Arsenal win at Slavia Praha, but Raya wants more

David Raya said Arsenal's Champions League pain from last season should stay with them after their 1-2 win over Slavia Praha in Slavia Praha vs Arsenal. Arsenal led through Noni Madueke after nine minutes, then Viktor Gyökeres scored before half-time and assisted the opener. The second half was much messier, and the late concession in Prague kept the evening from feeling settled.

Raya and Arteta's warning

Raya's message after the game was about standards, not celebration. Speaking to football.london, he said: "I think it is never going to be out of the system. I think it is something that is going to live with us - and hopefully we can win the Champions League to get that out of us. But it has to be in our veins. It has to be on us to make it better this year."

Mikel Arteta took a similar line after the match. Speaking to the Independent, he described "two very different halves", said the scoreline should have been "three or four goals" at half-time, and added that Arsenal were "very sloppy" after the break, with too many balls given away and the structure lost.

The win still mattered, but the details are hard to ignore. Raya made 4 saves, and Arsenal needed them once Slavia began to push harder. Gyökeres was the highest-rated starter on 8.56, which fitted the kind of all-round showing Arsenal needed from their forward on a night when control slipped away.

Arsenal are through the night with 3 points, but the sharper edge of the performance is still missing. The next Champions League outing will tell us more about whether this was a warning absorbed or just another uncomfortable away win.