Longest winless run in UCL history versus an Arsenal team that had just come back from Anfield with a win - yep, there was only ever going to be one winner here.
Ahem....
Beyond securing a big result, though, Mikel Arteta clearly wanted to give squad names a chance to prove themselves as individual winners in Prague. Indeed, six changes from the weekend indicated his plan.
And it all panned out like he desired - in the end. Many of the rotated faces took full advantage of this game time by contributing to some liquid football which looked to have effectively sewn the match up at half-time.
Instead, the hosts had other plans and rattled the Gunners' cage throughout the second half, even if it was not enough deny them the win.
Here are four winners and one-ish loser to watch from Arsenal's nervy 2-1 victory over Slavia Prague on Matchday 4.
Building on a fine, creative effort at Liverpool, Noni Madueke would add a goal to his contribution on Wednesday night.
He moved about in his usual tricky style but is improving his end product all the time. Maybe it owes to heightened confidence after a regular stint in the team; nowhere was that more evident than for his one-man mission to dribble into the box from a short corner in the first half which almost paid off to full effect.
This brilliant form is just what the boss and Arsenal needed in light of Bukayo Saka's injury and long may it continue.
Right up there among his best games in an Arsenal shirt (even if there are genuinely few contenders for that honour).
Viktor Gyokeres made a lovely assist for the Madueke goal and, in doing so, perhaps sent a message to his Gunners teammate - it was the sort of quick ball in behind which he would normally thrive on himself.
He built on it by almost setting up a goal for Mikel Merino, while his hold-up play was much better in Prague than usual.
You get the sense that things will never truly click for Gyokeres but he is still more than good enough (and pricey enough) to have an impact when called upon. It often does not happen that way but here he really impressed.
Mr. Consistent did what he does best - keep the ball.
As things threatened to get hairy in Prague, Merino was the picture of calm whenever in possession of it. He always knows where the space is, knows when to hold on or release the ball and is slippery as an eel to escape pressure.
It helped Arsenal to keep Slavia Prague at bay for as long as they did while also leading to an odd goal chance at the opposite end which the visitors could not capitalise on.
TNT Sports called him a "Swiss Army Knife" and it is a perfect moniker. Help to shut the match down, aid the team to re-establish a foothold or perhaps pop up with a goal himself, Merino can do it all for this Arsenal side.
Maybe the return of Christos Tzolis can explain the swagger that Eberechi Eze showed at the Fortuna Arena.
Panache and style oozed from his every touch in the first half. He turned the home defenders inside out, linked up beautifully with his fellow forwards and was unfortunate to be denied the goal his own display merited late in the half.
Eze only lasted until the hour mark but did more than enough to push for that starting LW position at the weekend. His Arsenal career to date suggests no one ought to get carried away yet but, like RW teammate Madueke, perhaps a consistent run in the first team is just what he needs to kickstart his best form.
This is a vague, collective award because the Arsenal defence utterly collapsed late on in Prague, yet no one individual was to blame.
For some reason, a normally water-tight backline coughed up chance after chance to the hosts until they eventually (deservedly) conceded right on 90 minutes as Wiktor Nowak nodded in from point-blank range.
Neither David Raya nor the centre-backs covered themselves in glory at that moment but they each produced big saves/blocks at other points during the Slavia siege, with Raya being especially heroic with a reaction save on the goal-line.
Letting Slavia pin them back will cause huge concern for the boss as it is the rock on which this title-winning team has been built.
For now, take the points and run.
This article was originally published on www.paininthearsenal.com as Four winners and one loser from Arsenal's nervy UCL win against Slavia Prague .
