall at the back was able to stroll through the first half, conducting the Gunners' deep possession without being remotely tested defensively.
When it came to actually doing some defensive work in the second half, he came alive, blocking and heading everything that came his way. Imperious.
Had David Raya not stood tall in a number of crucial moments, this game might've ended very differently. The Spanish goalkeeper claimed everything that came his way in the second half, while he made a stunning save from Oskar Kubiak's late header.
Arsenal's attack was fluid in the first half, and that is in large part down to Mikel Merino's contributions. The Spaniard was oustanding, popping up in dangerous areas to combine with teammates in and around the box, and this lead to his assist for Gyokeres' goal.
He was also a goal threat, breaking into the box to miss two big chances in the opening 45 minutes. While he can be a tad ponderous in possession inside his own half, he makes Arsenal's attack better.
Noni Madueke's game has seemingly come on leaps and bounds in recent weeks. His first half showing was as good as anything we've seen from him in an Arsenal shirt.
He was sharp and direct every time he recieved the ball, running at defenders and crucially making the right decision every single time. He also took his goal nicely, using his pace and precision to open the scoring.
It sounds basic to anoint the two goalscorers as the best players on the day, but they were. While both were culpable of fading in the second half, allowing Slavia a route back into the game, their outstanding first-half contributions are what secured Arsenal the three points.
Gyokeres was atypically astute with his hold-up play, while he took his goal brilliantly and created Madueke's strike with a smart hooked pass. He was rightfully awarded the official UEFA Man of the Match.
This article was originally published on www.paininthearsenal.com as Every Arsenal player ranked from worst to best from the 2-1 win over Slavia Prague .
