Arsenal's Noni Madueke claims late winner for shot-shy champions
PRAYERS ANSWERED: Arsenal's Noni Madueke celebrates scoring the winner for the Gunners at Nottingham Forest. Pic: Mike Egerton/the Press Association.
Substitute Noni Madueke scored a late winner to maintain Arsenal’s attempt to retain the league title for the first time since the 1930s as manager Mikel Arteta was once again celebrating the ability of his finishers.
Arsenal have now failed to score a first-half goal in any of their last six games in the Premier League or Champions League. Their last goal before the break was against Chelsea on September 6, and this time Arteta sought to change things with four second-half substitutions.
The late drama aside, this could have gone down as the worst match of the season to date. Pity those who go to the match that has even less quality and incident than this turgid terror served up by two teams lacking creativity and confidence in front of goal.
That said, it was a fair enough result and Forest can hardly claim they were robbed. Nor should this ‘Super Sunday’ snooze fest have come as a surprise. It was, after all, heading for a third consecutive season that this fixture has resulted in a goalless draw. Having reported on all three, this was the hardest to watch.
Arteta can take heart from the fact his side won the title after struggling here last season and struggling new Forest manager Oliver Glasner will see it as an improvement on recent performances, despite the late defeat.
Arteta’s Arsenal had scored in only one of their previous four visits to this evocative old stadium on the bank of the River Trent, home of the 1979 and 1980 European champions. And although new manager Glasner came into the match with only one win to his name this season, the match followed an all too familiar pattern.
Forest’s three central defenders, often in a five-man defence, presented a stubborn wall for Arsenal to break down, assuming they could get through a congested midfield and the rare sight of a home side playing with all eleven men behind the ball for large periods.
Arteta had said he wanted this to feel like a home game and his wish was granted in that Forest were happy to sit back, concede around 75 per cent of possession, wait for a break or set piece to create chances. That said, they nearly went in front through a well-saved Dan Ndoye shot, after which Murillo headed inches wide from the ensuing corner.
Kai Havertz had a good chance in the air from a free kick, but neither goalkeeper had a save to make in the first half. A shocking lack of entertainment inside the sold-out stadium. The reigning champions could and should have had a winner from a Declan Rice goalscoring opportunity, but did not record a single attempt on target until Madueke’s late winner Arteta’s experiments to find a reliable left-sided replacement for the injured Christos Tzolis continued at half-time when he hooked the lost-looking Eze for Noni Madueke. It does question the club’s decision to sell proven players Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard in the summer.
And the England man was not alone in his sub-standard levels, as few, if any, of Arsenal’s attacking players looked anywhere near good enough to win this match, let alone defend their Premier League title.
Arteta upped the ante by sending on three further subs to join Madueke with around half an hour to go, but it was not until the England winger cut in from the left to score with a deflected right-footed shot in the 80th minute did it look like it was paying off.
The all-important strike ended up being Arsenal’s only attempt on target all match. And they still could have travelled back south suffering had Murillo not missed a great chance to level and Ezri Konsa blocked a last-minute goalscoring opportunity for Liam Delap.
Sels 6; Jair Cunha 6 (Wood 85), Diomande 6, Murillo 6, Muñoz 6, Domínguez 6 (Sangare 74), Schlager 6, Williams 6, Ndoye 6 (Kalimuendo 73), McAtee 6 (Hudson-Odoi 85), Delap 7.
John Victor,, Yates, Netz, Milenković, Aina.
ARSENAL: Raya 6, White 6 (Timber 66), Gabriel 7, Konsa 7.5, Calafiori 6, Rice 7, Guimaraes 5 (Merino 66), Odegaard 6, Eze 5 (Madueke 46), Saka 5, Havertz 5 (Gyokeres 66).
Meslier, Lewis-Skelly, Mosquera, Zubimendi, Dowman.
: Michael Oliver 5
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