Arsenal held at Forest but stretch lead at Premier League summit to seven
Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus (third left) rues a missed chance as Nottingham Forest players react. Pic: Nick Potts/PA Wire.
A potentially pivotal point for jubilant Nottingham Forest and their manager Sean Dyche in his battle to avoid relegation and a result that could prove invaluable for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal as they moved seven points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.
Forest had to respond to their nearest struggling rivals West Ham’s win at Tottenham earlier in the day, while Arsenal strived to ensure they did not entirely waste the opportunity they were handed by City’s defeat at Manchester United.
Forest gave as good as they got, coming back strongly after Arsenal had the better of the first half, but they still failed to record a single attempt on target while Arsenal landed 15 shots, four of which should have ended in the back of the net.
A match low on quality, but high on passion, atmosphere and meaning on a dank night by the River Trent.
Arteta tried to make an impact on the match by replacing Gabriel Martinelli, guilty of a poor first-half miss, with Leandro Trossard at half-time.
Clearly not satisfied with proceedings, he hardly hesitated before making another triple switch before an hour of the match had passed as Bukayo Saka, Mikel Merino and Gabriel Jesus went on as the misfiring trio of Martin Odegaard, Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke were hooked.
Forest looked the better team now and their supporters certainly the more vocal, sensing their side could once again defy the odds with a decent home result against Arteta’s title hopefuls.
Forest had lost eight of their last 10 Premier League games against Arsenal, though both exceptions came here at the City Ground, since their return to the top flight in 2022 (1-0 in May 2023, 0-0 in February 2025).
Saka’s impact was instantly evident as he dominated the right wing and had a header superbly saved by the fingertips of Forest keeper Matz Sels.
Aside from Martinelli’s near miss, it was the closest either side had come to scoring as the match entered the final 25 minutes of normal time.
That said, Merino failed to convert a much easier chance soon after, following a Declan Rice free kick which he really should have headed in, instead of wide.
Arteta’s final roll of the dice was to give Eberechi Eze the final 10 minutes or so to try and find a winner.
He helped get a corner in his first involvement and Forest survived a VAR check when it looked as though Ola Aina was guilty of a deliberate handball in the Forest penalty area.
Referee Michael Oliver, the subject of constant abuse from the Forest supporters, was not even asked to review the footage despite replays on the press box monitors showing Aina clearly moving his arm to control the ball.
Sels 6, Aina 6, Milenkovic 6, Murillo 7, Williams 6, Sangare 6, Dominguez 7 (Hutchinson 89), Gibbs-White 6, Anderson 6, Hudson-Odoi 7, Igor Jesus 6 (Ndoye 76). Subs: Gunn, Morato, Awoniyi, Douglas Luiz, Yates, McAtee, Savona.
Raya 7, White 6, Saliba 6, Gabriel 6, Timber 6, Odegaard 5 (Merino 57), Zubimendi 6 (Eze 79), Rice 6, Madueke 6 (Saka 57), Gyokeres 5 (Jesus 57), Martinelli 6 (Trossard 46). Subs: Arrizabalaga, Mosquera, Havertz, Lewis-Skelly.
Michael Oliver 6
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