Exclusive! The Slavia Prague star who scored against Arsenal: Rice and Zubimendi the best but Barca to win Champions League

Exclusive by Alessandro Schiavone at Eden Arena, Prague

Capital Football have exclusively interviewed Polish ace Wiktor Nowak from Slavia Prague. The midfielder was on target for the Czechs in their 2-1 home defeat to Arsenal on matchday four of this season's Champions League.

Wiktor, few players can say that they scored against Premier League winners and Champions League finalists Arsenal. But despite an encouraging reaction in the second half you did not manage to avoid defeat. So, is the glass half full or half empty?

“Haha! It’s a good question but I think that after my goal we were on a good way to maybe score the second half which would have been the draw. But this is football and now we have to keep pushing and show more quality and get the best out of our team and everything will be good!”

Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of Slavia Prague not winning a Champions League game with the run having extended to 23 encounters tonight… you have four shots to avoid making unwanted history. Will that be the target more than trying to progress which perhaps looks tough after taking only one points from 12 and with games against Villarreal, Bayern and Aston Villa to come?

“I hope we will do this and that we win. I know about this recent history in the Champions League. But we don’t have easy game but just the best teams in Europe and this is not easy to win the games. I believe that we have a team who can win games… we have quality as we showed in the second half. We can compete against the best teams in the world!”

Who is the Arsenal player who impressed you the most and can they win the Champions League?

“I hope Barcelona will win the Champions League! If I have to name a player who impressed me I will choose a midfielder: Declan Rice! And Zubimendi as well. Well, Odegaard is also good but he only played 10 minutes or something like that.”

Last season Slavia Praha were trashed 3-0 by Arsenal, this season ‘only’ 2-1 and it could have been 2-2 had it not been for David Raya’s fabulous save. Is the club going in the right direction?

“Yeah for sure. I was not there in the last season but for sure! We have a young time and we improved… you can see it in the second half as well! Especially in the first 10 minutes we came close to scoring a goal!”