Nott'm Forest 1 Arsenal 2
This was an important game for both teams but for very different reasons. With an impending charge for breaching Profitability and Sustainability rules, things are looking bleak for Forest. There is not much daylight between them and the bottom three, which is a huge concern.
Arsenal are hoping to get themselves in a title race after a poor run over the festive period saw them drop out of the top four completely. Given the investment the club made over this summer, anything but Champions League qualification is not acceptable for the North London outfit.
The visitors saw a lot of possession and created the first half-chance when Zinchenko slipped in Smith Rowe. He looked to cut the ball back to Jesus but the Forest defender just got there first, despite almost turning the ball into his own net.
Mikel Arteta’s side started playing some crisp, one-touch passing which saw Saka get the chance to shoot. Just as it seemed his effort was destined for the back of the net, Murillo got a touch to it, to send it narrowly wide of his own goal.
Credit: @Arsenal
One of the biggest problems for The Gunners is that they are dominating games, in terms of possession, but not able to create clear-cut chances to score. There is no penetration to their play and if you get numbers behind the ball, there is a good chance you can turn them over.
Arsenal’s attacking play has become laboured, pedestrian and predictable. Much like their wonderkid, Bukayo Saka. Whenever he gets the ball in the final third, it seems like Groundhog Day every time. Receive ball > shift it onto left foot > shoot. And repeat.
The closest the visitors came to a goal was in the second half when Saka tried to cross the ball but it took a deflection off the Forest defender, forcing a one-handed save from Matt Turner. How people can talk about Arsenal having the minerals for a title race is mind-bending when they look so capable of dropping points most weeks.
Gabriel Jesus then had a massive chance as Saka and Odegaard combined. The striker found himself with only the keeper to beat and he smashed it against the post. It seemed like it was just not going to happen for The Gunners.
Then ex-Arsenal keeper Turner was to have his biggest impact since the day he signed for the North Londoners. Jesus came through on goal once again, with an impossibly tight angle, putting it through the legs of Turner at the near post.
It was a terrible piece of goalkeeping and spurred Forest into scrambling around to try and find a replacement before the transfer window closed. And all of this despite having overspent in the transfer market already, but then again, what is another £5m amongst friends.
Credit: @Arsenal
Montiel then gave the ball away on the halfway line and Odegaard played an excellent ball into the path of Jesus. He picked out Saka on the back post and the winger struck a right-footed shot into the bottom corner and Arteta celebrated like it was the final minute of the Champions League final.
With less than two minutes of normal time remaining, Awoniyi out-muscled the Arsenal defenders and struck the ball past Raya and gave the home fans hope of a dramatic finish. The fit again striker was to have one more chance but he did not connect well with it and made for an easy save.
Arteta’s side took the three points and moved up to second in the table, only two points behind Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, who they play on the weekend. Forest find themselves only a couple of points away from safety and need to get back to winning ways, sooner rather than later.
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