Matt is an experienced sports journalist and Senior Editor at Football FanCast with 15 years of experience covering football across the Premier League, EFL and Scottish football. Since joining the publication in 2019, he has progressed from writer to Assistant Editor and Senior Editor, a position he has held since 2021.  

A Sports Journalism graduate, Matt previously served as Arsenal and Premier League Editor at VAVEL and gained club-media experience with Chesterfield FC. His journalism has appeared through the Press Association, with his work featured by Sky Sports and the Daily Mail.
 

Throughout his career, Matt has interviewed prominent football figures including Arsène Wenger, Ray Parlour, Alan Smith, Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton, while also appearing on Arsenal Fan TV and Love Sport Radio.
 

Today, Matt leads Football FanCast's features team, overseeing opinion coverage, editorial standards and content strategy while continuing to provide detailed football analysis.

Things have not been easy for Arsenal in recent weeks.

A tough trip to Bayern Munich saw them come out of the other side of Bavaria with a 2-2 draw before just a week later, they were losing to League Two Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup.

As a result, they will head into Wednesday night's clash with Slavia Prague knowing they cannot take anything for granted.

That said, their recent record against the Czech side is rather good. They beat them 3-0 in last season's competition and have fond memories of a 7-0 win back in 2007 as well.

So, surely a Fleetwood repeat isn't going to be on the cards here?

The changes Arsenal need to make vs Slavia Prague

Arsenal's loss at Highbury just over a week ago demonstrated that a host of players on the fringes are not quite up to the task of replacing the big boys.

That said, their clash with Slavia on Wednesday night represents the ideal opportunity for Arteta to rotate following a gruelling win over Liverpool last Sunday.

In attack, you can expect several changes. It is likely we will see Eberechi Eze come in for Christos Tzolis while this also feels like a cracking opportunity for Gyokeres to rediscover some form.

At the back, there could also be alterations. Ben White is set to replace Jurrien Timber while Riccardo Calafiori will likely be replaced by Piero Hincapie who is now back to full fitness.

William Saliba has now returned to full first-team training following a back injury sustained at the World Cup and while he may make the squad for this one, he is unlikely to start. Still, the centre-half pairing could be rotated with Cristhian Mosquera potentially set for a rare start.

Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard will likely feature in the middle of the park but Bruno Guimaraes should be sweating over his place.

Why Bruno Guimaraes must come out of the team

Signed for £75m over the summer, much was expected from Guimaraes when he arrived at the Emirates.

The captain of Newcastle United, the Brazilian is a proven Premier League player and one of the best midfielders in the country. Yet, he's not quite lived up to that reputation just yet.

He's had his moments. That phenomenal strike away at Sunderland will live long in the memory while he also scored a cracking late winner against Leeds United as well.

However, the 28-year-old has been inconsistent. Arsenal's midfield and overall play doesn't quite tick over as nicely when Bruno is playing in midfield.

That was clear against Brighton & Hove Albion when the Gunners were dispatched 3-0 and it was also clear against Liverpool last weekend.

While Rice enjoyed an outstanding game, Guimaraes arguably did not. Arsenal lacked control and were bypassed too easily in transition by Andoni Iraola's side.

Bruno left the pitch on the 62nd minute and with it, the visitors found greater control. It looked a lot less chaotic.

As a result, do not be surprised if the summer signing is on the bench on Wednesday night in the Champions League.

How Arsenal can replace Bruno

Arsenal's immense squad depth means they could turn to a whole host of options in their quest to replace Bruno on Wednesday evening.

Mikel Merino could be an option, as could his fellow World Cup winner Martin Zubimendi. However, the latter hardly set the world alight on a rare start against Fleetwood a week ago.

While Zubimendi was far from the only problem and was not Arsenal's worst player, he did struggle to get a footing in the match, winning just 50% of his duels.

As a result, it would make sense if Myles Lewis-Skelly came into the team. After all, Arteta's team simply look better when he is partnered alongside Rice. We saw that on Sunday at Anfield.

This was a landmark occasion for the youngster. He became the fifth youngest player in the club's history to reach 50 Premier League games. The only others players to reach that tally sooner are Cesc Fabregas, Bukayo Saka, Theo Walcott and Nicolas Anelka.

He's in fine company and his performance levels this term certainly demonstrate that he deserves to be named alongside the likes of Fabregas and Saka as the best young players to come through the ranks at Arsenal this Millenium.

It wasn't long ago, however, that he looked like he might have to leave. In 2025/26, he only started five league matches, with four of those coming in the final month of the season.

It was a clash against Fulham that changed the course of his Arsenal career. Operating in midfield for the first time in the senior team, he has never looked back since.

He has arguably been one of Arsenal's most consistent players, notably starting the Champions League final. Already in 2026/27, he has started more Premier League fixtures than last term.

Why? Well, he's really rather good. Lewis-Skelly's press resistance is first-class, the way he punches balls through the lines is a joy to watch. He's also been better than Guimaraes.

So, for the foreseeable future, it should be the 20-year-old starting over the big-money summer signing instead. This is Arsenal's finest young midfield talent since Fabregas and he deserves to start.