3 positives and negatives from Arsenal's narrow 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest
‘Marginal gains’ have come out on top again, even if they leave both Arsenal and the fans fighting for their lives.
Mikel Arteta masterminded this 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest. It sends his men back to second in the Premier League table with another clean-sheet in tow and still just one loss to their name across all competitions.
Nothing to moan about, right?
Well, not quite. It seems the boss is intent on doing the bare minimum to win matches – this result is the fourth league win (out of six in total) by a single goal, while one of the outliers (the 0-2 victory at Sunderland) was hardly a walk in the park either.
3 positives and negatives for Arsenal as they claimed a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest
If you thought ending the title drought was traumatic, early signs are that the retention effort will be even worse.
Here are three positives and three negatives for Arsenal to take from yet another heart-in-mouth PL win.
Positive #1: Glimpses of the old Bukayo Saka
He remains far from the peak of his powers, but there were signs of the old Bukayo Saka at the City Ground – in the first half at least.
Most Arsenal attacks went down his side then, as usual, and he did combine well with Ben White in particular (again, a familiar sight) to turn the Forest backline around. There were also a few excellent deliveries at corners and one impressive dribble which prompted a tackle from Neco Williams and a yellow card.
Sadly, that ‘spark’ did not survive the half-time break as Saka would return to the ineffective version fans have seen of late. It never felt like any moment of magic or breakthrough here would come via his dancing feet.
But he still has lots to offer. Arteta simply must find a way to ensure that Saka gets more involved in and around the box.
Negative #1: Definition of insanity?
Patient, side-to-side buildup play with no real threat posed to the opposition goal – it is a tactic that Arsenal often use to try break teams down.
Remarkably, it does not lead to immediate riches but instead makes for a rather boring watch, as this blunt Gunners frontline/midfield comes unstuck against a mass defence. It bears all the logic of using a pillow to try batter your opponent to death.
Arteta will argue it is not insanity; quietening a raucous home crowd is a sound stratagem and can, in turn, cause frustration to then trick the opposition into overcommitting, thereby leaving gaps for the Gunners to exploit.
Many of the wins this term suggest he is onto something.
However, the hard watch also makes it hard to win football matches as the stalemate leaves things in the balance for extended periods, leaving Arsenal more reliant on capitalising on those rare openings they get to win games. And being clinical has never been their forte.
Ladies and gentlemen, the handbrake is back.
Positive #2: Turning the screw in good time
Maybe fans should have never doubted the boss.
After an even first 45 minutes, Arteta rang the changes midway through the second half and helped Arsenal turn the tide.
Mikel Merino, Viktor Gyokeres and Jurrien Timber all came on and, suddenly, the visitors piled great pressure on the Forest defence. It felt like a goal was coming and it finally did in the final ten minutes when Noni Madueke fired past Matz Selz.
Perhaps Arteta deserves more credit. Rather than going gung-ho from the off, he set his team up to take the sting out of Forest early on before moving through the gears once their legs started to tire – it worked to perfection... ish.
Fine margins like that won Arsenal the league last year and it has them in contention again right now, at the expense of our collective health.
Worth it.
Negative #2: No joy for Eberechi Eze
Two games into his audition for the role of ‘Christos Tzolis Replacement’ have seen Eberechi Eze get a big fat ZERO.
He did not make it off the bench versus Leeds United last week and he failed to impress during his 45 minutes on the pitch here, resulting in the grand ignominy of him being brought off at half-time and replaced by Noni Madueke.
Of course, the collective effort hurt his creative spark in the first half, but he also lost possession far too easily when on the ball and he failed miserably to make the most of the one attacking chance to come his way.
Eze is known for his defensive shortcomings and when they are not offset by any offensive guile, then it is hard to justify his involvement. Even if Arteta says it is for tactical reasons, one gets the idea that Eze has not impressed him on the pitch.
Disappointing to say the least.
Positive #3: Heroic defending
Critics say that Arsenal’s defensive record owes to their boring, negative football rather than brilliant individual defending.
They might have to eat those words now.
Unlike last week against Leeds, the Gunners did not close the game out well here and they coughed up three glorious chances to Forest late on, with Chris Wood, Liam Delap and Murillo all having their own chances to snatch an equaliser.
In two of those attacks, the home team were denied by top-class defending. Declan Rice was first up with his interception to stop Wood, while Ezri Konsa did exceptionally well to make a recovery tackle on Delap after initially playing him onside.
Murillo simply let them off the hook.
How this elite defence gave up such chances is another matter, but the way in which they rectified it all meant they deserved the win.
Negative #3: This attack will cost Arsenal
Arsenal have made a welcome but concerning habit of winning Premier League games by the skin of their teeth.
Everyone knows about their misfiring attack and it was exposed on a grand scale at Forest, as borne out in the post-match statistics: eight shots for Arsenal on the night, only one of which managed to find the target.
Here is another statistic: the Gunners scored one, Forest scored none.
That last one might be the important one but, nevertheless, it feels unsustainable to maintain a title charge when the team is relying on scraps and small windows of opportunity – like from minutes 66 to 80 here – to take all three points.
For now, take the points and run.
