Arsenal vs Slavia Prague preview: How to watch, predicted lineups, score prediction & injury updates

Arsenal host Slavia Prague in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday, in the biggest match of Mikel Arteta’s managerial career. Here is the preview.

Olympiacos in the last round was Arteta’s biggest game. After Thursday, the following Thursday will then become Arteta’s biggest game. It’s quite simple: Europa League or bust.

If Arsenal had have crashed out of the competition in the previous round it would have been devastating. However, there was still a glimmer of hope that European football could be secured via the Premier League. That fire has been extinguished.

As far as the draw went, it was near perfect. Yes, Granada on paper were the ideal opponent, but managing to avoid Manchester United, Ajax and Roma en route to a potential final was as good as the Gunners could have hoped for.

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Arsenal vs Slavia Prague preview: Europa League quarter-final first leg meeting at the Emirates Stadium

The Czech side are no easy ride. Eliminating Leicester and Rangers to reach this stage, in general any club in a quarter-final of a European competition deserves their place. There is an ongoing case against one of their players for alleged racist abuse hanging over their heads, but this is a focused and energetic side who are cute in the way they approach matches.

Adaptable and tactically flexible, they strike a neat balance between physicality and flair.

Thursday’s home side are at a worrying point. Clear improvements from the turn of the year have been countered with moments of lunacy, as well as insipid performances like last time out against Liverpool.

Inconsistencies in everything they do risk tarnishing the trajectory the side is on, and they can dispel the notion of progression and replace it with regression if they falter at this stage against this opposition.

Arsenal aren’t helped by injuries at key moments. There were certain absences that rocked the performance against Liverpool that Arteta will be hoping, praying and needing to have back in midweek.

How to Watch on TV

When Is Kick Off? Thursday 8 April
What Time Is Kick Off? 20:00 (GMT)
Where Is it Played? Emirates Stadium
TV Channel/Live Stream? BT Sport (UK) fuboTV (USA)
Referee? Andreas Ekberg

Arsenal Team News vs Slavia Prague

It’s worrying times.

Arteta saw the lack of depth in his squad fully exploited against Liverpool, with the additions coming in performing woefully below the standard required in unbearable fashion.

David Luiz missed out with a knee injury that he has since undergone surgery on, meaning he will be out of action for at least four weeks. His Europa League venture is over unless his side reach the next round. Due to that, Rob Holding took his place in the side and looks set to do so again.

At left-back Arsenal are up the creek without a paddle. Kieran Tierney is the only player able to play the position naturally, and that’s without mentioning just how important he is in general. His absence, which looks set to be long-term, is a killer blow to any trophy ambitions.

In midfield Granit Xhaka will come back in after missing out through illness, not because he’s recovered or confirmed to be well, but simply because a bedridden Xhaka is better than a 100% fit Dani Ceballos.

Emile Smith Rowe has still not returned to training following a hip issue and looks set to miss out, but on the positive side Bukayo Saka has been involved with the rest of the squad and should be passed fit.

The visitors have their own issues to contend with, starting with everyone’s least favourite footballer Ondřej Kúdela.

A nasal contusion suffered by the elbow of Gareth Bale kept him out of their last fixture, and will do likewise on Thursday. Fellow centre-backs Simon Deli and David Hovorka are also missing through injury, while central midfielder Ibrahim Traoré is out with a muscle problem.

It’s a crisis for the Czech side, who now only have one fit centre-back to face Arsenal, 20-year-old David Zima.

Arsenal Predicted Lineup

Arsenal: Leno; Chambers, Holding, Gabriel, Cedric; Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Pepe, Aubameyang

Slavia Prague: Kolar; Masopust, Kacharaba, Zima, Boril; Hromada, Provod, Dorley, Stanciu, Olayinka; Sima

Arsenal vs Slavia Prague Score Prediction

Oh Arsenal, where do we go from here? It so often feels like one step forward, two steps back, or possibly two steps forward and one step back depending on one’s scepticism.

Vast improvements since Christmas were at risk of derailment, not because of losing to Liverpool, but indeed the manner of the defeat: lifeless, weak and careless.

https://twitter.com/AFCProgramme/status/1379420385364557827

I’d love to confidently claim we’ll see the good of the two faces Arteta spoke of, but all too frequently we are dished up mismatched outings reflective of a collectively frail mentality when the occasion calls for it. Disjointed performances littered with individual mistakes always elevate the potential for risk, and in a fixture of this magnitude they may once more come to the fore.

On the personnel side, the absence of Tierney is a hammer blow, both for his overall quality and clutch moments, as well as for balance on that left side. The left and right footed combination Arteta supports in build-up play fades.

Granit Xhaka coming back into midfield (hopefully) is the opposite of that, as his presence in the centre of the park is hugely important despite not being the No. 6 Arsenal need to progress as a football club.

As for the visitors, Slavia Prague are not a poor side. Because they’ve been blanketed as the easier of the draws (they were), they’re being seen as such. They are still beatable, though.

Even without their two central defenders they pose a genuine threat, with Peter Olayinka and Abdallah Sima both utilising wide areas effectively and allowing star man Nicolae Stanciu the freedom to roam into pockets of space.

They have excellent energy levels and can move up a gear or two in unwavering unison, while their height in set pieces is also a danger.

There is a famous Forest Gump quote one can attribute to this Arsenal team, where there is scope to win 3-0 just as there is the platform to slump to a similarly woeful loss.

It’s going to be a nervy encounter regardless of which Arsenal show up, whereas Slavia will be full of confidence. The result may reflect that.

Score Prediction: Arsenal 1-1 Slavia Prague