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.

A week after losing to League Two opposition, Arsenal couldn't take anything for granted when they travelled to the Czech capital on Wednesday night to take on Slavia Prague in the Champions League.

The Gunners came through 2-1 winners but versus an opposition where they've had great success, notably winning 7-0 back in 2007, they did not have it all their own way.

It was a game of two halves. In the opening 45 minutes, Mikel Arteta's men were by far the better side. After the break, things changed. Arteta walked back into the changing room at the end of the match fuming with the display.

Speaking at full-time, he said: "It was very far from the standards we expect from each other." Quite, the way in which the visitors wilted after the interval was a huge shock.

How Arsenal beat Slavia Prague

What a strange old game this was. In the first half, Arsenal were red hot and looked as though they may well score with every opportunity they had.

Both Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke were excellent, powering the Gunners into a 2-0 lead after 38 minutes. Eberechi Eze sparkled down the left and at long last, it looked as though Arteta's men were delivering a complete performance in the final third.

It's been a long time coming, right?

This was a match Arsenal dominated before the break and they could have been three or four up had it been for some better decision making. The crucial element was, however, that they were carving over Slavia with regularity.

For the hosts, something needed to change and it did after the break. Two subs were made and a change in formation was adopted.

It allowed Arsenal's Czech opponents to get back into the game and while it did take until the 90th minute for them to finally find the net courtesy of Wiktor Nowak, the Gunners did not control the second half proceedings well at all.

In fact, it was an extremely unprofessional display. David Raya was forced into making a number of saves, Declan Rice looked exhausted by the end of proceedings and was left on for too long, while none of the manager's subs made much of a difference.

Once all was said and done, Arsenal were able to leave Prague with all three points in tow. They are still unbeaten in the Champions League this season and two of their most maligned players are starting to come good.

Viktor Gyokeres delivers his best performance yet

Where has this version of Gyokeres been throughout his time in north London? It's safe to say this was one of his finest nights in an Arsenal shirt as he left the field with a goal and an assist to his name.

For much of this season, the Swede has been forced to play second fiddle to Kai Havertz and for good reason too. The German has been far more reliable in the big games and in the big moments. His combination play is also far better.

Well, so we thought. Gyokeres is growing in stature in that regard and delivered the complete centre-forward's performance on Wednesday.

Now with five goal involvements in his last last five games, the 28-year-old is really coming into his own this season and deservedly won the Champions League's official player of the match award in midweek.

Against Slavia, his hold-up play was much improved and he was able to make the ball stick on countless occasions. The way in which he supplied Madueke's goal was first class. He let the ball bounce off his chest before playing an inch-perfect ball in behind.

His goal was also taken superbly. This looked like the Gyokeres fans thought Arsenal had signed when he first arrived from Sporting. Fed the ball by Mikel Merino, the striker took a great touch before bending the ball into the far corner via the post.

All that said, he was not Arteta's biggest difference maker.

9/10 Arsenal star outshone Gyokeres

Entering the field on Wednesday, Arsenal did so without Havertz, Christos Tzolis and Bukayo Saka. Therefore, in truth, this was Arteta's second string attack. They did not play like that, certainly in the opening period.

Gyokeres was a monster leading the line but he was aided tremendously by man of the moment Madueke.

When Saka left the field in the early stages of that 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich, supporters winced. How on earth were they going to cope without their starboy? Well, Madueke has banished those worries. Since replacing Saka, the former Chelsea man has been tremendous and it sure is a welcome surprise.

Just over a year ago when the winger first arrived from Stamford Bridge, fans protested the signing. They gave him plenty of grief during his first season at the Emirates. It was easy to see why. After costing £52m and forcing Ethan Nwaneri out on loan, he scored just three goals in the Premier League.

Yet, he's now enjoying quite the revival, a Granit Xhaka or Havertz-like revival. Both of them, particularly Havertz, were made the scapegoat early on in their Arsenal careers. Xhaka was full of ill-discipline and struggled to settle. Havertz, meanwhile, could not find his best position. Both ended up becoming vital, particularly for Arteta.

Well, it would now appear that Madueke is entering his redemption era too. He has been scintillating in recent games.

By scoring in Czechia on Wednesday, it marked a fourth goal involvement in his last eight matches. The 24-year-old was a thorn in the hosts' defence, having the joint-most shots on target in the game (2), while only Eze (4), completed more dribbles than Madueke (3). No player on the whole pitch won more ground duels (7) either.

Against Liverpool a few days ago, the forward earned the plaudits for his defensive work but this time around it was his efficient attacking ability taking the acclaim. That's been sorely lacking since he joined for big-money but he is now finally coming of age in an Arsenal shirt.

With Saka out injured, that is music to the ears of everybody associated with the Gunners.