Slavia Prague Accuse Arsenal of Time-Wasting After Champions League Defeat

Slavia Prague have accused Arsenal of time-wasting during their 3–0 Champions League defeat on Tuesday evening.

Mikel Arteta’s side continued their flawless European campaign, recording a fourth consecutive win thanks to Bukayo Saka’s first-half penalty and a second-half brace from Mikel Merino. The result also saw Arsenal register their eighth successive clean sheet, equalling a club record set in 1903.

However, Slavia captain Lukas Provod claimed Arsenal were allowed to deliberately slow the game down once they had established their lead.

“Arsenal prepare for set-pieces for a long time, we knew that,” Provod said.

“When they were leading, they didn’t rush anywhere, and the referee didn’t rush them. I suppose that’s a compliment for us too.”

Penalty Controversy

Slavia were also left frustrated by Azerbaijani referee Aliyar Aghayev’s decision to award Arsenal a penalty in the first half after Gabriel Magalhães’ header struck Provod’s hand inside the box.

“I was marking Gabriel, which is difficult in itself, so I was 100 per cent focused on defending him,” Provod explained.

“The ball went from his head to mine and then hit my hand. I prayed that VAR wouldn’t give it, which rarely happens. I’m not even sure what the exact rule is when the ball touches your own head first — unfortunately, it was still given as a penalty.

“In the first situation, the referee told me it went from Gabriel’s head straight to my hand, which wasn’t true.”

Manager’s Reaction

Slavia head coach Jindřich Trpišovský also voiced his confusion over the decision, suggesting that the referee’s interpretation of the handball law was inconsistent.

“The referee told us it was a hand above the head,” Trpišovský said.

“Provi said it hit his head first before his hand, which would normally mean no offence, but apparently that doesn’t apply when the hand is raised above the shoulder.”

Provod Praises Arsenal’s Quality

Despite his frustration with the officiating and time-wasting, Provod praised Arsenal’s quality and consistency under Arteta.

“They are one of the best, if not the best team in the world,” he said.

“They have so much quality — we see it in the Premier League, how they decide matches.

“We didn’t perform badly, even though the result looks harsh. They didn’t create that many chances. We were active, and our DNA was there.”