UEL: Arsenal Give Up Lead To Draw Slavia Prague 1 : 1 At The Emirates

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Tomas Holes headed a stoppage-time equalizer as Slavia Prague secured a 1-1 draw away to Arsenal in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday.

It looked as though substitute Nicolas Pepe’s 86th-minute effort had given the hosts a narrow advantage to take to the Czech Republic for next week’s second leg.

But defender Holes forced a header past Bernd Leno from a corner in the 93rd minute to deflate Arsenal and keep the tie balanced on a knife-edge.

An often subdued game was punctuated by good chances for both sides with Arsenal guilty of wasteful finishing.

Bukayo Saka curled an effort wide in the first half while Willian and Alexandre Lacazette were both denied by the woodwork for Mikel Arteta’s side after the break.

Slavia, who have beaten Leicester City and Rangers en route to the quarter-finals, had their moments too and substitute Petr Sevcik squandered a good chance to put them ahead while Lukas Provod had a shot turned against the woodwork seconds before Holes pounced to equalize.

It was a disappointing night for Arsenal whose season rests on going all the way in the Europa League.