Arsenal 3 Nottingham Forest 0: Gunners romp to commanding win as wonderkid Nwaneri scores first Premier League goal
FIT and firing Bukayo Saka showed England what they didn’t really miss as he fired Arsenal to a vital victory that stopped the rot.
Saka cried off international duty with a knock picked up in the 1-1 draw at Chelsea that had extended the Gunners’ winless run in the Premier League to four games.
But the fortnight off had clearly done him good as he scored the early first and then set up substitute Thomas Partey for the second soon after the break.
It was a near-perfect afternoon for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, rattling his jewellery in the posh seats.
It ended with teenage sensation Ethan Nwaneri claiming his first Premier League goal to make it three.
But this match was all about Nwaneri’s predecessor as the star boy of the Gunners’ Academy.
If England captain Harry Kane was watching in Munich, he may have raised an eyebrow at the quality and length – 82 minutes – of Saka’s display.
Kane appeared to question the commitment of the many players who did not show up for interim boss Lee Carsley’s last two games in charge.
Even without Saka and others, England were able to put eight goals past Greece and the Republic of Ireland.
But it was clear again just how important Saka is to this Arsenal team.
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The same goes for captain Martin Odegaard, who also shone on his first home appearance since August following the ankle injury he picked up in the first international break.
Arsenal had twice gone close even before Saka’s goal.
Leandro Trossard failed to beat Matz Sels from close range inside two minutes and Jurrien Timber had the ball in the net within five.
But after a lengthy delay, VAR confirmed the on-field decision that Mikel Merino had been fractionally offside from Martin Odegaard’s free kick before Timber bundled the ball home.
Both sets of fans booed how long it took but the home support soon cheered up.
Murillo blocked Odegaard’s initial shot but the Arsenal captain then exchanged passes with Saka, who glided past three Forest defenders before smashing the ball past Sels.
Arsenal controlled the rest of the half, with Saka and Odegaard to the fore
At times Arteta’s players were getting in each other’s way in their eagerness to extend the lead. Gabriel Jesus sent a shot wide when well placed.
Forest’s only threat came from James Ward-Prowse free kick that Ryan Yates headed over the bar.
Trossard forced Sels into another save with five minutes of the half to go and then the Belgian produced an even better stop to keep out Saka’s low effort.
The home fans were furious at yellow cards given out to Jorginho, Jesus and Saka, while Forest players escaped the same punishment for their offences.
Ola Aina’s stoppage-time booking was only a slight consolation as they jeered referee Simon Hooper and his assistants off the pitch at half time.
Jorginho in particular had trod a fine line with his protests at Hooper’s decisions.
So it was little surprise that Arteta replaced him with Thomas Partey at the break.
Espirito Santo also made a change, sending on Jota Silva for the ineffective Anthony Elanga.
But it was Arteta who soon looked like a genius.
Forest seemed mesmerised as Saka prowled in their penalty area. He laid the ball back to Partey, who had far too much time to touch the ball out of his feet and beat Sels with a shot that the Forest ‘keeper may feel he could have done more to stop.
It still took Espirito Santo another 10 minutes to make further changes.
His team then enjoyed their best period of the game, without forcing David Raya into a demanding save.
Centre back Nicolas Milenkovic headed over the bar but that was about it even for half chances.
Raheem Sterling came on for Saka as Arsenal saw out the game comfortably and fellow sub Nwaneri had already gone close to grabbing a third goal before he converted Sterling’s cutback.