Mikel Merino scored twice as Arsenal cruised to a 3–0 victory over Slavia Praha in the Champions League group stage, extending their winning run to eight matches in all competitions, ijobasportsnews.com reports.
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The Spaniard, deployed as a makeshift striker in the absence of injured Viktor Gyökeres, once again demonstrated his versatility — just as he did last season when filling in for Kai Havertz — by leading the line with composure and precision.
Arsenal opened the scoring in the 32nd minute after VAR penalised Lukas Provod for a handball from Gabriel’s flicked corner. Captain Bukayo Saka stepped up and converted confidently into the bottom corner.
Despite a sluggish first half, Arsenal emerged stronger after the break. Leandro Trossard’s cross found Merino, who volleyed home within seconds of the restart to double the lead.
The 28-year-old added his second in the 68th minute, heading in Declan Rice’s delivery after Slavia goalkeeper Jakub Markovic misjudged the flight of the ball.
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There was a historic moment late in the game as Max Dowman, aged 15 years and 308 days, became the youngest-ever player to feature in the Champions League, breaking Youssoufa Moukoko’s previous record set with Borussia Dortmund in 2020.
Slavia briefly thought they had won a penalty when Provod went down under Ben White’s high challenge, but VAR overturned the decision after a pitch-side review.
The victory maintains Arsenal’s perfect record in Europe this season — four wins from four — while extending their unbeaten streak across all competitions to 13 matches.
