Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur cruise to dominant Champions League victories

Mikel Merino brace helps Arsenal down Slavia Prague

Arsenal continued their perfect start to this season's UEFA Champions League with an impressive 3-0 victory at the Fortuna Arena in the Czech Republic.

The home side began brightly forcing David Raya to make two routine saves in the first five minutes before Arsenal began controlling the match and applying the pressure in the opposition half.

The Gunners took the lead in the 32nd minute through a Bukayo Saka penalty after VAR had spotted a handball from Slavia Praha captain Lukas Provod.

Praha went close to drawing level when Christos Zafeiris missed a chance in the first minute of additional time when he shot a half-volley high over the crossbar.

Arsenal then took control immediately after the restart with Mikel Merino finishing off from close range following a pinpoint cross from Belgian winger Leandro Trossard.

The Spaniard completed his brace in the 68th minute after flicking in a Declan Rice cross to give the visitors a commanding 3-0 win.

"We want more," said Mikel Arteta after the match.

"We can still improve and do things better. That's the right mindset to have, and we're happy with what we're doing. But I'm not satisfied at all, we can play better, defend better, and today we should have done some things better in the opposition half."

Arsenal are now second on the league phase table, with Bayern Munich ahead only on superior goal difference. 

Micky van de Ven solo goal steals the show in Spurs win

Tottenham Hotspur hammered FC Copenhagen 4-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to temporarily move up to seventh on the league phase table.

Both teams started the match with an attacking mindset with the visitors making the first effort on target in the fifth minute that forced Guglielmo Vicario into conceding a corner.

However, Spurs took the lead in the 19th minute when Brennan Johnson finished off cooly from a Xavi Simons assist, which would be the only goal of the fiercely contested first half.

The North Londoners then asserted their dominance in the second half, with Wilson Odobert scoring following good work from Randal Kolo Muani in the 51st minute to double the lead.

Copenhagen seemed to be handed a lifeline four minutes later when Johnson was shown a straight red for a dangerous tackle, but that optimism was cut short Micky van de Ven went on a mazy run from deep his own half to score a sensational third goal.

In the 67th minute Joao Palhinha tapped in to make the score 4-0 for Spurs to put the game beyond the visitors.

Richarlison had a chance to make it 5-0 after the home side were given a penalty, but his well struck shot hit the crossbar.

"I definitely didn't expect us to win 4-0." said manager Thomas Frank following the win. "I expected it to be difficult. Copenhagen is a difficult opponent in Europe, at home, even more so. It could have been tricky, but luckily it went the right way for us."

The win sees Spurs end a run of two consecutive draws in the Champions League this season. 

READ MORE: Kaizer Chiefs up to second in Betway Premiership standings as Chippa held