3 positives & negatives as Arsenal edge past Nottingham Forest

Positive #2: Wingers provide again

When playing against a resolute low block, as we were against Forest in this match, you occasionally have to rely on moments of magic to win the game. Both Martinelli and Saka provided just that, and their ability to decide games all on their own helped secure the victory.

First came an excellent piece of skill from Martinelli, which allowed Nketiah to pick up the ball inside the box and coolly smash it home to take the lead for his side. Then came Saka’s moment to shine, with the 21-year-old effortlessly beating his man on the edge of the box before expertly curling the ball into the top corner.

We are extremely lucky to have both of them at the club, and they proved that once again in this match.

Negative #2: Lack of ruthlessness

It is something Arteta has alluded to at various points during his reign as Arsenal manager, and it was true once again against Forest.

At 2-0, Steve Cooper’s men were there for the taking and had we been able to kill the game at that point, the nervy ending we were all made to endure could have been avoided.

Arteta was keen to stress that very point after the game, saying:

"“Welcome to the Premier League! I think that’s the highlight, we were super dominant, we deserved to win the game, there’s no question that we deserved to win the game. But when you are 2-0 up and you have some chances to kill the game we didn’t and then we gave a very sloppy one away after being there and having the corner and having a chance on the corner. “"

If we are going to go one step further than last season, then we must develop our ability to kill games off when we have the opportunity to do so.

Continued on the next slide…