Noni Madueke’s deflected strike in the 80th minute gave Arsenal a narrow 1-0 victory away to Nottingham Forest on Sunday night. The win, secured with Arsenal’s only shot on target, keeps Mikel Arteta’s side second in the Premier League on 18 points, just three behind leaders Manchester City, while pushing Forest into the relegation zone.
The decisive moment came ten minutes from time. A Declan Rice free-kick was only partially cleared and the ball fell to substitute Madueke on the edge of the box. His low drive took a significant deflection off Forest defender Jair Cunha, wrong-footing goalkeeper Matz Sels and rolling into the net. It was a fortunate break for an Arsenal side that had struggled to create clear chances, with Gabriel seeing a first-half set-piece effort cleared off the line by Ousmane Diomande and Kai Havertz heading a Rice free-kick wide.
Forest had opportunities of their own. Riccardo Calafiori’s mistake gifted Dan Ndoye an early opening, but he shot into the side netting. Liam Delap saw a second-half effort deflected wide, and in stoppage time, Murillo curled a solo effort just past the post. Ezri Konsa then made a vital challenge to deny Delap a late equaliser after Callum Hudson-Odoi had set up Chris Wood, whose shot was blocked by Rice.
The Arsenal head coach highlighted the importance of grinding out a result at a difficult venue. “We did something we didn't do in the two seasons before and that is win the game,” Arteta told reporters. He had introduced Madueke for Eberechi Eze at half-time, seeking more attacking impetus, and later brought on Jurrien Timber, Viktor Gyökeres and Mikel Merino.
The three points solidify Arsenal’s position in the title race. They have now won four of their last five league matches, a run that includes a 3-0 Champions League victory over Lille last week where Bukayo Saka, the club’s top scorer this season with three goals, was on target. Their next challenge is a home fixture against Everton this Saturday.
For Nottingham Forest, the defeat is a seventh consecutive league game without a win and they are still waiting for their first home league goal of the campaign. Arsenal’s defence, which has conceded just five goals in seven games, held firm under late pressure to secure a valuable away win and maintain their pursuit of Manchester City at the top of the standings.
More detail at Sky Sports Football
