Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side bounced back from the Europa League defeat against PSV Eindhoven with a jubilant 5-0 win against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
After only five minutes, Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring before a double from Reiss Nelson, a scorcher from Thomas Partey, and a sublime goal from Martin Odegaard completed Arsenal’s five-star performance.
Of course, there are plenty of positives to pick out, but in Arsenal’s biggest Premier League home win since Arsene Wenger left the club, it was always going to be difficult to pick out three negatives.
3 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s 5-0 win against Nottingham Forest
However, no performance is ever perfect: here are three positives and three negatives of Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Positive #1 – Reiss Nelson’s delightful double
In his first Premier League appearance of the season, Nelson scored twice to add comfort for the hosts. At 1-0, Forest were in the game; whether it be a set-piece or a rogue attack, Arsenal could not afford to concede.
Nelson’s goals came at a perfect time though. Just after the second half had started, the former Feyenoord loanee glided past the Forest defence before slamming a shot at Dean Henderson. Despite having his first effort saved, Nelson was quick to fire in the rebound.
This match was a chance for the 22-year-old to prove himself and it’s safe to say he did. Arsenal fans have always had hope for Nelson and, if he can perform like that consistently, he may just fulfil that potential.
Negative #1 – Bukayo Saka’s injury
Just as this match was a blessing for Nelson, his fortune came at Saka’s expense. The England international had started the game superbly but he was forced off before the 30-minute mark with an ankle injury.
This comes at a worrying time for both Arsenal and England fans. The 21-year-old has played a crucial role in Arsenal’s successes this season and, with the World Cup just around the corner, a significant injury would be damaging to both sides.
Continued on the next slide…
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<p>— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/10/31/arsenal-three-positives-negatives-nottingham-forest/"https://twitter.com/afcDW/status/1587040139330686981?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>October 31, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>In his first Premier League appearance of the season, Nelson scored twice to add comfort for the hosts. At 1-0, Forest were in the game; whether it be a set-piece or a rogue attack, Arsenal could not afford to concede.</p>
<p>Nelson’s goals came at a perfect time though. Just after the second half had started, the former Feyenoord loanee glided past the Forest defence before slamming a shot at Dean Henderson. Despite having his first effort saved, Nelson was quick to fire in the rebound.</p>
<p>This match was a chance for the 22-year-old to prove himself and it’s safe to say he did. Arsenal fans have always had hope for Nelson and, if he can perform like that consistently, he may just fulfil that potential.</p>
<h2>Negative #1 – Bukayo Saka’s injury</h2>
<p>Just as this match was a blessing for Nelson, his fortune came at Saka’s expense. The England international had started the game superbly but he was forced off before the 30-minute mark with an ankle injury.</p>
<p>This comes at a worrying time for both Arsenal and England fans. The 21-year-old has played a crucial role in Arsenal’s successes this season and, with the World Cup just around the corner, a <a title="Mikel Arteta provides an injury update on Bukayo Saka" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/10/31/arsenal-three-positives-negatives-nottingham-forest/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/10/30/mikel-arteta-provides-injury-update-bukayo-saka/" rel="">significant injury would be damaging to both sides</a>.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/10/31/arsenal-three-positives-negatives-nottingham-forest/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 positive & negative </a>
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<img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-130515" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/10/31/arsenal-three-positives-negatives-nottingham-forest/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1244347636.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1244347636.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1244347636-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">The Gunners paid tribute to Pablo Mari after Gabriel Martinelli’s opener. (Photo by IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Positive #2 – A clean sheet at the Emirates</h2>
<p>Before the match against Forest, Arsenal had not kept a clean sheet at the Emirates for ten Premier League games. The side were consistently winning but lapses in concentration had undermined their impressive defensive efforts. A quick look back at some of the goals conceded this season shows this.</p>
<p>Gabriel’s mistake against Fulham stands out, as does William Saliba’s own goal against Leicester City, and Douglas Luiz’s goal for Aston Villa. These were all goals that came from nothing; but on Sunday, Arsenal stood firm in defence to make sure of a clean sheet.</p>
<p>Keeping home clean sheets will become increasingly important for Arteta if he wishes to challenge for the league title. He needs the Emirates to become a fortress. This clean sheet against Forest might just become a turning point for the Arsenal defence this season.</p>
<h2>Negative #2 – Gabriel’s mistakes continue</h2>
<p>As it was just alluded to, Gabriel has committed several mistakes this season. While this one may be a little harsh on the Brazilian considering how little Forest offered in attack, Gabriel gave the away side their best chance of the match.</p>
<p>A sloppy pass when he was in the box gifted Jesse Lingard a glorious opening, but Ben White’s superb block prevented Aaron Ramsdale from being tested. Without White’s quick reactions to save Gabriel’s blushes, Forest would have equalised at 1-1 and the outcome of the match could have been completely different.</p>
<p>Truly, Gabriel’s error-prone gene comes as a surprise. It seems almost unfortunate that he has been scraped into this list as a negative for the match, but this mistake could’ve been costly on another day.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/10/31/arsenal-three-positives-negatives-nottingham-forest/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 positive & negative </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-130519" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/10/31/arsenal-three-positives-negatives-nottingham-forest/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1437709584.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1437709584.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1437709584-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Thomas Partey produced a stellar performance in midfield. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Positive #3 – Arsenal’s trio in midfield played exceptionally well</h2>
<p>The Gunners’ control of the match came from midfield. Partey, Odegaard and Granit Xhaka rarely put a foot wrong the whole match.</p>
<p>Whether it was Odegaard gliding past the oncoming defence before smashing the ball into the net or Partey playing passes through the lines into Xhaka or Gabriel Jesus, there was a level of class to the trio in midfield.</p>
<p>It was a performance that Arsenal will be hoping to replicate when other sides come to the Emirates, and much of their good work came in midfield.</p>
<h2>Negative #3 – Jesus fails to find the back of the net</h2>
<p>Taking nothing away from his all-around display, the Brazilian lacked when he was needed most. Jesus’ best chances came when Odegaard played him through and when White flicked the ball onto him at the back post. But in both cases, Arsenal’s #9 failed to score.</p>
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<p>It’s starting to become a worrying trend; one that he had at Manchester City. Arsenal need a striker who is going to score goals. Even when Martinelli and Saka are contributing from the wings, it’s important that Jesus scores, too. Sunday’s match was the perfect one for a confidence boost.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
