Arsenal snatched a narrow 1-0 win away at Nottingham Forest on Sunday in what could be a vital result for their Premier League title defence.
The Gunners managed to salvage a 2-1 comeback win at home to Leeds last weekend, having been comfortably swept aside 3-0 by Brighton the week prior. However, they convinced nobody with their performance.
And that was the case again here, with Arsenal utterly failing to worry a Forest side who had just five points on the board and were devoid of form and confidence at home.
That was until the 80th minute, when half-time substitute Noni Madueke’s stepover beat Daniel Munoz and gave him the space to fire a shot at Matz Sels, who was wrong-footed by a deflection off Jair Cunha.
Arsenal find a way again
Let’s make no mistake; this was a miserable Arsenal performance. That it took a deflected goal to give them three points was evidence enough of that, without even considering the fact that Madueke’s effort saved them from going without a shot on target in a Premier League game for the first time in five years.
But when all is said and done, Arsenal still left the City Ground with all three points.
Despite dominating 74% of possession, Mikel Arteta’s men were largely kept at bay by a resolute Forest backline, clocking up just 1.07 xG throughout the entire match.
Of course, it was a similar case at home to Leeds last week, where Arsenal were 1-0 down as they passed the hour mark, after a first half at the Emirates in which they had just one shot on target and were outshot overall 7-4 by the visitors.
But this Arsenal side are made of tough stuff. There is no team in the Premier League that can ride out a close game and emerge on the other side victorious with the regularity that they do..
That is what made Arsenal champions last year — keeping the back door closed and making the absolute most of scraps at the other end.
Arsenal still trail Manchester City by three points, but there is every chance Enzo Maresca’s men will see all of their points and much more wiped out in the not-too-distant future. With that in mind, indomitable Arsenal remain title favourites.
Nottingham Forest’s miserable home run continues
The Nottingham Forest faithful generated an incredible atmosphere at the beginning of this match, and it really made you wonder how they’ve been so poor at home at the start of this season.
In what has been a worrying start to the Oliver Glasner period, the Tricky Trees went into this match with just one point on the board from three Premier League home games, while their four home games across all competitions yielded not a single goal.
That miserable run has been extended. Arsenal are the most forgivable opponents to draw a blank against. However, it has to be said that Forest failed to capitalise on key breakaway moments and didn’t make the most of the periods in the match when they had Arsenal on the back foot.
Is Liam Delap worth the club-record £45m Forest paid for him this summer? Can they function when Morgan Gibbs-White is out of the side, as he was on Sunday? Are the likes of Dan Ndoye and James McAtee consistent enough at this level?
Forest did nothing to answer any of those questions on Sunday. Murillo almost found the top corner late on, and Ezri Konsa’s heroic tackle denied Delap in stoppage time. But ultimately, they remained in the bottom three, without a home goal since the final day of last season.
Eze wastes huge Premier League chance
Eberechi Eze’s Arsenal career so far can’t be described as terrible. He’s had his moments. However, he’s been anything but consistent over the last 18 months, culminating in his failing to start any of the Gunners’ first six Premier League matches, clocking up just 85 minutes during that time.
The former Crystal Palace man laid down a marker against Lille in the Champions League during the week. Eze calmly swept home Arsenal’s second goal in a 3-0 win, topping off a superb performance that yielded a match-high 12 touches in the opposition box, five shots, four completed take-ons and one chance created.
Arteta rewarded Eze with the start here, but once again, he underwhelmed in the Premier League.
Eze failed to register a single shot or create a chance during the first half, touching the ball 21 times and completing just nine passes before being hooked at half-time.
Much more effective through the middle, Eze was asked to stay wide against Forest. But that doesn’t explain just how ineffective he was in the East Midlands. His underperformance was only compounded by the fact that his replacement, Madueke, was the one who provided the vital winner for Arsenal.
Arsenal have a huge midweek trip to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, before hosting a hard-to-beat Everton team on Saturday. It’s hard to see extended minutes in those for Eze, who may have to settle for Fleetwood Town away as his next major outing.