Arsenal passed up the chance to put 9 points between themselves and Manchester City, by dropping two points against relegation threatened Nottingham Forest, in a drab draw at the City Ground.
Arsenal dominated for large spells in the first half and passed up a couple of golden chances, with Gabriel Martinelli in particular guilty of some wayward finishing.
Arsenal’s knack of scoring early goals in the second half of games seems to have dried up and it went one step further tonight as the Arsenal performance dropped off a cliff from the 46th minute onwards, which prompted Mikel Arteta into a triple substitution after just 56 minutes.
Mikel Merino wasted some excellent chances and we were denied what seemed to be a nailed on penalty late on and therefore had to settle for a point in a bitterly disappointing performance, that scarcely warranted one. This is how I rated the players:
David Raya – 7
Didn’t face a single shot on goal so hard to rate higher than a 7, but his distribution was good and he claimed some crosses really well. Swept up a few dangerous balls over the top from Forest, one of which he got a bit lucky with, as he managed to poke the ball out of play on the second attempt.
Ben White – 7
Decent enough defensively. Very little got down his side and he had one lovely cross that deserved to be headed home. Felt like his overlapping runs weren’t utilised enough tonight, as the crossing from some of his teammates left a lot to be desired.
William Saliba – 7
Not able to influence the play going forward as much as he has done in previous games, but defensively he was a monster once again, as nothing got passed him.
Gabriel – 7
Defended well, physical imposing, headed everything that moved and deserved his clean sheet. Not sure where the set piece goals have gone though, as he didn’t get near any of the set pieces on the day.
Jurrien Timber – 6
Was preferred again to Myles Lewis-Skelly, but he was far from his flowing best again this evening. Dealt with Hudson-Odoi well for the most part, but on the one time the winger got the better of Timber, he was lucky not to concede a penalty. Sloppy in possession at times and just doesn’t seem to be the same attacking force as he is from the right. This team is badly missing Riccardo Calafiori.
Martin Zubimendi – 6
Typically busy all round midfield performance, winning plenty of duels and keeping the ball well yet it felt like a very ‘safe’ performance from the Spaniard as he failed to get Martin Odegaard into the game and passes through the lines were few and far between.
Declan Rice – 5
I’m trying not to let that passage of play at the end of the game affect my rating, but it’s difficult as it was so unbelievably frustrating as he just kept passing the ball back and forth with Willaim Saliba in the 95th minute. GET THE BALL FORWARD!! Set pieces caused problems without being quite the usual high standards of earlier in the season. Covered ground really well and shut down several potential counter attacks from Forest but he just doesn’t seem at it going forward at all. I wouldn’t say he’s in a slump as he still brings so much to the team, but there’s definitely been a drop off in output lately.
Martin Odegaard – 5
Completely and utterly marked out of the game by Elliott Anderson who shut him down any time the Norwegian got anywhere near it. That led to Odegaard dropping deep and basically doing very little of anything. When your star playmaker is withdrawn on 56 minutes, that tells you everything you need to know.
Noni Madueke – 6
Threatened to run riot early doors, as he got in behind with regularity, yet his final ball was lacking again and then he seemed to change his game completely and start holding onto the ball far too long, which often led to Arsenal losing possession. Such a strange performance. Even if the end product isn’t there, if he just hits the line and crossed the ball time after time, that would be an improvement on what he ended up doing today. Maybe being over-coached a little? Was lucky to stay on until 56th minute.
Viktor Gyokeres – 6
Not great, but there were a few encouraging pieces of play which I liked. The lay-offs and hold up play are improving and I thought he did quite well to keep the ball and get a shot away when he pounced on Murillo’s mistake, as the Brazilian is a lot quicker and stronger than the Swede. Pressed well and did occupy the defenders. I would have been tempted to leave him on and see what a difference he could make with better players around him. Wasn’t the reason why we failed to score.
Gabriel Martinelli – 5
Probably was the reason why we failed to score! Has to do better with his back post chance. Goes with the wrong foot for me. Had another decent chance after the aftermath of a set piece and although his overall play was okay, not great, but okay, those missed chances ultimately cost us the game and it cost the Brazilian an appearance in the second half as he was hooked by the boss at the break.
Subs:
Leandro Trossard – 5 – There are times where is jinking dummies are really useful and help us maintain attacks and keep the ball – this wasn’t one of them. The Belgian just dwelt on the ball and let attacks fizzle out. I don’t remember anything of note after his introduction, as the left wing problem rears its head once again!!
Bukayo Saka – 5 – Another who failed to deliver from the bench. A couple of nice runs and crosses, but we expect so much more from him. As with Rice, set pieces were good but seem to have dropped down from the ‘world-class’ level from earlier in the season. Lost the ball cheaply a few times late on, which was infuriating.
Mikel Merino – 5 – Added much needed physicality to the midfield and there was a notable improvement following his introduction. That said, as with Martinelli in the first half, Merino wasted some glorious opportunities which ultimately led to two dropped points.
Gabriel Jesus – 6 – Made a nuisance of himself and almost forced a penalty. Took up a variety of different positions which Forest seemed to struggle with. I don’t think he’s our answer, once Havertz is full up to speed, but this was better than his last few outings.
Eberechi Eze – N/A – I don’t think he touched the ball did he?!
Final note – That was a nailed on penalty wasn’t it?! We probably didn’t deserve to take all three points with that second half performance, but we just needed lady luck to help us over the line and unfortunately she deserted us! Has there ever been a more biased Premier League Manager than Sean Dyche?! Nothing his team do is ever a penalty and everything against him is an absolute travesty. We’re all biased to our own team but this guy takes it to another level.