Not quiet the fireworks from the first home game of the season versus Leeds but there was a lot of similarities between the two games, including another strong performance, clean sheet and ultimately another three points in the bag.
There were a lot of positives to take from the game with Nottingham Forest being held at arm’s length for nearly the entire game and the new look attack showing clear signs of development and growing cohesion. There was a couple of really nice goals, impressive performances from new signings Madueke and Mosquera, as well as a first start from Eberechi Eze and another goal from Viktor Gyokeres. Lots of things ticked off Arsenal fans’ wish list at the start of the game but there was some bad news as Martin Odegaard succumbed to a recurrence of his shoulder injury and had to be replaced in the first half.
The line-up
I did pretty well with my lineup prediction but I didn’t expect Mikel Merino to come into the starting 11 in place of Declain Rice, but given the size of the squad. Merino’s red hot form for Spain during the break and the need to spread minutes around, it wasn’t that surprising.
William Saliba didn’t quite make it so Cristhian Mosquera continued to deputise at the back. There was no place for new signing Christian Norgaard among the substitutes but 15 year old Max Dowman again found himself in the matchday squad.
First half
Arsenal started the game quite brightly and should probably have taken the lead when the ball dropped to Mikel Merino following a free kick but Sels stood tall and blocked his effort from close range. Martin Odegaard landed heavily after a coming together between himself, Timber and Gibbs-White and it was clear straight away that he was in some discomfort again so there was little surprise when Ethan Nwaneri came on with 18 minutes on the clock.
It was interesting to note that again Ethan Nwaneri was favoured as the automatically Odegaard replacement with other options available to Arteta, such as moving Eze or Merino over there and bringing on either Martinelli or Rice. Nice to see the faith that the manager has in Nwaneri continuing to grow.
The first goal came from a half cleared Madueke corner with the ball falling out of the sky onto the onrushing Martin Zubimendi with the crowd shouting ‘shoot’ out of habit more than expectation but shoot he did! The ball flew off Zubimendi’s right boot and was into the net almostly instantly. It was the sort of goal that I really envy the fans in the stadium for being there to witness it. The noise must have been deafening as the mixture of shock, relief and excitement always makes for the best cheers. In all fairness it did take a nick of Murillo on the way through but take nothing away from the strike. A thing of beauty.
There were chances to add to the scoreline but none were taken and Forest threatening briefly through Gibbs-White but Timber did well to put him off and the score remained 1-0 at half time.
The half belonged to Madueke who had turned his fullback inside out all half. He’s so direct and aggressive and it’s his attitude and desire that are already making him a fans favourite. Not bad for someone who had an online campaign against his signing just a few months ago!
The one thing that the first half was lacking was that second goal to make the game that much safer. Arsenal had seen first hand last season how fragile one goal leads can be so this was a chance to show that lessons had been learned.
Second half
Cue the second half and within 46 seconds those questions had been answered. Calafiori played a lovely ball into the channel for Eze to chase, and he let the ball bounce before flashing an inch perfect first time cross into the path of Gyokeres to tap home from a few yards.
I love this goal. It probably won’t make a lot of goal of the season compilations, but it was beautiful in its simplicity as two brilliant passes took us all the way from our defence to our striker. Our new striker, who just happened to be stood in the six yard box ready to tap the ball in! This goal is a really good advert for our summer business as both Gyokeres and Eze had quiet first halves but they both did exactly what we bought them for within a minute of the restart. Eze produced a moment of quality to open up the game and Gyokeres was in the right place at the right time to tap it home. Football is a very simple game when it’s played correctly.
With the score now at 2-0, there was a bit of a cushion but Forest threatened briefly at the other end shortly through Chris Wood’s improvised effort which David Raya tipped expertly onto the bar. In all honesty, I’m still not convinced that Woods’ meant this but the fact that Raya was a spectator for nearly the whole game but then remained switched on to tip onto the bar is testament to his quality on his milestone 100th game in red and white. This was to be as close as they would come to breaching the Arsenal backline as it remained one way traffic from this point onwards.
Gyokeres came inside and linked well with Madueke before crashing a shot against the post. No finish this time but the build up play was excellent with Gyokeres dribbling well before picking out a teammate and then continuing his run. Nice to see that his all round game is improving as well.
The icing was well and truly added to the cake when Nwaneri’s free kick was played short to Rice, then onto the substitute Trossard who pinged a delicious chip to the back post where Martin Zubimendi arrived to head home via a slight deflection. 3-0, game done and dusted.
Martin Zubimendi was immense in midfield, playing short, clever passes all game while intercepting anything that came near his defence but his two goals were the real shock. For a player who had scored only a handful of goals in his previous 8 years as a professional footballer, including no goals from outside the box and no headers, he probably couldn’t have dreamed of what was to come on Saturday lunchtime. Yet, he finished with a smart brace and a well deserved player of the match award.
Another three points and another clean sheet. Temporarily back to the top of the Premier League. Aside from the injury to Martin Odegaard, it was another brilliant day at The Emirates. Sterner tests lie ahead but you can only beat what’s in front of you and Arsenal did that with ease this afternoon.
Three key takeaways
This Arsenal squad has serious depth
It seems a bit obvious given the amount of money we spent during the summer doing just that but I don’t think I realised exactly what that would look like in practice. No Havertz, no Saka, no Odegaard (for the most part), no Saliba and we just decide to leave Declan Rice on the bench and still put out a squad of that quality that bearly broke out of second gear in beating a really decent Premier League team. They didn’t play well but let’s have it right, Forest are no mugs but we made them look ordinary and we did so with half a team out. Is this what it’s like to support city?!?! Hopefully we can enjoy the success that their squads brought them over the years. The tools are there, now we just have to make it happen.
Mosquera is looking like one of the buys of the summer
The emphasis here is on the word ‘looking’ at it’s still too early to draw any major conclusions but the signs are really good. Aggressive, calm, positive, reads the game well, quick. William Saliba he is not but as far as deputies go, I’m not sure you’re going to find a better one in Europe, especially for £13m! What a steal he looks right now. Real Madrid are sniffing around Saliba who we value at over £100m when they got have looked in their own backyard and pick up Mosquera for a fraction of the price. Hopefully we can keep both and really make those in Madrid regret it!
The fight between Saka and Madueke for that right wing slot, might not be as one-sided as we first thought
As with point two, I just want to caveat my statement with, Bukayo Saka is still the main man for me. The shirt is his when he comes back but I assumed, as I think most people did, that Saka would just walk back in and take it and no one would think anything of it. If Madueke carries on in the same form as he’s started the season, there is going to be some fans and onlookers asking the question as to whether or not he should continue his run in the team. Madueke has been that good. Numbers-wise, he’s still way short of Saka and that’s what Arteta will go for at the end of the day but just for the pure level of threat and uneasiness that he imposes on the opposition defenders, he’s in the conversation, that’s all I’m saying. Add in the fact that he can also play on the left and can rotate with Saka and it’s looking like a really smart bit of business.
What’s surprised me most about Madueke is his attitude, as that was one of the main reasons why I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of bringing him in but it’s his mentality that’s one of his strongest traits and I really wasn’t expecting that. He is very focused, dedicated and there’s been a lot of words coming out from his camp since he signed basically saying that he’s not coming here to sit on the bench and I think that’s been evident in evert game he’s played. Madueke is not messing around and Bukayo Saka will know it.
I even liked some of the things Madueke said during his car pool with Frimmy – he’s got a great mentality about wanting it all and ready to fight for it. I really didn’t get that vibe from him when he was at Chelsea but then again, it’s Chelsea isn’t it?!