Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest: Player ratings as Odegaard inspires Gunners win

Arsenal produced a performance supporters have long been craving as they thumped Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Mikel Arteta was content with rotating his starting XI for the contest as Declan Rice, Thomas Partey, Kai Havertz, and Gabriel Martinelli all dropped to the bench. Chris Wood, meanwhile, was absent from the visitors' XI.

Forest entered the fixture level on points with the Gunners, but there was a gaping void between the two teams at the Emirates. Nuno Espirito Santo's side weren't given a sniff as Arsenal purred off the back of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka's brilliance.

The pair combined for the first time since the skipper returned from an ankle injury for Arsenal's opener, which Saka dispatched emphatically, but the hosts were then frustrated by a combination of hesitant decision-making and Mats Sels in the Forest goal as they took a 1-0 lead into the break.

They didn't have to wait too long for a deserved second after the restart, though. Saka was once again involved as he teed up substitute Thomas Partey for a rare goal. The Ghanaian midfielder finished superbly from outside the area.

Arsenal's domination rendered the bout as good as done after Partey struck, although Forest did eventually throw on leading scorer Wood in a bid to get back into the match.

There was a lull in the aftermath with the Gunners, who'd expended so much energy in the opening hour, more content to surrender control. Still, Forest failed to make the most of their brief period of superiority and there was time for 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri to cap a wonderful afternoon for Arteta's men as he prodded home his first Premier League goal.

Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest player ratings

Goalkeeper & Defenders

David Raya (GK) - 6/10 - Forest rarely threatened here and Raya wasn't tested as a result. The Spaniard was proactive from the restart.

Jurrien Timber (RB) - 7.5/10 - Timber's a different right-back profile to White, but he's already developed a great relationship with Odegaard and Saka down the right. The Dutchman was efficient and stylish in tight areas, and he will get himself in positions to score.

William Saliba (CB) - 7.5/10 - Taiwo Awoniyi's inclusion in the Forest team meant Saliba had his hands full, but he dealt with the Nigerian striker's physical threat without fuss.

Gabriel (CB) - 7/10 - Gabriel allowed Saliba to deal with Awoniyi which meant he wasn't too active defensively. The centre-back stroked his passes into those ahead of him well throughout.

Riccardo Calafiori (LB) - 7/10 - The marauding left-back lasted just over an hour on his return. Calafiori dealt with the speedy Anthony Elanga well enough in the opening period, and rarely looked troubled throughout. Always fun to watch on the ball.

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