2 positives and 3 negatives from Arsenal's win over Slavia Prague

Arsenal beat Slavia Prague at the Fortuna Arena for the second year running in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

After a strong start, the Gunners took the lead inside the opening 10 minutes when Noni Madueke slotted beyond the Slavia goalkeeper after being played in by a brilliant hooked pass from Viktor Gyokeres. The Swede then doubled the away side's advantage, combining excellently with Mikel Merino before sweeping the ball into the back of the net off the post.

Mikel Arteta will be delighted with how his side dominated the opening 45 minutes, limiting Slavia to virtually nothing of note whilst creating numerous chances themselves.

However, this domination did not continue into the second half. Slavia fought back with a much more spirited effort after the break, and eventually scored a consolation in the dying embers, courtesy of a Wiktor Nowak tap-in.

The Premier League champions were able to see it out, moving back into the top eight of the League Phase table.

So often, Arsenal are accused of being too rigid in their structure, creating a predictable and sterile attack. This was far from the case on Tuesday night in Prague.

Arteta deployed a positionally versatile starting XI, which allowed for fluid rotations between players across the pitch, ultimately creating a dynamic attack. All three midfielders popped up in front of the back four to collect the ball, and all three arrived in the box to get on the end of moves.

At the same time, the full-backs and wingers were allowed to rotate in terms of who held the width. At times, Piero Hincapie would be the widest man in the attack on the left, allowing Eberechi Eze to tuck in and vise versa.

Arsenal fans will certainly want to see more of this positional flexibility, as it led to a potent offensive display.

After such a rampant first half, it wasn't necessarily reasonable to expect as dominant a second period. At the end of the day, it's still a European away match against a team that have monopolised their own league.

That said, Arteta will be frustrated with some of his team's sloppiness after the break. Wayward passes, lax moments on the ball which led to them being dispossessed, and some poor decision-making, meant the North Londoners lost some of their control, particularly at the start of the second half.

Given Arteta's obsession with control, he'll have been left irritated by this period of untidiness.

This time last week, Arteta made several changes for Arsenal's visit to Fleetwood. A number of squad players came into the side, and none of them did anything to stake a claim for more Premier League minutes.

That certainly wasn't the case in this one. Several players who are desperate for more minutes stepped up, showing Arteta what they can do.

Gyokeres, starting in place of Kai Havertz, produced a much more well-rounded display than we've become accustomed to. His hold-up play was solid and secure, he played a number of inventive passes and crucially, he scored a delightful goal.

Meanwhile, Martin Zubimendi was much improved from his display last week in Lancashire. The Spaniard was more progressive with his passing, while he snapped into challenges with more intensity.

Elsewhere, Mikel Merino stood up as a creative force. Deployed in an advanced role, the World Cup winner popped up in and around the box and played a number of incisive passes, as well as breaking into the box to get on the end of moves.

Eberechi Eze was also bright on the night, combining with those around him nicely while pulling off some exceptional dribbles. Noni Madueke was outstanding, although we're coming to expect this type of performance from the ever-improving Englishman.

Arteta was able to make six changes in Prague, yet Declan Rice once again wasn't afforded the luxury of a rest. The midfielder is an ever-present in the middle of the park for the Gunners, and he certainly started to look tired towards the end of the game as he hobbled around and played some unusually sloppy passes.

Arteta refused to bring his captain for the night off, meaning it was yet another 90 minutes for Rice. This will be a concern in the midst of a congested fixture schedule. He never gets any rest.

Arsenal were under virtually no pressure at all in the first half, stopping Slavia attacks before they developed.

In the second half, they had to deal with a mini onslaught from the Czech side, and they mostly managed to weather this storm. That was until, however, the final two minutes of normal time, when the home side pulled one back, denying Arsenal a clean sheet.

The Gunners pride themselves on clean sheets, so this late consolation will have infuriated David Raya, the defenders and Arteta.