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Reiss Nelson was the star of the day as Arsenal produced a dominant display against Nottingham Forest to return to the top of the Premier League table.
THE LOWDOWN: BACK TO WINNING WAYS
Arsenal will go into November and possibly into the international break as Premier League leaders after their emphatic 5 – 0 thrashing of bottom club Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon.
Steve Cooper’s side came into the tie buoyed by their defeat of Liverpool the week before but were met with a more stable Arsenal side. After losing to PSV last week, the Gunners took the opportunity to make a statement by winning a match they were expected to win, and winning it in the most emphatic of fashions.
Goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Reiss Nelson, Thomas Partey and captain Martin Ødegaard helped Arsenal see off their visitors in front of their very enthusiastic home support. The Gunners continue their brilliant start to life in the Premier League and with two game weeks left before the international break, are poised to end the year as league leaders.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Martinelli opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Bukayo Saka, who shook off a challenge in the opening minute, powered on and provided a clever assist for him to finish. Saka eventually had to be taken off for Reiss Nelson, whose addition to the game proved vital for the Gunners.
Nelson, who spent last season on loan at Feyenoord in the Dutch Eredivisie and had not scored a goal for Arsenal since November 2020, came on for only his first league appearance of the season. He began the second half rout in the 49th minute of the game and grabbed a second three minutes later.
Goals from Thomas Partey in the 57th minute and Ødegaard in the 78th minute wrapped up their second biggest victory under Arteta’s leadership and established them as genuine title contenders.
The win was the boost they needed ahead of their UEFA Europa League fixture against Zurich to try and claim the top spot in their group, following their 2-0 loss to PSV Eindhoven last Thursday. It was also their first Premier League home clean sheet since March.
THE VERDICT: MUCH NEEDED RESPONSE
After failing to exert dominance in games of late, a 5-0 thumping of Nottingham Forest is just what Arsenal needed but what was more impressive is the manner in which the win came.
That confidence will do well ahead of a crunch fixture against Chelsea at the weekend as well as an important Europa League concluding group stage clash against Zurich on Thursday.
