Arsenal managed to snatch a vital 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest on Sunday. Thanks to a goal from Noni Madueke, which was disallowed, the champion team avoided an unconvincing performance and moved closer to Premier League leaders Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta's team played significantly below its usual level at the City Ground stadium and failed to direct a single shot on target before Madueke scored the winning goal with 10 minutes left in the match.
Although the 'Gunners' earned few points in the East Midlands, they should not worry too much as they climbed three positions above the league leaders, Manchester City, who beat Ipswich 3-2 on Saturday.
After an unexpected 3-0 defeat to Brighton on September 19th, the mid-table Arsenal recovered form by securing three consecutive wins. They defeated Leeds in the Premier League and Lille in the Champions League before this tense victory on the banks of the Trent River.
The North Londoners have yet to restore the relentless consistency that allowed them to win their first title in 22 years last season. However, they retain the invaluable ability to win matches in difficult conditions, and this was their sixth win in seven league games.
Arsenal is preparing for the Champions League match against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, and next week they will play a top-division game against Everton.
Forest, currently third from the bottom, has won only two home matches in the last 17 league games, and coach Oliver Glasner has achieved only one victory in seven top-flight matches since taking charge at the beginning of the season.
Arsenal Scored Late
Bukayo Saka's cross forced Forest goalkeeper Mattia Celso to punch the ball over the crossbar, but Arsenal struggled to find a rhythm in the lackluster start of the match. Dan Ndoye from Forest tested Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya by drifting into the far flank.
In a rare dangerous attack by Arteta's team, Kai Havertz shot into the side netting from a sharp angle after a pass from Martin Ødegaard, which opened up the Forest defense. Arteta looked increasingly frustrated on the bench as the sluggish half wore on.
Eberechi Eze paid the price for Arsenal's sluggishness, as he was replaced by Madueke during the break. Despite this substitution, Arsenal did not show immediate improvement, and Forest forward Liam Delap shot wide after a swift run.
Arsenal was too slow in possession and lacked sufficient penetrating power in attacks, so Arteta brought on Mikel Merino, Victor Gyökeres, and Jurrien Timber in an attempt to invigorate the team. Bruno Guimarães became one of the Arsenal players who was substituted after another unsatisfactory performance by the Brazilian midfielder in just his second starting match of the championship after the summer transfer from Newcastle.
Gabriel Malgaño headed home from a corner by Declan Rice, while Delap failed to shoot Raya with the necessary accuracy after a pass from Xavier Schlager. Ødegaard found Timber's run, and the defender set up Declan Rice in the Forest penalty area, but his inaccurate shot went high, reflecting the guests' impotence.
This was the first time since 2023 that Arsenal failed to direct a single shot on target in the first 70 minutes of a Premier League match. However, they finally managed to score in the 80th minute when Madueke broke through from the left flank and unleashed a powerful shot that received a strong deflection from Forest defender Hyair Cunha and went past Celso.
Murillo was inches away from scoring a late equalizer for Forest, but the defender's rocket shot went wide of the goal.