Patience a virtue as Arsenal eventually break Forest resistence
Noni Madueke’s 80th-minute winner gave Arsenal a hard-earned valuable win in a match that offered little attacking fluency but plenty of encouragement for Mikel Arteta’s title ambitions.
The substitute’s deflected finish settled a stubborn contest at the City Ground, where Arsenal had drawn 0-0 on each of their previous two league visits. This time they found a way through, extending their winning run after defeat by Brighton in their last away day and showing the resilience required to defend a Premier League crown.
Arsenal have now won at Forest, Aston Villa and Sunderland, grounds where they dropped points last season before recovering to become champions. Manchester City remain the early pace-setters, but Arteta will take heart from his side’s ability to collect points when their football falls short of its best.
“We’re going to get a variety of ways to win in many different contexts,” Arteta said. “I think we played 11 competitive matches and we won 10.” Forest, under Oliver Glasner, made life difficult by defending in a compact 5-3-2 formation, congesting the midfield and leaving Arsenal little room to play through them. The visitors enjoyed the majority of possession but struggled to create clear openings against a side happy to wait for counter-attacks and set pieces.
Arteta described Forest’s shape as a “Christmas tree”, explaining: “There’s no space to play. You have to be so neat and tidy.” He said Arsenal knew they would face a different challenge and had to avoid allowing frustration to dictate their decisions.
The visitors’ scoring difficulties before half-time continued. They have now gone six successive Premier League or Champions League matches without a first-half goal, their last coming against Chelsea on September 6. Kai Havertz threatened from a free-kick, but Arsenal did little with their possession.
Forest had the clearest moments before the break. Dan Ndoye forced a save with a well-struck effort, while Murillo headed narrowly wide from the resulting corner.
Arteta changed the balance at half-time, replacing Eberechi Eze with Madueke to give Arsenal a different threat on the left. “I make the decisions,” he impressed afterwards. Further substitutions followed as the manager tried to raise the tempo, but the visitors continued to struggle to turn territorial control into chances.
The breakthrough came 10 minutes from time. Madueke cut inside from the left and struck right-footed, his effort taking a deflection that wrong-footed the goalkeeper and finally gave Arsenal the lead. It was their only shot on target of the afternoon, underlining how little margin there was between victory and another frustrating draw.
Arteta was delighted with Madueke’s impact, describing him as “a special character” who is loved in the dressing room for the way he connects with teammates. He added that the winger had returned from the international break with “another level of anger, another level of conviction” and was becoming decisive in matches.
“He’s becoming now decisive in matches, which is what we expect from a player like him,” Arteta said.
Arsenal still had work to do. Forest pushed forward in search of an equaliser, and Murillo missed an opportunity that might have transformed the afternoon. The visitors needed determined defensive work, with Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa among those making important interventions to preserve the lead.
Arteta praised the commitment of his defenders, saying the late blocks showed “the spirit and how much those boys really want to win”. He also highlighted the physical demands of facing Forest, who repeatedly played long balls into the forwards and challenged Arsenal to win the second balls.
Glasner felt the result was harsh on his side, although he accepted that Forest had failed to take their opportunities.
“Defensively it was a top-level performance,” he said. “A deflected shot and Arsenal take the win.” He was encouraged by his players’ organisation and energy, but added: “If you keep the champions to one shot on target, you have done very well. It feels like we are getting close but in the end we need to score.” Arteta acknowledged that the match demanded a different approach from Arsenal’s European outing to Bayern Munich in midweek. “The margins are bigger,” he said, stressing the need to adapt to different opponents and learn from each challenge.
The win will not disguise Arsenal’s need for greater invention and sharper finishing, particularly with Manchester City setting a high standard early in the campaign. But Arteta’s side have already shown they can negotiate three difficult away grounds where they failed to win last season. At Forest, they did so without their best football, relying on a substitute’s moment of quality and the defensive resolve to protect it.
In a title race, that ability to turn an unconvincing performance into three points could matter as much as any dominant display.
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. Subs: John Victor,, Yates, Netz, Milenković, Aina.
: Raya 6, White 6 (Timber 66), Gabriel 6, Konsa 6, Calafiori 6, Rice 6, Guimaraes 5 (Merino 66), Odegaard 6, Eze 5 (Madueke 46), Saka 5, Havertz 5 (Gyokeres 66). Subs: Meslier, Lewis-Skelly, Mosquera, Zubimendi, Dowman.
: Michael Oliver 5 Att: 30,983
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