Nottingham Forest 0-1 Arsenal
Noni Madueke fired Arsenal to victory at Forest as Arteta’s men struggled in the first half
Arsenal made the trip to The City Ground seeking a reversal of fortunes, carrying the weight of back-to-back goalless draws in their previous Premier League visits to the venue.
Even the afternoon sun seemed to become a spectator as it broke through to illuminate the pitch.
Surprisingly, the match began with little sight of goal, just fouls and more fouls as both teams battled heavily in the middle of the park.
The first real sight of goal finally came in the 19th minute when Liam Delap passed to Dan Ndoye, whose effort towards the post forced a diving David Raya into a save, conceding a Forest corner.
Arsenal’s first sight of goal came in the 26th minute when a Bukayo Saka corner was superbly backheeled towards the Forest goal by Gabriel, only for his effort to strike teammate Ezri Konsa and deny the Gunners a golden opportunity.
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Arsenal: Madueke strikes late to seal vital victory 5
The first half saw Arsenal dominate possession as Nottingham Forest sat back and looked to play on the counter-attack.
Arteta’s men looked lost in possession, unable to create an opening despite enjoying a healthy 74% share of the ball.
As the half-time whistle blew, Arteta’s men had set an unwanted record of failing to find the back of the net in the first half of four consecutive league matches.
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Even worse, it marked a third successive goalless first half between the two sides in their last three meetings.
With the possibility of a third consecutive goalless draw looming, Mikel Arteta made a swift tactical change at half-time, replacing Eberechi Eze with Noni Madueke to stretch the Forest backline through his explosive one-on-one dribbling and ball-carrying ability.
Against the run of play, Nottingham Forest started the second half with greater initiative and almost scored their first goal at The City Ground this season in the 54th minute. Murillo connected with a James McAtee corner, directing his header towards the underside of the crossbar, only for David Raya to brilliantly deny him.
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Nottingham Forest built on that momentum, delivering numerous crosses and winning three corners in just eight minutes. However, the deliveries were not good enough to force Raya into another save.
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Arsenal: Madueke strikes late to seal vital victory 6
With Mikel Arteta sensing Forest’s growing attacking threat, he made a triple substitution in the 66th minute. Ben White made way for Jurrien Timber, Kai Havertz was replaced by Viktor Gyökeres, and Bruno Guimarães made way for the ever-reliable Mikel Merino.
It was a tactical masterstroke by Arteta, as Gyökeres and Merino operated in close proximity, leaving little room for one of Forest’s centre-backs to step forward and create an overload in midfield.
This was a tactic Forest had used at the start of the second half to launch their attacks.
With Madueke operating near the byline and stretching the pitch, and Saka doing the same on the opposite flank, Riccardo Calafiori inverted into midfield to allow Declan Rice to join the attack. The Italian then dropped back to provide cover while Martin Ødegaard dictated play from deep.
A minute later, Arsenal had their first real sight of goal in the second half as Gabriel headed a corner just over the bar.
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Arsenal: Madueke strikes late to seal vital victory 8
Arsenal’s attacking pressure continued in the 72nd minute, and this time it was a big miss as Timber’s cut-back was surprisingly fired over the bar by Declan Rice.
Arsenal’s wait for a shot on target continued until the 80th minute, with the travelling supporters understandably frustrated by yet another period of dominance in possession while Matz Sels remained a spectator, having not made a single save.
It all changed in a matter of seconds as Martin Ødegaard’s ball into the box was cleared by a Forest defender and fell to Declan Rice, whose pass found Noni Madueke on the wing.
The winger made an explosive run into the box and shaped as though he was going to shift the ball onto his stronger left foot. Instead, Madueke struck with his right, firing into the top corner with the help of a slight deflection to give Arsenal the lead with their first effort on target.
The goal forced Forest manager Oliver Glasner into attacking changes in the 85th minute, bringing on the experienced Chris Wood and Callum Hudson-Odoi in a bid to salvage a point.
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Arsenal: Madueke strikes late to seal vital victory 11
The substitutions almost paid off in the 89th minute as both players combined well, only for Wood’s hesitation to cost him a good opportunity. His effort was brilliantly blocked by Declan Rice, sparing David Raya from a potential shot on target.
With just three minutes added on, Forest committed everything to attack, and it almost paid off again as Murillo, an overlapping centre-back in Forest’s 3-4-2-1 formation, embarked on an impressive solo run into the box before firing narrowly over the bar.
Arsenal were fortunate once again that their defensive lapses went unpunished in the final minute of stoppage time. Liam Delap found himself through on goal, but his lack of pace allowed Ezri Konsa to make a superb last-ditch challenge, blocking his goal-bound effort as Forest won a corner deep into stoppage time.
Both sets of supporters had their hearts in their mouths as the corner was about to be taken.
Neco Williams delivered into the crowded Arsenal box, only for the Arsenal defence to clear the danger as Michael Oliver blew the final whistle, condemning Nottingham Forest to a third consecutive defeat.
Worse still, Forest are yet to score at home in any competition this season.
An away trip to Ipswich Town on Friday represents an early six-pointer for Oliver Glasner’s men, who end this matchweek in the bottom three.
For Arsenal, it is a massive three points at a ground where they had failed to win in the previous two seasons.
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Arsenal: Madueke strikes late to seal vital victory 13
One major concern remains our first-half performances, having failed to score before the break in six of our last seven matches.
A tough fixture awaits us at the Emirates against a well-drilled Everton side, but before that, a difficult trip to Germany to face Bayern Munich will be the primary focus on Arteta’s mind.
For us, closing the gap from six points to three in the Premier League table is a big win. Another clean sheet for David Raya is also a major confidence booster as we prepare to face one of the best attacking sides in the world.
Nottingham Forest test successfully passed. Bring on Bayern Munich!
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