Match report – Player ratings – Arteta reaction – Video
Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League after an emphatic 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest, with a major contribution from an unexpected source.
When Bukayo Saka had to come off in the first half because of injury, I was a little surprised to see Reiss Nelson get the nod. His last Premier League appearance came on that night away at Brentford at the start of last season, and before that again you have to go back to November 2020 when he came on as a sub against Leeds. However, it turned out to be an inspired move from Mikel Arteta, as he grabbed two goals and an assist in a second half in which Arsenal ran riot.
Once again, we began strongly, scoring in the 5th minute through Gabriel Martinelli. His header from Saka’s cross was really very impressive. The timing of the run, the bravery to stoop where a defender’s boot might be flying, the precision to bullet the ball beyond the goalkeeper. I mentioned yesterday he’d scored just once in his last 11, so it was good to see him back on the scoresheet.
There were some shades of Southampton about the first half. Dominance without taking the chances to make the game more comfortable. Jesus curled one wide and Martinelli saw one cleared off the line, while at the other end a bit of sloppiness provided a chance for Jessie Lingard but brilliant defending from Ben White denied him. It was hard not to think back to the week previously, and the fact that in recent weeks our second halves have not been great, but the manager called for a reset after the PSV game, and boy did he get it.
The verticality of the second goal is quite pleasing when you watch it back again. It’s just uncomplicated straight line football. Aaron Ramsdale throws it to Thomas Partey, he takes it on and plays a perfect pass into path of Granit Xhaka whose runs from deep teams still don’t pay enough attention to, and from there Gabriel Jesus feeds Nelson. Maybe there’s a touch of good fortune that he got a second bite of the cherry after his first shot was saved, but he made no mistake with that one for his first Arsenal goal since scoring against Molde in the Europa League two years ago.
So it was even more surprising and pleasing that he got another one just a couple of minutes later. Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus combined well in the the box, the Brazilian’s first time cross to the near post was really good, and Nelson applied a deft touch to finish and make it 3-0. That he was involved in the fourth goal, providing the pass for Partey to produce an almost carbon copy of his incredible goal in the North London derby sealed his match-winning contribution to the game. I certainly wasn’t expecting him to make that kind of an impact, but as I’ve often said, football is a game that can surprise you. Even when you think you know 100%, you don’t.
Had Reiss Nelson not picked up an injury in pre-season, chances are he’d be on loan somewhere else right now. If Saka hadn’t been kicked around without protection, his chance wouldn’t have come yesterday. The manager could easily have chosen Fabio Vieira or even Marquinhos to come on, but when the opportunity came his way, he took it with both hands and fair play to him.
Afterwards, he said:
I’m just really happy, and just overwhelmed by the occasion. I think it gives me all the confidence in the world you know. And like I said, I’m just going to keep training every day, like I can. Hard as I can, if I get another opportunity just to keep going, helping the team really – and just keep pushing on.
One swallow does not make a summer and all that, but whatever his future holds, what he did yesterday will be unforgettable for him. And for another Hale End lad who sort of lost his way a bit while others were establishing themselves, it’s nice to see him remind people that he’s a talented player.
Skipper Martin Odegaard added the final gloss to the scoreline, with lovely quick feet in the box and a powerful finish into the roof of the net. The rest of the game seemed to revolve around us trying to get Jesus on the scoresheet. There were chances, the keeper made a good save from one but I think he probably should have done better with the finish. Clearly he’s saving his goals for next week against Chelsea, and the quality of his overall performance was such that I’m not especially worried about him right now.
Mikel Arteta spoke afterwards about a big win and responding to the midweek defeat to PSV, saying:
It was great, we certainly have been creating the chances to score and we haven’t been hitting the target enough, we have discussed that the whole week and today the individual talent obviously made the difference they scored some fantastic goals and they shared the goals which I think is important as well.
Big teams have to respond as quick as possible and we did that after the disappointment of Thursday night, you don’t have time, you go here Friday evening. One half training session and be ready not only physically but mentally again to another demand against a team that beat Liverpool and the pressure is on, you lose the first place and you are there. And we need to get used to that.
So, in a month with 9 games our record ended up as 7 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat. In the Premier League we took 13 points from 15 available, and when you consider we had some difficult away trips in October, that is an impressive return. After the start to the season, this month was seen by some as another kind of marker for this team. Could we cope with the schedule? Could we produce when playing every three days? Was the squad deep enough?
I think the answer to those questions is yes, despite the defeat to PSV last week. Sometimes you lose. That’s true of every team. It was true of the best Arsenal teams I’ve ever seen, particularly during those hectic Europe > Premier League > Europe weeks, and on the basis of what else we saw during October, that result was something of an anomaly. I’m not saying we didn’t deserve to lose, simply that the points we earned during October were more than merited and that should be the focus, not the blip.
There’s obviously plenty still to do this season, and I do think the mid-season break for the World Cup should see the club work hard to add more depth to a couple of positions, but none of that can happen until January at the earliest. For now, these players and the manager deserve their props. We’re top of the table, and it’s not by accident. That’s something to feel really encouraged by.
By the way, I have some thoughts on Bukayo Saka and his treatment, but I’ll save those for tomorrow’s blog.
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Right, let’s leave it there for now. With regards the podcast today, we’re not going to be able to record until this evening, so apologies for that. Keep an eye out later this afternoon for the call for questions on Twitter @gunnerblog and @arseblog on Twitter with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or if you’re on Arseblog Member on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.
I don’t know the exact timings yet, but we’ll have fun with it later on for sure. Until then.
