Morning all.
Was that good? Yes, I think so. Could we have move the ball forwards a bit quicker in the first half? Yes.
Let’s not underplay our 3-0 victory over Forest though because they showed last season just how good a team they are and this summer they strengthened an already good squad. They also have one of last seasons best goalkeepers in the league in Matz Sels.
Arsenal went into the game without Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, William Saliba and Gabriel Jesus.
Our bench consisted of: Kepa, Ben White, Piero Hincapie, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri, Declan Rice, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Max Dowman.
Merino came very close to giving us the lead but Sels was too good. Soon after, Odegaard landed heavy on his shoulder again and just like the last time, off he went with Nwaneri coming on in his place. I thought we improved with the Englishman’s introduction.
Madueke was causing all sorts of problems down our right hand side and after forcing a number of corners, which he took, one was headed clear by Forest, but only as far as Zubimendi just outside the Forest box. The Spaniard watched the ball as it dropped before he hit it into the roof of the net. A stunning strike. He nearly did it again but his strike travelled just over the bar.
No sooner had the second half started, Gyokeres doubled our lead. Eze took control of a long ball played out from Calafiori, went past the defender and whipped a ball into our striker. No fuss, no mistake, 2-0 and his 3rd of the season.
Forest came close to halving the scoreline in bizarre circumstances. A cross from Ndoye hit Woods chest at an angle causing the ball to divert towards goal. Raya got his fingertips to the ball, sending it into the woodwork and back out to Hudson-Odoi. Mosquera killed any hope the Forest man had of scoring with a perfectly timed sliding tackle. Brilliant from the young defender. Rice was inches away from tapping home a lovely cross from Timber, Gyokeres nearly grabbed his second in the game with a thunderous strike into the woodwork but instead, it was our midfielder who came up trumps with another goal ten minutes from time. A set-piece, a Trossard cross and there was Zubimendi to rise high and head home.
Had Arsenal scored 5 or 6, Forest could have no complaints because they were totally outplayed. From front to back, Arteta’s team was strong. Disciplined at the back, sometimes playing themselves out of a small hole with wonderful first time passes. Up front, Madueke was an absolute handful. His pace, directness and ability to go past, inside or outside his man with ease was just a joy to watch. His corners were pretty good too. Our two central midfielders were very very good, it was like they’d being playing together for years. lol
Seriously though, I think Arsenal were good and I also think they are only going to get better…
Next up for Mikel Arteta and his team is a trip to Spain for a Champions League match against Athletic Club.
Catch up in the comments.
Morning All You Happy People and Rico – who is always happy…
Very good post, summed up the game and to the point. Sometimes there’s so many positives in a game you can’t cover them all, but here’s one, the timing and tacking of Chris Mosquera, it’s just a short amount of game time to judge but he is quietly developing into the best tackler at the club – the potential is definitely on show. Nobody can quite wrap their leg legally around an opponent and dispossess him quite like Big Chris.
Morning Kev, I like him a lot. Can’t believe his transfer fee considering how good he is.
The challenge on Hudson-Odoi was so good.
Morning Rico, very good summary of yesterday’s game. All five of our new signings were excellent but for me the pick was Mosquera, who at just 21 is a babe in arms for a central defender, but looked as calm under pressure as Saliba. What a steal at £13m! And when you see a fit Declan Rice on the subs’ bench you know we’ve finally got a really deep squad, ready to challenge on all fronts.
Morning Anthony, yep, a real bargain and whoever was behind that deal needs a pat on the back. Madueke is playing really well too. He’s an exciting player to watch.
Good morning Rico and all.
A fine post Rico, thank you. A mention for Nwaneri, thrown on as an early replacement for our injured captain he was calmness personified as he took control as an attacking midfielder. Martin Odegaard can be allowed time to recover fully safe in the knowledge that he has an excellent deputy in Nwaneri.
Morning Rico and all. As much as the players done their job, I reckon some credit should come to Arteta for taking Calafiori off shortly after recieving a yellow card, to prevent a second and giving Forest any hope of a possible come back
Morning Cicero, I’m really not bothered about Odegaard potentially being out for a while because of Nwaneri. I like the fact that Arteta has more faith in him to play centrally and imo, we are less negative when he’s on the pitch.
Morning Geoff. A bit of common sense goes a long way…
41 clean sheets in his first 100 games for Raya is some stat.
3 totally different goals is a big plus to show how we can change our game plan.
I summed everything else on the previous Post
Half time Burnley 0-0 Liverpool and finally a yellow card given to a Liverpool player for diving in the box
A north western derby later today between two bottom half of the league teams, Manchester City and Manchester United. 😉
RIP Ricky Hatton. 46 years old….
Can you Adam and Eve it? Pool get an added time penalty to make it 0 – 1
Lucky Liverpool, nobody else gets a penalty for that…
Oh come on Kev absolutely nailed on penalty. No doubt about it.
Burnley must be gutted.
Blatant handball wasn’t it?
Good afternoon Rico and Housers
Rico, I enjoyed reading that as much as I felt gutted that the dippers got a penalty in the 95th minute to win the game. It seems so evident that the EPL and the PGMOL refuse to give pens against Liverpool while giving them for free to them.
Kelsey, are you sure its 41 clean sheets? I counted 42 clean sheets in his first 100 Arsenal games.
Anyone got the feeling that we were playing Tottingham Forest? Because they were Tottenham in disguise under Postecoglu. He says he wins a trophy in second year. Yep, he has got to last this season first imo. He will be gone by January.
I just hope that Nwaneri plays well enough that Arteta will not drop him. And even with Madueke. Not with yesterday’s performance from both players. And yes, even with Saliba. He should fight for his place and not be an automatic starter.
There’s something Madueke brings to this Arsenal team that nobody else does. It doesn’t make him a better or more efficient player than Saka, but it makes him very different and special to how we play — his ability to cause chaos in the final third. That alone explains why Maresca didn’t want him leaving Chelsea. He might not outproduce Saka in goals and assists over a fair, injury-free season, but his value lies in how much space he creates for others. Arsenal’s biggest attacking problem has been predictability, and with Madueke alongside Eze, defenders are forced to second-guess themselves in ways they never had to before.
Madueke gave us what we lacked, a disruptive spark. Yesterday we thrived by creating chaos and freeing teammates. Even without a goal or assist, Madueke was a massive reason we created chances for fun yesterday, pulling defenders out of shape so Eze and Gyökeres could shine. If he manages to add 12–15 goal contributions on top of that, his signing will look like a masterstroke.
Eberechi Eze’s display on the left wing against Forest once again showed why he can be so effective in that role for Arsenal, especially when the No.10 spot isn’t available. He may not be the quickest in transition, but his technical awareness, 1v1 ability, creativity, and decision-making in the final third make him a real threat out wide. His tendency to drift into central areas adds another layer to Arsenal’s attacking play, giving the team balance and unpredictability.
His assist yesterday was the perfect example of what he brings — a precise, low-driven cross that created a high-quality chance, something the current wide players often lack. Eze offers the kind of service that can unlock Gyökeres consistently, and his performance felt like just the beginning of what this partnership could deliver.
And finally an attacking midfield which was all English was on display…..Eze, Nwaneri, Madueke. Long may that continue.
OK Cicero/Rico, I only saw it once, if you say so…
I guess the positive we can take is that they’re just, that’s just, getting by, eventually their luck will run out, so we’ve gotta keep putting the pressure on…
Afternoon Devil, I think Ange will do ok at Forest. He has a good squad to work with and one which is already defensively good. Their big defender suffering an injury didn’t help them yesterday and I believe they have other injuries in defence.
I’ve not seen it Kev, just read about it. I’m with you, they are scraping through matches with a near full squad I believe.
Just seen the penalty, no doubt imo.
Not sure the second booking for the Burnley player was right though..
Carmelsson it was 41 clean sheets before yesterday’s game (99 games) so now 42 games,apologies.
There is a difference in tempo when Arsenal play with Ethan Nwaneri compared to Martin Ødegaard. The team looks faster with Nwaneri because he plays with immediacy and vertical instincts. Ødegaard’s role is to conduct and control.
Nwaneri, being younger and more instinctive, looks to turn and drive vertically much quicker. He’s more direct, less risk-averse, and naturally seeks to accelerate play instead of slowing it down. He tends to open his body early, looking upfield for progressive options. That body shape alone makes Arsenal look like they’re playing at a higher tempo. Nwaneri is happy to carry the ball, breaking lines through dribbling — which naturally feels faster and more aggressive. Arteta seems to allow more freedom of expression when Nwaneri is playing, encouraging him to exploit his youthful unpredictability and burst through spaces. And with Nwaneri, opponents aren’t yet conditioned to his patterns, giving him more room to surprise and accelerate play.
On the other hand Odegaard prioritizes control, rhythm, and security in possession. He often recycles the ball, dictates the pace, and ensures Arsenal keep territorial dominance before threading a killer pass. His instinct is to probe and manipulate defensive structures rather than rush forward. HE often receives with his back slightly closed to goal, shaping play wide or back before looking for the decisive moment and prefers intricate combinations, waiting for overloads or third-man runs to develop. As captain and midfield orchestrator, he is tasked with game management: controlling tempo, setting pressing traps, and ensuring positional discipline. Opposition defenders are more cautious with Ødegaard because they expect the measured killer pass — so they sit deeper, slowing transitions.
Imo this is not a question of who’s better. I think its more different options and different mental strategy. He can play them alternately, obviously taking into consideration Nwaneri’s age and playing load. He can also play them together, but imo that would be dangerous to begin the game with them both. Later on in any match would be fine. but not from the beginning.
So far so good. VG14 has scored 3 goals in 4 games.
I just read that Don Berta said that rsenal were all in for Sesko , Lepzig had Mosquera lined up for €15M . Arsenal swooped for Mosquera this angered RB and they stood firm on a high value of Benjamin. Arsenal also had the Gyökeres deal available and got both Gyökeres and Mosquera.
Well, we might have dodged a bullet. Sesko, in four games, had his first shot on target today. To pay Eur85M He played 80 mins, 1 shot on target, 20 touches, 8 successful passes out of 14 and won just 3 aerial duels out of 8. He lost 8 balls altogether.
Is it his fault? Well he didnt set his price but I guess that United have burned up the careers of many young strikers……Eur300M spent on Zirkzee, Hojlund, Antony and Sancho. And to cap it all this season, having spent Eur234M on Cunha, Mbuemo and Sesko. This phenomenal trident has so far scored an amazing 1 goal between them in 4 games.
How lucky were Liverpool, their luck has to run out soon. not sure what it worse watching pool win or watching Salah run around like he kicked a special long range goal in the world cup
I wrote a few weeks back that Liverpool were so fortunate on so many occasions last season and so far it’s carried on into this. Only Liverpool could get a winner in added time from the penalty spot, the circumstances are irrelevant it’s the fact that it always happens for them.
But they’ve not blown anyone away yet and you can’t win with last minute goals ‘every’ week, eventually you slip up and then the belief will start to falter…
We have two really tough games coming up vs City and Toon, the Scousers will be hoping that we drop some points?
Kev, it’s almost as if someone should look at the betting activity for yesterday’s game. Even Mustafi wouldn’t have done what the Burnley defender did…
Yeah Rico, but I’m sure that the betting industry watch out for that kind of thing and anyway Liverpool winning probably saved them some dough!
We’ve seen it for years and years and years Rico, it’s a joke that one club can have so much luck over and above everyone else, even the Mancs.
And don’t tell me it’s because of the culture of the area because if that was the case then what about Everton?
They certainly have more than their fair share of good fortune Kev…
I don’t think Liverpool are the threat they were last season, it took an extra-time penalty to beat a newly promoted Burnley a late free kick to get all three points from our game. They took 88 minutes to score against Bournemouth. They don’t look at all secure in defence and rely too much on an ageing one trick pony Salah. They have acquired some expensive new players but they are not gelling too well at the moment.
Slot has said that Isak is nowhere near fit enough to play 45 minutes in a game, and won’t be for several weeks.
Snatching at straws? I might be, but let’s await and see.
Agreed, we could so easily have won at Anfield and I think other clubs will. 9 times out of 10, that free kick would land in row z.
Good afternoon everyone.
How much would he fetch in today’s market??? That is, if we sold him first.
Marvellous Devil. Marvellous!
With the passing of time I’d forgotten just how good Ian Wright really was! What a star performer. What a player. And latterly what a pundit who spoke with much deserved authority.
Thanks that was a real treat😃
Devil regarding playing Odegaard and Nwaneri together, why would it be dangerous for the beginning of the game as opposed to later? Imho it would just require a little tweak or formation change. Let Nwaneri play as a 10, and drop Odegaard deeper. Use him like how Arsene used Arteta and Santi. Odegaard would be even better because of his energy, passing and tenacious pressing. I think this would even help him to speed up the game because the deeper he plays the more passing options he has in a less congested areas.
At Dipperland we were undone by a worldie. 99/100 that would have finished elsewhere. The team gave a tactical masterclass which stoppped them. However it is as it is. We came away emptyhanded. Maybe we learned more from that defeat than if we had won. Long term it certainly has done so imo. Had we won we would have gotten three points yes. I hate conceding a goal let alone losing. However I feel we shouldnt criticize the team and Arteta for losing that game.
It kept the team grounded.
Yesterday I read that Rich Keys complained that Arteta does not know what he is doing by putting Rice on as sub instead of beginning the game. Now that we have options and can rotate Arteta is being lambasted because he does. Last year he was criticized because he did not rotate enough.
Afternoon guys.
New post up.
Didn’t Keys once suggest Sian Massey didn’t know what she was doing? Only one kept their job though…