Slavia Prague issue complaint over Arsenal tactic and bemoan referee decision

Arsenal downed Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Tuesday night but the Czech side’s skipper accused the Premier League outfit of being allowed to time waste by the referee

Slavia Prague’s captain Lukas Provod claims that Arsenal were time wasting during their win in the Czech Republic, but ultimately took it as a compliment.

The Gunners kept up their perfect start in the Champions League and have now won their opening four games on the European stage. Bukayo Saka got the first goal of the game before Mikel Merino bagged a brace in the second half.

In the process Arsenal registered their eighth clean sheet on the bounce, equalling a club record set in 1903, but their tactics didn’t go unnoticed by their opposition, who claimed they were looking to run down the clock.

Provod suggested that the Premier League side were taking longer than necessary when it came to set pieces, which the referee was happy to allow.

He said: “Arsenal prepare for set-pieces for a long time, we knew that. When they were leading, they didn’t rush anywhere, the referee didn’t rush them. I guess that’s a compliment for us too.”

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Saka’s opener came from the penalty spot just after the half hour mark after VAR had advised the referee Aliyar Aghayev to give a spot kick. Provod was deemed to have handled the ball but he took issue with the decision.

He said: “I was in charge of Gabriel, which is a tough one, so I was 100 per cent focused on defending him. The ball went from his head to my head and then into my hand. I prayed that VAR wouldn’t rule it out, which rarely happens. I don’t know exactly what the rule is when the ball goes from my head to my hand. Unfortunately, it was a penalty. In the first situation, he [the referee] told me that it went from Gabriel’s head to my hand. Which wasn’t true.”

Arsenal sit second in the Champions League group phase, sitting behind Bayern Munich only courtesy of goals scored. They also sit top of the Premier League as their trophy prospects are talked up and Provod has claimed they are arguably the best team on the planet.

“They are one of the best, if not the best team in the world,” he said. “They have a lot of quality, we see it in the Premier League, how they decide games. We didn’t deal with it badly, the result is cruel for us. They didn’t create that much. We were active, our DNA was there.”

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