Arsenal's stellar start to the season continued on Tuesday night with a 3-0 win at Slavia Prague in the Champions League.
Bukayo Saka opened the scoring for the Gunners, before Mikel Merino added a brace.
It was also an eighth successive clean sheet for Arsenal - matching a club record set back in 1903 over two different seasons.
Daily Mail Sport's ISAAN KHAN was at Fortuna Arena to run the rule over the game.
1. Who said Arsenal are suffering an injury crisis up front?
The injuries are piling up in the Arsenal frontline - yet the clear, and obvious, remedy for Mikel Arteta lies at the feet of Mikel Merino.
Mikel Merino reminded everyone of his finishing prowess on Tuesday with a brace for Arsenal
Arsenal are nursing injuries to six forwards, Viktor Gyokeres the latest to be stricken having asked to be withdrawn at half-time of Saturday's 2-0 victory over Burnley after suffering a muscular issue.
He has joined fellow attackers Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus on the side-lines.
Arteta was on Monday bemoaning his limited attacking options which, on the basis of Tuesday night, is not the crisis he's suggesting.
Merino's knack to find himself in the right position, at the right time, is impressive and follows a solid scoring run this season at international level.
The 29-year-old has struck six goals in his last three World Cup qualifiers for Spain. In 2025, it's now 19 goals for club and country.
The makeshift striker had a quiet first half, his team-mates unable to find him in the area. Within a minute of the restart, though, Merino had coolly volleyed Leandro Trossard's cross into the net.
It was the kind of first-time finish typical of a seasoned finisher. Then on 68 minutes, Merino beat Jakub Markovic in the air to nod Declan Rice's cross into the net.
So not only can he finish well on the ground, but also offers an aerial threat, too.
The supposed hole Arteta has in attack is already being more than filled.
The makeshift striker scored twice for the Gunners to complete a 3-0 win at Slavia Prague
2. Piero Hincapie adds a further dimension to Arsenal backline
The competition for a place in Arsenal's backline means that the likes of Piero Hincapie are contenders, not starters.
Hincapie was an integral part of Bayer Leverkusen's Invincibles 2023-24 campaign, the Bundesliga champions going the full league season unbeaten. At Arsenal, the versatile defender has some task on his hands to even break into the starting line-up.
Against Slavia Prague, though, Hincapie showed just why Arteta has brought him in despite the sheer defensive depth.
In comparison to Riccardo Calafiori, the Ecuadorian has a further injection of pace and looks to be more defensively-minded.
He won all four of his duels in the first period, and displayed good defensive positioning.
There was also a long-range pass to Leandro Trossard which rose eyebrows, dissecting the midfield with ease.
Hincapie has an important role to play this season, for sure.
Piero Hincapie (right) impressed in defence for Arsenal - in a rare opportunity to start for them
3. Max Dowman breaks more records, as per
The rise and rise of Max Dowman continues. He became the youngest-ever player to feature in the Champions League, aged 15 years and 308 days.
It beats the record set by Youssoufa Moukoko, who was aged 16 years and 18 days.
Arteta has had a habit of breaking youngster records, giving Ethan Nwaneri his Arsenal debut against Brentford on September 18, 2022 to make him the youngest-ever Premier League player.
This season, Arteta has already turned to Dowman late on against Liverpool when Arsenal were behind, and started him against Brighton in the Carabao Cup last Wednesday where his dribbling ability and tenacity shone.
What a future he has.
4. Arsenal's brick wall is just as fearsome in Europe
Many statistics have flown around of late illustrating how stupendously good Arsenal's winning run has been.
They centre around the defence, an area Arteta has built his team's foundations upon.
The Gunners are now only the second English team in European Cup history to win their opening four matches without conceding. Leeds United were the last side to do this, dating back to the 1969-70 campaign. This side are that immense defensively.
The north London club will take some stopping in both the Premier League and Champions League. Yet Tuesday night again reflected the Gunners' ability to brush opponents aside even when they're not in top gear.
Slavia Prague enjoyed 55 per cent possession in the first half, with two shots on target. Captain Lukas Provod was proving to be a handful and dragged a shot just wide of a post. They also had a penalty, for a Ben White high boot, overturned late on by the VAR.
In general, the home side were lacking a finisher and it told.
You could sense that no matter Arsenal's coasting, there would only be one result. Only the Gunners and Inter Milan are yet to concede in the Champions League this season. That's some defence to breakdown.

3 hours ago
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