Match Report: Arsenal Dig Deep To Secure Three Points Away At Forest

Arsenal fought hard and deep to beat Nottingham Forest and catapult them back above Brighton and into second place behind Manchester City. Substitute Noni Madueke unleashed a venomous shot which took a deflection off Jair Cunha and nestled into the far corner to win the points for Arsenal.

The opening 45 minutes at the City Ground proved to be a cagey affair and certainly not an enjoyable watch for the neutral fan sitting at home, with both sides struggling to create clear cut opportunities in an uninspiring first half.

Arsenal found it difficult to establish any attacking rhythm, with their first effort arriving after 25 minutes when Gabriel’s backheel was blocked by his own teammate, Ezri Konsa.

Nottingham Forest looked to take advantage of an error from Riccardo Calafiori, whose mistake allowed Liam Delap to lay the ball off to Dan Ndoye. The forward’s effort was going wide, but David Raya refused to take any chances and made the save. Delap threatened again in the 35th minute, only for his shot to be blocked by Ezri Konsa as Forest looked to make the most of their limited opportunities.

After dominating the ball, Arsenal finally began to threaten towards the closing stages of the half. Declan Rice’s free kick found Kai Havertz in the 37th minute, but the German international could only head over the crossbar from a promising position. It was a great chance for Havertz and one where you would expect him to hit the target. Havertz came closer four minutes later when Martin Odegaard played him through on goal, but his effort struck the side netting rather than finding the back of the net.

At the other end, Neco Williams saw a free kick crash into the wall in the 45th minute, summing up a frustrating half for both sides. Murillo also had an ambitious effort comfortably collected by Raya. Overall, it was a half of limited chances and no free flowing football.

HALF TIME: Nottingham Forest 0-0 Arsenal

Nottingham Forest came back from the break with lots of urgency and immediately put Arsenal under pressure, winning another dangerous free kick. James McAtee, however, failed to hit the target as the hosts looked to build on their encouraging end to the first half.

The game began to open up shortly afterwards when Liam Delap saw an effort blocked by Gabriel. From the resulting corner, Murillo connected with a header, but his attempt was straight at David Raya. Forest continued to look the more threatening side as the hour mark approached, with Arsenal struggling to establish any rhythm or create meaningful openings in the final third.  Arsenal eventually created a promising opportunity in the 67th minute when Declan Rice’s corner found Gabriel, but the Brazilian defender could only head over the crossbar.

Delap then threatened at the other end two minutes later, driving forward before sending a tame effort straight at Raya from outside the penalty area.

The visitors came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock in the 72nd minute. A beautifully weighted pass from Martin Ødegaard found Jurriën Timber on the right, with the Dutchman cutting the ball back to Rice on the edge of the box. The midfielder had time to pick his spot but lifted his effort high over the crossbar, wasting Arsenal’s best opportunity of the afternoon up to that point.

However, the breakthrough finally arrived in the 80th minute. Rice played Noni Madueke into space on the right-hand side, with the winger cutting inside before unleashing an effort towards goal. His shot took a huge deflection off Jair Cunha, wrong-footing Mat Sels and finding the back of the net to give Arsenal the lead.

Forest refused to give up and nearly found an equaliser in the closing stages. In the 89th minute, Callum Hudson-Odoi linked up with Chris Wood, but the New Zealand international took too long to get his shot away, allowing the Arsenal defence to recover and block the effort.

Murillo then came within inches of producing a spectacular late leveller. The defender drove through several Arsenal players before unleashing a shot that whistled narrowly past the post, leaving the visitors relieved to see the ball stay out.

FULL TIME: Nottingham Forest 0-1 Arsenal (Madueke 80')

After a frustrating afternoon, Arsenal still found a way to win and it’s a crucial win that keeps them right at the top with Manchester City.