A stunning goal from Bukayo Saka helped Arsenal open up their account for the season with a nervy 2-1 win over a sorry Nottingham Forest side in front of an expectant home crowd.
The Gunners, who saw their title challenge fade at the end of last season, head into the new campaign with a renewed sense of expectation thanks both to their achievements last season and their significant outlay over the summer.
A delayed start to the game thanks to a ticketing problem was mirrored by a slow beginning to the game from Mikel Arteta’s side, who could have found themselves behind only for Brennan Johnson to fire over with just Aaron Ramsdale to beat.
Midway through the first half, however, a moment of magic from Gabriel Martinelli unlocked a resilient Forest side. Spinning between two defenders, he found Eddie Nketiah, who fired home via a healthy deflection.
Oh wow, that was lovely Gabriel Martinelli! 😮💨
Eddie Nketiah finishes the move to put Arsenal 1-0 up!
📺 Watch live on TNT Sports & discovery+ pic.twitter.com/2XLtMTycQj
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 12, 2023
Minutes later, they had doubled their lead, with poster boy Bukayo Saka curling an excellent strike past Matt Turner from just outside the area after Morgan Gibbs-White lost the ball cheaply.
Goal of the season… so far.
Bukayo Saka doubles Arsenal’s lead with a stunning strike!#ARSNFO | #ARS | #NFFC
🎥 @footballontnt pic.twitter.com/dtYlPeZTZq
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) August 12, 2023
Arsenal looked to be well in control of things in the second half, and could have added to their lead as Declan Rice twice went close. Though they dominated the ball, Turner was rarely tested and the game was blown wide open as Taiwo Awoniyi finished off a brilliant counter-attacking move to pull one back for Nottingham Forest with their first shot of the half.
Anthony Elanga’s brilliant breakaway and Taiwo Awoniyi’s pinpoint finish make it game on 👀
That’s a stunning counter attack from Nottingham Forest! ⚡️
📺 Watch live on TNT Sports & discovery+ pic.twitter.com/SPaxjk0pD5
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 12, 2023
📰 Table Of Contents
Player ratings
Arsenal
- GK: Aaron Ramsdale (6)
- RB: Thomas Partey (7) – Spent most of the game playing in central midfield but his movement left a space for
- CB: Ben White (6.5)
- CB: William Saliba (6)
- LB: Jurrien Timber (6) – Had very little to do but went down with a worrying looking injury in the first half and again just after half time before being substituted.
- DM: Declan Rice (8) – Fitted into Arsenal’s system like a glove and already looks to be a leader on the pitch for Mikel Arteta’s side.
- CM: Martin Odegaard (7) – Continued to do excellent work in tight spaces without a goal or assist to show for it. A vital cog in Arsenal’s side.
- CM: Kai Havertz (6) – Quiet but tidy on the ball in his new midfield role.
- RW: Bukayo Saka (8) – Opened his Arsenal account in some style and worked hard defensively in another all-round top performance from Arsenal’s star man.
- ST: Eddie Nketiah (7) – Led the line well in Gabriel Jesus’ absence and took his goal excellently despite the slight deflection.
- LW: Gabriel Martinelli (8) – A livewire who ignited the first half with a wonderful bit of skill. Faded in the second half but remained a threat.
Substitutes
- Takehiro Tomiyasu (6) – Solid enough when he came on for Timber
- Leandro Trossard (7) – Bright when he came on and must be wondering what he needs to do to start a game.
- Gabriel (5) – Came on late on to sure up the game, but gave away a foul in a dangerous area which could have proved costly.
Nottingham Forest
- GK: Matt Turner (5) – His debut against his former club didn’t go to plan, but there was little that Turner could have done and made an excellent save from Declan Rice in the second half.
- RWB: Serge Aurier (6) – Received no love for his former Tottenham connections but defended well against Martinelli for the most part.
- CB: Joe Worrall (5) – Couldn’t get himself out of the way of the ball for the first goal and almost had a repeat offence when a Declan Rice shot took a nick off him on its way towards goal.
- CB: Wily Boly (6) – Defended well for the most part, but could maybe have done better with a chance of his own in the second half.
- CB: Scott McKenna (5)
- LWB: Ola Aina (5) – Struggled to deal with Bukayo Saka and was booked for a nasty challenge in the first half. A tough debut for the Nigerian.
- CM: Orel Mangala (5) – Didn’t see much of the ball but worked hard to keep Arsenal’s creative players quiet.
- CM: Ryan Yates (5) – See above
- CM: Danilo (6)
- ST: Brennan Johnson (5) – Missed a great chance to hand Forest the lead
- ST: Morgan Gibbs-White (5) – Lost the ball far too easily for Arsenal’s second goal. Suffocated going forwards.
Substitutes
- Taiwo Awoniyi (7) – Scored an excellent strikers goal and offered the most threat of any of Nottingham Forest’s attacking corps.
- Nico Williams (6) – Came on to little effect.
- Anthony Elanga (7) – Made an excellent start to his Forest career with a brilliant counter-attack to find a surprise goal for Forest.
- Chris Wood (N/A) – Came on in added time.
- Cheick Kouyate (N/A) – Came on in added time.
Expert analysis
Kieran Tierney has just not been selected from the squad today. No injury. Same for Rob Holding. Zinchenko not quite ready
— Kaya Kaynak (@kayakaynak97) August 12, 2023
40 minutes into his first Premier League game with Arsenal and Rice is, quite forcefully, telling Saliba to move to offer an option off the throw in. When the ball comes to him he signals in a way that suggests his team mates hurry up.
First PL game with Arsenal, remember.
— James Benge (@jamesbenge) August 12, 2023
10 hours and 6 minutes of football since his last competitive goal, Nketiah puts Arsenal ahead.
— Mark Mann-Bryans (@MarkyMBryans) August 12, 2023
Eddie Nketiah has scored his first Premier League goal since getting 2 against Manchester United on 22nd Janurary 2023.
Starting as he means to go on. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/3RS8qShP3u
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) August 12, 2023
Martinelli playing a different game to everyone else on that pitch. Workrate, intensity and creativity off the charts. Looking to make something happen every time he gets the ball.
— Tom Marshall-Bailey (@TomMarshall_B) August 12, 2023
If you were being pernickety, Arsenal are maybe playing with their prey a bit too much. They did this on occasion last season. Up the tempo, get a few more goals (I know it requires a bit more than this in reality), then you don’t have to worry about moments like these corners.
— James Benge (@jamesbenge) August 12, 2023
Fan Reaction
Gabriel Martinelli’s first half by numbers vs. Nottingham Forest:
90% pass accuracy
34 passes completed
3 ground duels won
2/2 crosses completed
2 key passes
1 assistDevastating on the flank. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/3T2TgAq2Xl
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) August 12, 2023
Rice has been unbelievable man
— PME 🚭🦅🗽🇺🇸 (@mariEscobarPAWG) August 12, 2023
No G/A for him that half but Ødegaard is scary. Defenders leave him for half a second to deal with Saka and he can change the game just like that.
— James. (@afcjxmes) August 12, 2023
