Nottingham Forest's Nicolas Dominguez and Arsenal's Martin Odegaard battle for the ball during the Premier League match at the City Ground, Nottingham. (Image: PA)
Nottingham Forest's Nicolas Dominguez and Arsenal's Martin Odegaard battle for the ball during the Premier League match at the City Ground, Nottingham. (Image: PA)
Arsenal fought to a 1-0 victory away at Nottingham Forest on Sunday evening, again relying on subs to get them over the line.
It was a laboured attacking display with the Gunners failing to register a single shot on target outside of the goal, which was a deflected, struggling to break down the Forest back five and getting caught in a slow pattern lacking cutting edge.
Mikel Arteta fielded a front four of Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Martin Ødegaard, but the quartet found it difficult to fashion chances and lacked pace and directness when the game became stifled. If there’s one area that Arteta hasn’t quite nailed in his managerial career, it’s striking a balance in attack and optimising the players at his disposal.
Eze started on the left, after his goal against Lille in the Champions League, but he was ineffective for the first half, seeing few touches and failing to beat his man and make things happen. Ødegaard had one of his quieter games, drifting out to the right and struggling to pick Forest’s stubborn defence apart. While Havertz was mostly marshalled out of the game.
Most of the attacking play came down the right with Saka, but having lost a yard of pace due to injury, his inability to take on his man as reliably as he used to is magnified due to the lack of balance and unpredictability around him.
In this game, it was again the subs bench that provided the answer, with Noni Madueke adding some of that directness and shooting from distance to score a deflected winner.
Against teams that are willing to sit in and restrict space, Arteta has to find more ways to break the game open. The reliable weapon of Saka beating his man and getting in a cross isn’t as effective these days, so Arsenal need other players who can do that, they need options to cross, or play long, or go with two up top, or create opportunities for long shots to add variation.
It feels as if Arsenal have already ‘gotten away’ with a few games this season, with the close wins over Aston Villa, Sunderland, Leeds United and now Nottingham Forest. If Arsenal can’t find another gear in attack, then those wins may run out.
Next in the Premier League, Arsenal host 8th place Everton at the Emirates on Saturday at 3pm, with the intense schedule picking up in all competitions.