Arsenal player ratings vs Slavia Prague as Mikel Merino bags brace to join three 8/10s

SLAVIA PRAGUE VS ARSENAL: Gunners' player performances rated after Champions League clash at the Fortuna Arena

Arsenal made it a fourth successive Champions League victory in a row after beating Slavia Prague. It puts the North London side in a great position with 12 points on the board.

Bukayo Saka opened the scoring from the penalty spot, with the referee, Aliyar Aghayev, deciding that Lukas Provod had handled the ball in the box. Mikel Merino would score the second right after half-time to give the Gunners full control.

The Spaniard would add a third just over twenty minutes later, heading in backwards after as looping Declan Rice ball. Late on a penalty awarded to Slavia Prague was overturned by a review.

By keeping their rivals out, they notched an eighth successive clean sheet - matching a club record set back in 1903. Here is how football.london rated the performances of the Arsenal players:

David Raya – A dodgy moment in the second half but thankfully one he recovered from. Faced one shot on target all game. 6

Jurrien Timber – Great piece of defending early on to turn over possession and start a counterattack and was strong throughout. 7

William Saliba – Had one shaky moment sliding in to win a challenge after a heavy touch but was solid throughout the clash. 7

Gabriel Magalhaes – Had a speculative volley from outside the box shot just wide of the goal. Had to receive treatment after suffering a nasty cut above his right eye, but soon after headed the ball leading to the penalty decision. 7

Piero Hincapie – Couldn’t quite find his way into the right positions to provide a characteristic cross from the left in the first half. Grew into the game however and showed some great pieces of skill to beat his man. 6

Christian Norgaard – Didn’t stand out necessarily but considering his struggles against Brighton last week that is likely for the better. 6

Declan Rice – Nearly found the net directly from a corner, going near post and nearly catching out Slavia Prague. Critical for both goals and another top display. 8

Ethan Nwaneri – Booked in the first half for cynically stopping a counterattack. Had a couple of challenging moments among some nice interchanges, but couldn’t find the end product. 6

Bukayo Saka – Saw a shot from outside the box pushed away by Jakub Markovic. Followed by a string of further attempts on target, which were again saved. He would make up for the missed chances by dispatching the penalty, low into the bottom right corner. 7

Mikel Merino – Offered very little in the first half besides being target to aim passes at and receive returns again from. Yet after just 35 seconds of the second half his volleyed finish gave him a goal and then beautifully headed in a backwards attempt for the Gunners’ third. 8

Leandro Trossard – Lively as usual and was certainly a threat in the first half, having a shot blocked. Brilliant cross from Merino, who had broken the offside trap and scored skilfully. 8

Substitutes:

Eberechi Eze – Came on for Nwaneri but couldn’t progress the attack much more in the close of the game. 5

Max Dowman – The 15-year-old became the youngest ever Champions League player replacing Leandro Trossard. 6

Ben White – Came close to giving away a penalty, but thankfully the decision was overturned.

Myles Lewis-Skelly – Came on to replace Piero Hincapie to see out the game well. 6

Andre Harriman-Annous – Came on too late to influence the game. n/a