Arsenal crashed Ange Postecoglou’s first match in charge as Nottingham Forest‘s manager, as they thrashed them 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium. After a rather lackluster start, the Gunners opened the scoring through Martin Zubimendi‘s expertly struck long ranger from a corner.
The Spaniard opened his goalscoring account for Arsenal with a clean strike in the 32nd minute of the game. Right after the second half begun, a long pinged ball from Riccardo Calafiori set Eberechi Eze running to the flanks who then brilliantly set up Viktor Gyokeres for a goal-poacher’s tap-in to make it 2-0.
Viktor Gyokeres Eberechi Eze Nottingham Forest Arsenal Player Ratings
Viktor Gyokeres celebrates after his goal against Cheslea (via X-Ajah_elube)
The North London team tripled their lead in the 79th minute, this time through Zubimendi once again, who expertly rose over Neco Williams after substitute Leandro Trossard’s slow curling cross. With this win, Arsenal moved to first in the EPL table. It is worth noting that the game also saw Martin Odegaard (the Gunners’ skipper) walk off due to a shoulder injury in the first half.
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Here are the player ratings for the Arsenal stars:
The Standout Performer:
Martin Zubimendi – 9/10 The former Real Sociedad midfielder hardly put a foot wrong barring a few misplaced passes. While brought into the team to bring in stability in the midfield, not many would have expected Zubimendi to bag a double.
The Solid Showings:
Noni Madueke – 8/10 Noni Madueke continued from where he left off against Liverpool at Anfield. Playing in the injured Bukayo Saka’s position, the former Chelsea star was ripping apart the Nottingham Forest defenders in the flanks, and especially Morato had a really hard time dealing with him. Besides this, Madueke’s crosses into the box during regular play and set pieces as well, were top-notch.
https://twitter.com/user84848384/status/1966856989566529958
Cristhian Mosquera – 8/10 The 21-year-old defender once again made sure that the Arsenal fans didn’t miss the injured William Saliba with yet another solid outing. He even made a near-goal-saving tackle after Jurrien Timber had messed up with the clearance when the ball had sprung back in after Chris Wood’s shot (unintended) had hit the bar.
Gabriel Magalhaes – 8/10 Solid as usual. No-nonsense defense from the Brazilian who also had to don the role as captain after Odegaard left the field.
Viktor Gyokeres – 7/10 Could have gotten a lesser rating for his first-half anonymity. Although the services weren’t that numerous for the Swede in the first half, he did get set up by a few Madueke crosses and one inside the box pass from Eze. However, he made that up right in the beginning of the second half as he tapped in from close range to make it 2-0 to the Arsenal.
Arsenal and Mikel Arteta finally have themselves a bagsman.
Three in four for Viktor Gyokeres. pic.twitter.com/kIe5EaBeWA
— now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) September 13, 2025
Eberechi Eze – 7/10 Didn’t play that big a role in the first half, but got into the game as time progressed. He became a menace for the Forest defenders in the second half, and as mentioned already, got the assist for Gyokeres’ goal.
Other Ratings
Mikel Merino – 6.5/10 – Was high on confidence coming into the game following an impressive International break. He forced Matz Sels to an early save in the first half. Was largely untroubled and assured.
Riccardo Calafiori – 6/10 Was really good in the offense, but issues with defense are sometimes present in the Italian. Dan Ndoye did give him a bit of a hard time occasionally, and it was Ndoye’s ball that found Wood who unintendedly struck the bar following a finger-tip glove touch save from David Raya. However, Calafiori’s pinged secondary-assist to Eze was a thing of beauty.
Jurrien Timber – 6/10 Nothing special, was solid for most part of the game, barring a fluffed clearance. Made a few darting runs into the box. Hard-working as usual.
David Raya – 6/10 Hardly had anything to do the whole game. The only time he had to make an important save was that chest-deflected shot from Wood.
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Ethan Nwaneri – 6/10 Got accustomed to his role right away after coming on early for Martin Odegaard, but didn’t have much impact in the goals.
Second Half Substitutes
Declan Rice – 5.5/10 Standard substitute rating. However, towards the end of the match he made an impressive run into the box, but it didn’t result in a goal.
Myles Lewis-Skelly Standard 5/10.
Leandro Trossard – 6/10 Stunningly set up Martin Zubimendi for Arsenal’s third goal. Was lively during his time on the pitch.
Gabriel Martinelli – 4/10 Lack of confidence once-again showed in the Brazilian. Runs he made weren’t impressive and lacked the killer pace he once had.
The Skipper
Martin Odegaard – N/A Didn’t cause much of an impact, and he’s done his shoulder once again.
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