Arsenal got their Premier League season off to a winning start, defeating Nottingham Forest 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium. First-half goals from Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka sent them on their way.
Arsenal were dominant from the outset, but it took a little while for Mikel Arteta’s side to find their groove. Once they did it was game over.
Nketiah opened the scoring after some outrageous skill from Gabriel Martinelli sent the striker through in space and he lashed home his shot past Matt Turner.
Just six minutes later, Saka doubled Arsenal’s lead with a spectacular curling effort that left the entire Emirates Stadium stunned.
The second half was a snooze fest until Forest set the game alight with just over 10 minutes remaining as Anthony Elanga sprung a superb counter-attack and drove the length of the field before crossing to Taiwo Awoniyi who got the visitors’ first goal of their league campaign.
The remaining minutes were nervy as Forest pushed for an equaliser, but Arsenal held on to start the league season in style.
3 talking points as Gunners begin season in style
The game provided plenty of talking points; here they are.
1. Arsenal off to a winning start
It was easy at the start, and then Arsenal made things far harder than they needed to, but in the end, three points are three points.
A win was the perfect way to begin the new Premier League season as Arsenal matched Manchester City’s win from the night before.
The game was far closer than it needed to be as Arsenal was by far the better side and dominated the majority of the game. There will be plenty of teachings for Mikel Arteta out of this one, but the most important thing was getting the season off on the right foot.
Continued on the next slide…
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<p>— Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/arsenal-nottingham-forest-3-talking-points-premier-league/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1690362820536209409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>August 12, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>The second half was a snooze fest until Forest set the game alight with just over 10 minutes remaining as Anthony Elanga sprung a superb counter-attack and drove the length of the field before crossing to Taiwo Awoniyi who got the visitors’ first goal of their league campaign.</p>
<p>The remaining minutes were nervy as Forest pushed for an equaliser, but Arsenal held on to start the league season in style.</p>
<h2>3 talking points as Gunners begin season in style</h2>
<p>The game provided plenty of talking points; here they are.</p>
<h2>1. Arsenal off to a winning start</h2>
<p>It was easy at the start, and then Arsenal made things far harder than they needed to, but in the end, three points are three points.</p>
<p>A win was the perfect way to begin the new Premier League season as Arsenal matched Manchester City’s win from the night before.</p>
<p>The game was far closer than it needed to be as Arsenal was by far the better side and dominated the majority of the game. There will be plenty of teachings for Mikel Arteta out of this one, but the most important thing was getting the season off on the right foot.</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/2023/08/13/arsenal-nottingham-forest-3-talking-points-premier-league/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Talking Point #2 </a>
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<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-135826 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/arsenal-nottingham-forest-3-talking-points-premier-league/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1707,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1593212134-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1707" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1593212134-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1593212134-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1593212134-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1593212134-2048x1366.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:2560px;">Saka starred on opening day. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>2. Saka off to a hot start</h2>
<p>It might be a new league season, but it’s the same Bukayo Saka. Our star winger was in ominous form from the outset as the Nottingham Forest defence had no answer to him.</p>
<p>His goal was a thing of beauty. After William Saliba laid the ball off to him, Saka took a touch inside and then unleashed a filthy curling effort past ex-Arsenal keeper Matt Turner.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bukayo Saka is out of this world 💫 <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/arsenal-nottingham-forest-3-talking-points-premier-league/"https://t.co/ZBsf5hucIg">https://t.co/ZBsf5hucIg
<p>— Le African Gooner (@leafricangooner) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/arsenal-nottingham-forest-3-talking-points-premier-league/"https://twitter.com/leafricangooner/status/1690340651601219584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>August 12, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Just one game into the season, we are again reminded of Saka’s world-class brilliance.</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/2023/08/13/arsenal-nottingham-forest-3-talking-points-premier-league/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Talking Point #3 </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-135832 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/arsenal-nottingham-forest-3-talking-points-premier-league/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1713,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1593258428-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1713" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1593258428-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1593258428-768x514.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1593258428-1536x1028.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1593258428-2048x1370.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:2560px;">Timber was forced off with a knee injury. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>3. Timber injury a sour note</h2>
<p>After such a scintillating first half, the dreaded injury bug struck Arsenal just minutes into the second half. Jurrien Timber went down in what was an innocuous incident.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wishing you a speedy recovery, <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/arsenal-nottingham-forest-3-talking-points-premier-league/"https://twitter.com/JurrienTimber?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@JurrienTimber! 🙏 <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/arsenal-nottingham-forest-3-talking-points-premier-league/"https://t.co/sPVJdx40TC">pic.twitter.com/sPVJdx40TC
<p>— afcstuff (@afcstuff) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/arsenal-nottingham-forest-3-talking-points-premier-league/"https://twitter.com/afcstuff/status/1690351713864105984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>August 12, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/arsenal-nottingham-forest-3-talking-points-premier-league/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
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<p>Timber dropped down to the ground and looked to be holding his knee. When players go down under no contact, there will always be a cause for concern and given it is the first league game of the season and Timber’s debut, it isn’t ideal.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">