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Mikel Arteta has given the credit for the 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest to Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes, and the numbers back him up. "The win was not possible without them," he said, after a game in which Arsenal had expected the pair to face 50 balls in the air and he reckoned they'd dealt with close to that many. Noni Madueke's deflected strike off the bench settled it, but Forest's 14 attempts produced no big chances and only two shots on target, so one goal was enough.
Konsa made sure of it deep into stoppage time, chasing down Forest's Liam Delap and sliding in to block his shot at Raya's near post. He only joined from Aston Villa on 21 August 2026, and nine appearances in he's already making the block that keeps a win intact. It was Arsenal's 13th 1-0 win in 366 days. Jurrien Timber made his 100th Arsenal appearance in the same game.
Arsenal face a different test at Bayern Munich on Wednesday night, where Arteta expects "96 minutes of man-to-man". Kick-off at the Allianz Arena on 21 October is 8pm UK time. A man-to-man game asks defenders to win their own duels all over the pitch rather than deal with balls dropping into the box, and Konsa's stoppage-time chase suggests he's suited to it.
Madueke isn't the only Arsenal player doing his work as a substitute: Mikel Merino has come on in all seven of his Premier League appearances this season, so Arteta clearly leans on his bench.
Arsenal's December league fixtures are now fixed after four more games were picked for live television, and four Premier League games in the month have been rearranged. The north London derby away on Sunday 6 December and the home game against Manchester United on Sunday 20 December both kick off at 4.30pm. Brentford away stays on Wednesday 2 December but now starts at 8.15pm. Real Madrid come to the Emirates in the Champions League on Wednesday 9 December, and Bournemouth visit on Sunday 13 December at 2pm. The League Cup's fifth round falls in the week of 14 December. Once Real Madrid and a possible cup tie are added to the league games, Arsenal could be playing up to eight times in the month, which is when the whole squad rather than the first eleven gets judged. The month closes with Crystal Palace away on Sunday 27 December at 7pm and Fulham away on Wednesday 30 December at 7.30pm.