Slavia Prague manager Jindrich Trpisovsky has described Arsenal as one of the best teams in the world ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League showdown, urging his players to replicate the performance that earned them a strong showing against Inter Milan.

Slavia arrive at the fixture 28th in the League Phase standings, having drawn twice and lost once so far. Both teams, however, have shown recent defensive solidity—Slavia have kept clean sheets in their last five games across all competitions, while Arsenal last conceded at the end of September.

Despite the defensive form, Trpisovsky is under no illusions about the challenge that awaits at the Fortuna Arena. Arsenal, he notes, have become a ruthlessly efficient machine this season, clinical in front of goal and disciplined at the back.

Speaking ahead of the game, he said:
“If I were to list everything that is dangerous about them, we wouldn’t make it to training, so I’ll try to generalize. They are a mature team that controls games. The players are technically excellent, strong, fast, and in top form. They don’t allow opponents many chances because of their control. With Declan Rice, they probably have the best enforcer in the world.”

“From my point of view, they are the team in the best form right now and the most balanced. They have a long-standing coach, a stable core, and consistently bring in top-quality players. If someone drops out, they replace them with someone of the same level immediately.”

Corners have become a particularly potent weapon for Arsenal this season—they’ve scored eight from set plays in 10 Premier League matches—and Trpisovsky praised their prowess.

“If, for example, our most dominant player in defensive situations, Igoh Ogbu, were available, it would be different,” he said. “Arsenal’s standards are astounding. I’ve never seen anything like it—they combine height, power, timing, heading ability, and most importantly, playmaking from Rice. They’re so complex that you have to think about everything. Arsenal create huge pressure from the first pass, so it will be a real test. You can’t focus on just one aspect—it’s also important to be active up front.”

Trpisovsky is cautious but optimistic about his squad, which is buoyed by an unbeaten October and a hard-fought 2-0 win over Banik Ostrava at the weekend. He emphasized the need to assess his players after training, given the intensity of recent fixtures.

“We still have to train, and Saturday’s match was one of the most demanding of the season in terms of intensity. We’ll see after training what condition the players are in. Some have played three games this week, so fatigue is a factor. But we believe we’ll come together for this game. David Doudera has trained and completed part of the last match, so he may be the only addition.”