Slavia Prague manager Jindrich Trpisovsky has expressed disappointed at the absence of Nigerian defender Igoh Ogbu ahead of the UCL clash against Arsenal, SportPremi reports.
Ogbu, 25, has been sidelined with a hamstring injury which has forced him to miss the club’s last 11 games including their opening four UCL encounters.
The Czech side welcome the last season’s semifinalists to the Fortuna Arena on Tuesday evening, seeking their first win of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League campaign.
The Red and Whites have recorded two draws from their first three matches – against Bodo/Glimt and Atalanta, while their only defeat was against last season’s finalists Inter Milan.
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Arsenal, on the other hand, have won their opening three UCL games and will be seeking to continue their 100% start.
Everything Jindrich Trpisovsky said
In his prematch conference ahead of the tie, Slavia Prague manager Jindrich Trpisovsky lamented the absence of his stat defender for the crucial clash.
According to the 49-year-old, the defender would be missed for his aerial prowess against a very demanding Arsenal side.
“Because we lack enough players, you don’t have as many opportunities to play with the formation.
If Igoh Ogbu, the most dominant player in the air, were there, it would be different. Arsenal’s set-pieces are absolutely perfect. I’ve never seen anything like it”, the 49-year-old said.
“They combine strength, height, timing, heading, but especially Declan’s execution, it’s simply fantastic.”
The Slavia Prague manager also acknowledged the quality of the English opposition, with his sire facing a daunting task to secure a favorable outcome.
“If I were to list everything that is dangerous about them, we wouldn’t make it to training, so I’ll try to generalize”, he continued.
“From my point of view, they are the team with the best form right now and are the most balanced. They have a coach who has been there a long time, they have a stable core, and they regularly add top players to the squad. If someone drops out, they bring in a replacement of the same quality immediately.”
How can Slavia Prague contain Arsenal?
Arsenal are one of the most in-form teams in the world at the moment, combining attacking flair and defensive solidity.
Slavia Prague must try to nullify their threat from aerial situations as the Gunners have scored more than half of their goals from set-pieces.
Igor Ogbu won the second highest number of aerial duels last season, which makes him a huge miss for Tuesday’s clash.
The Czech champions can also make use of a low-block and hit the visitors on the counter to stand a chance of getting a favorable result from the game.
