Arsenal (A) 13/09/25

 

Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Zubimendi 32', 79'

Gyokeres 46'

 

Last Tuesday (9th September), Nuno Espirito Santo’s 21-month reign of Nottingham Forest came to an end following his comments in the media. He was the man to keep the Reds up, regardless of their 4-point deduction, before taking them to finish in a European spot the following season. Despite getting Forest fans back to dreamland, he would not be the manager to help them explore it. That would be the job of Ange Postecoglou. A very controversial figure when leader of Spurs with a style of play very different from Nuno’s, but anyone who comes Trent side will always be welcomed.

Of all the games to be his first, Ange was taking his team down to the Emirates where he was never going to receive a good reception. Forest haven’t won at Arsenal since gaining promotion back to the Premier League with an aggregate score of 13-1 and this losing streak further dates back to 1989. The Australian named a side that could be seen as safe, only naming one change due to Ola Aina’s injury.

Forest had to fend off early Arsenal pressure, and the Gunners were prevented from taking the lead through a brilliant save from Sels. Martin Odegaard whipped in a freekick from the right towards the back post which evaded everyone. It bounced and landed to an unmarked Mikel Merino who hit it on the volley from close range. Sels came out and made himself big to keep the scores level.

Forest struggled to get out of their own half and really had to dig deep but with just 10 minutes of the half left, Arsenal found a well-deserved lead. Noni Madueke fired in a corner from the right which was headed away by Chris Wood. Unfortunately for the Reds, the clearance landed to Martin Zubimendi on the edge of the ‘d’ who struck the ball beautifully on the volley and with the help of deflection, found the back of the net for his first goal for Arsenal. Just minutes later, Zubimendi almost scored an identical goal. This time Nikola Milenkovic cleared a long throw which Nwaneri headed up into the air, just for Zubimendi to strike on the volley once again before it bounced. The shot sailed just over the crossbar.

It was going to be a long way back for Forest as they had failed to win their last 10 games when going a goal down. In the added minutes of the first 45, the Reds managed to create some possession in Arsenal’s defensive half. One chance came of it after some lovely link up play with Wood, but Gibbs-White should have done better with the shot as he could only fire it well wide of the right post. The Reds would have wanted to build on how they ended the first half but any hope was quickly washed away by the Gunners as they doubled their advantage almost immediately after kickoff. Calafiori pinged a long ball up towards Eze running down the left. New signing Nicolo Savona misjudged the bounce of the ball allowing Eze to get beyond him. The winger crossed in a low first time ball which was met by Victor Gyokeres for a tap in.

Forest almost came back with an instant reply as an inventive effort from Wood struck the crossbar. Dan Ndoye managed to wriggle off Calafiori before crossing a ball in from the right. The height was awkward so the Kiwi chested the ball towards goal which was saved onto the bar by the fingertips of David Raya. Mosquera didn’t clear the danger allowing Callum Hudson-Odoi to regather the ball but before he could get a shot off, the Spaniard recovered and put in a brilliant tackle to take it away from him.

Looking to further increase their lead, the Gunners hit the woodwork themselves. Gyokeres dribbled towards goal down the left before cutting inside and passing to Madueke on the right. Gyokeres continued his run, overlapping Madueke who noticed his teammate but the Swede’s effort from a tight angle found the outside of the post. The Gunners’ persistence all game continued to pay off as their advantaged was further increased. Nwaneri crossed in a freekick from the left which was laid off to Rice 25 yards out from goal. He passed to Trossard for the Belgian to send in a cross towards the back post which was met  by the head of Zubimendi for his brace. The Reds did end the game with some bright moments especially from their substitutes, but they had ultimately left it too late in the game to find any chance of a comeback.

On Saturday, I think we saw a very similar game to what we would’ve seen if Nuno was in charge as Ange didn’t have very long to implement any of his ideas. He play quite a predictable lineup but I think we went wrong playing Morato at left back from the start. Madueke got the better of him everytime and he and Eze were a constant threat the whole  game and did cause us problems. In the game, it felt like one way traffic and Arsenal could’ve scored way more if they took their chances. We didn’t have many chances either but when we get them especially in games like this we need to take them like that Gibbs-White one. Although we were poor as a whole, once again Anderson played really well and I thought Bakwa and Kalimuendo came on and looked bright. I don’t think we should judge Ange off this game and we should admit that we were beaten by a really good team.

Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Mosquera, Gabriel; Calafiori (Lewis-Skelly 68’); Zubimendi, Merino; Madueke (Martinelli 78’), Odegaard (Nwaneri 18’), Eze (Trossard 79’); Gyokeres (Rice 68’)

Forest: Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo (Savona 37’), Morato; Sangare (Yates 73’), Anderson; Ndoye, Gibbs-White (McAtee 73’), Hudson-Odoi (Bakwa 60’); Wood (Kalimuendo 60’)