Arsenal make it perfect 10 with help from Merino double

Another game, another slew of records for Arsenal's defensive machine.

- Ed Aarons

This time it included one that stretched back more than 55 years, when Leeds were the last English team not to concede a goal in their opening four matches, in the 1969-70 European Cup campaign.

A determined Slavia Prague side, that came into this game unbeaten in all domestic competitions, gave it their best shot and thought they had been awarded a late penalty, only for the referee to overturn his decision after the video assistant referee called him to the pitchside monitor. The Czech champions finally recorded a shot on target in stoppage time. It meant Arsenal made it eight successive clean sheets in all competitions for the first time since 1903, when they were in what was the Second Division. A penalty from Bukayo Saka and two second-half goals from the makeshift striker Mikel Merino sealed a 10th successive victory for Mikel Arteta's ruthless side.

"The most pleasing thing probably is not the record, it's the mindset of the players. They are talking there about how we can still do better," the delighted Arsenal manager said. "It's one or two situations where we could have resolved better. If we do that we can keep improving and that record will have a bigger meaning."