Ethan Nwaneri scored his first Premier League goal as Arsenal returned to winning ways in Mikel Arteta’s 250th match in charge as they swept aside Nottingham Forest 3-0 on Saturday.
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The 17-year-old capped a fine cameo display with a goal late on after Bukayo Saka scored one and set up another in a fine individual performance in what was an excellent team showing from the Gunners.
Having danced into the box to drill home a crisp finish for the opener, Saka turned provider for Thomas Partey early in the second half, with the midfielder curling the ball into the left-hand corner.
Nwaneri combined with fellow substitute Raheem Sterling to slide home his first Premier League goal and add further gloss late on.
Arsenal’s victory sees them go level with Chelsea on 22 points, but they remain in fourth place, while Forest drop down to seventh after back-to-back league defeats.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
16 | +21 | 39 |
| 2 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
17 | +18 | 35 |
| 3 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
17 | +18 | 33 |
| 4 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
17 | +4 | 31 |
| 5 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
17 | +6 | 28 |
| 6 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
17 | 0 | 28 |
| 7 |
Man City
MCI
|
17 | +4 | 27 |
| 8 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
17 | +6 | 26 |
| 9 |
Fulham
FUL
|
17 | +2 | 25 |
| 10 |
Brighton
BHA
|
17 | +1 | 25 |
| 11 |
Spurs
TOT
|
17 | +14 | 23 |
| 12 |
Brentford
BRE
|
17 | 0 | 23 |
| 13 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
17 | -1 | 22 |
| 14 |
West Ham
WHU
|
17 | -8 | 20 |
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
16 | -7 | 16 |
| 16 |
Crystal Palace
CRY
|
17 | -8 | 16 |
| 17 |
Leicester
LEI
|
17 | -16 | 14 |
| 18 |
Wolves
WOL
|
17 | -13 | 12 |
| 19 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
17 | -16 | 12 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
17 | -25 | 6 |
The Gunners thought they had taken the lead when Jurrien Timber turned home early on, but the goal was ruled out for offside, a decision which was then confirmed by VAR, with Mikel Merino ahead of play.
#ARSNFO – 5’
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) November 23, 2024
The referee’s call of no goal was checked and confirmed by the VAR as Merino was in an offside position in the build-up. pic.twitter.com/6GeeBrNW5k
But Arsenal did go ahead in the 15th minute when Martin Odegaard’s neat flick was gathered by Saka, who drove across the box before rifling the ball into the right-hand corner.
Matz Sels was called into action twice in quick succession to close out the half, first producing a strong save to deny Leandro Trossard before diving low to tip Saka’s curled effort behind.
Arsenal’s sustained pressure told seven minutes after half-time. Saka was involved again, picking out Partey on the edge of the area. He took a touch before sending a curled effort into the far corner.
The icing on the cake came form 17-year-old substitute Nwaneri, who produced an assured finish at the near post to become Arsenal’s second-youngest scorer in the Premier League.
Gunners back in business
Many may have been surprised to see both Declan Rice and Kai Havertz start the match on the bench, though Arteta’s risk with his team selection on his milestone game ultimately paid off.
Arsenal opted to play the ball long into Havertz in recent weeks, but with Gabriel Jesus leading a fluid front line, the Gunners were back to the slick passing football the Premier League has become accustomed to during Arteta’s tenure.
Arsenal’s right-hand side proved to be a particular avenue of focus, with a combination of Odegaard, Timber and Jesus almost combining for a wonderful second with a swift passage of play shortly after Saka had thumped the hosts in front.
Arsenal were able to control proceedings following Partey’s sensational strike, but were also able to showcase the plethora of attacking options from the bench, none more so than Nwaneri, whose first involvement saw him brilliantly skip beyond Murillo before sending a strike narrowly wide.
Nwaneri would get himself on the scoresheet, however, and his dazzling cameo will have Arteta pondering about his involvement from the start in the coming weeks, with the hectic festive period fast approaching.
Forest falter
Ahead of kick-off, Nuno Espirito Santo believed that Forest could compete with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium after their flying start to the campaign, but his side were comfortably second-best on a difficult afternoon in north London.
Ola Aina’s pass found Callum Hudson-Odoi early on, but the latter scuffed his lines from the edge of the box. And without in-form Chris Wood at the centre of Forest’s attack, Gabriel and William Saliba were rarely troubled by Taiwo Awoniyi.
Though the visitors were able to momentarily withstand Arsenal’s onslaught midway through the opening period, their possession failed to amount any opportunities of note, with Forest entering the break without testing David Raya.
Matters were made worse when Anthony Elanga was forced to withdraw at the interval after falling awkwardly in the first half, though his replacement, Jota Silva, almost reduced the deficit in the 71st minute with a strike that deflected wide off of fellow substitute Wood, before the winger had a goal disallowed in stoppage time.
Forest’s unbeaten away record this term came to a tepid end, though will be relying on home comforts in order to return to winning ways when they return to the City Ground to face Ipswich Town next Saturday.
Club reports
Arsenal report | Forest report
What the managers said
Mikel Arteta: "I think we started really well. The sense I was getting in the last 48 hours after the international break, the boys coming together and were all at it. It was good to see the impact of the substitutes [Partey - goal; Nwaneri - goal; Sterling - assist]. Everyone has to feel important. It was a good afternoon."
Nuno Espirito Santo: "They played well and we didn't play so well. Arsenal were the better team. Second half we became more pressing but they killed us with the second and third goals. There's not much to say. We have to improve because we did a lot of bad things - especially with the defending. Losing is always very painful. We came up short."
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Key facts
Arsenal’s victory was their 2,000th in English top-flight history, just the second side to reach this milestone after Liverpool (2,068).
At 17 years and 247 days, Ethan Nwaneri became Arsenal’s second youngest ever Premier League goalscorer, behind only Cesc Fabregas against Blackburn Rovers in August 2004 (17y 113d).
Forest suffered their first away defeat in eight Premier League games (W5 D2), leaving Liverpool as the only side still unbeaten on the road this season.
Forest failed to have a single shot on target in a Premier League match for the first time since April 2023 (vs Manchester United).