SLAVIA PRAGUE’s upcoming clash with Arsenal comes almost bang on 18 years after their predecessors took a seven-goal spanking.
Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott both bagged braces in a 7-0 win as Arsene Wenger watched his players run riot from the Emirates touchline.
For Daniel Pudil and David Kalivoda, who started at left-back and in central midfield for the underdogs, it was a memorable affair.
But the lasting memory for them should serve as a warning to Slavia’s current crop.
Because it concerns just how apparent the gulf in class becomes when you’re face-to-face with a juggernaut like the Gunners.
Pudil told SunSport: “I had been watching them on the TV and they had been absolutely amazing.
“But when you come up against them on the pitch, you can see how far they are from you – how good they are with the ball, how intellectual they are. It was unbelievable.”
Fabregas was a precocious 20-year-old who was already established as Wenger’s chief creator.
Pudil recalled: “He already knew, when he would receive the ball, he had scanned the spaces, he was always aware of where his team-mates and opponents were. Before he even got the ball, he knew where he had to play it.
“It wasn’t just him. It was most of the Arsenal players. Arsenal players are there for a reason.
BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK
“The standards and the level are somewhere else. And when you see it from close range on the pitch, you can see how far you are from them.”
Kalivoda, who had a direct battle with Fabregas in the middle of the park, added: “I remember the great quality and footballing ability of not only Fabregas, but the entire Arsenal team.
“In my position as a central midfielder, Fabregas was great. He was definitely one of the best. I think it was the best team I played against. I rank it highest.”
An age has passed since that night in North London.
Wenger has given way to Unai Emery, who in turn gave way to current boss Mikel Arteta.
Six years into his managerial stint, the Spaniard is closer than ever to replicating Wenger’s silverware success.
But Slavia’s old boys have urged the Gunners not to take this test lightly.
Pudil said: “I think they can make it tough for them. The manager wants them to play their own football, and if they do, they can be tough opponents.
“Arsenal have to be aware, they have a few good players, a few internationals, so it’s not going to be an easy game.”
Slavia at least have the home advantage this time round. And Kalivoda reckons that should keep complete disaster at bay, even if Arsenal are a better side now than they were then.
He concluded: “Slavia have a huge job ahead of them and it will be very difficult to succeed.
“Unfortunately for us, Arsenal have improved even more over the years. It will be really, really tough. But I believe they will have a better result than our team did in 2007.”
Pudil got his own back on the Gunners when playing for Sheffield Wednesday in a 3-0 Carabao Cup upset eight years later.
The former Czech Republic international, 40, also spent four years at Watford.
And he enjoyed his spell in England so much that he stayed here, setting up a base in Chesterfield, opening a football academy for youngsters in his own name, and playing non-league for Hallam FC.
Pudil, who also works as a coach and mentor in Sheffield Wednesday’s education program, said: “Football is all I have done all my life. As long as my body will let me play, I will carry on.
“Everyone is welcome [at the academy], even if they’ve never played football.
“The feedback from the parents is amazing. Everyone is pleased and so are we.
“It’s not for the money, we just want a small group of kids to come and get better every week.”
