Arsenal kicked off on Sunday knowing that a win would see them reclaim top spot in the Premier League from Manchester City.
Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, would have moved up to 18th with a win over the Gunners.
And when all was said and done on Sunday, Arsenal came away with a comfortable victory.
Arsenal took less than 5 minutes to open the scoring on the day. Gabriel Martinelli switched play to Bukayo Saka before making a run into the box and heading in from a Saka cross.
The Gunners were then dealt a blow 26 minutes in as Saka was forced off through injury.
However, Reiss Nelson was his replacement and he had an excellent game. The winger scored Arsenal’s second goal and third goal within seven minutes of the second half.
📰 Table Of Contents
Arsenal player ratings
Aaron Ramsdale (5.5) – Had little to do but put in a solid shift.
Ben White (6) – Made an excellent block to deny a likely Lingard goal 42 minutes in.
William Saliba (5) – Gave away the ball late in the first half, nearly handing Forest a goal.
Gabriel (5) – Often looks as though he is one bad decision away from giving away a goal but was fairly consistent vs Forest.
Takehiro Tomiyasu (6) – Played the inverted wing-back role pretty well, though his offensive play was nothing to write home about.
Thomas Partey (7) – Defensively sound, his passing was excellent and he scored the 4th.
Granit Xhaka (6.5) – Gave the ball away a couple of times but his offensive play was solid, producing several quality passes and making some good runs.
Bukayo Saka (6) – Excellent cross for the opening goal by Martinelli. Continued to cause Lodi a lot of problems before being taken off after 26 minutes.
Martin Odegaard (7) – Did well to hold up the ball and find Nelson for Arsenal’s third. Great strike for Arsenal’s 5th.
Gabriel Martinelli (6.5) – Opened the scoring with a great run and header. Nearly had a second 19 minutes in but his effort was cleared off the line.
Gabriel Jesus (6) – Had a bright start, cutting inside and getting a shot off. His shooting was not the best but he got the assist for Arsenal’s second.
Substitutes
Reiss Nelson (8) – Scored Arsenal’s second and third. Also assisted Partey.
Cedric (5)
Fabio Vieira (5)
Kieran Tierney (4)
Eddie Nketiah (4)
Nottingham Forest player ratings
Dean Henderson (2) – Made three saves but conceded five goals.
Serge Aurier (4) – Had a tough game up against Gabriel Martinelli.
Steve Cook (3) – Poor tracking of Martinelli for the opener.
Scott McKenna (3) – Struggled all day to deal with the Gunners’ attack.
Rena Lodi (2) – Could have closed Saka down quicker before the first goal. Was turned on a number of occasions by Saka and Nelson throughout the match.
Ryan Yates (3) – Lost the midfield battle and created little going forward.
Cheikhou Kouyate (4) – Far from his best vs the Gunners.
Remo Freuler (2.5) – Caught out in midfield several times, leading to Arsenal counters.
Morgan Gibbs-White (3) – Offered little creativity and was unable to get the better of Tomiyasu.
Jesse Lingard (4) – Should have done better with a great chance 42 minutes in.
Taiwo Awoniyi (3) – Spent much of the game seeing little of the ball. Did not manage a shot in the first 45. Taken off before the hour.
Substitutes
Joe Worrall (4)
Neco Williams (4)
Fan reaction
7 defenders around him
Martinelli had no right to win that💪 pic.twitter.com/hRmYiZsBR6
— UpYourArsenal🔴⚪🔴⚪♥️ (@UPYOURARSENAL04) October 30, 2022
Saka’s getting the shit kicked out of him week in, week out again. Getting ridiculous now.
— D (@HighburyAFC102) October 30, 2022
Does someone have to hit Saka with a bat or something for him to get a free kick?
— arseblog (@arseblog) October 30, 2022
Reiss Nelson in 8 minutes:
Goals 2️⃣
Assist 1️⃣Incredible 🤯🥰 pic.twitter.com/tv0r5oSQ6Q
— Ayo Soye (@AyooSoye) October 30, 2022
Expert view
Arsenal score early and pull out the shirt in tribute to Pablo Mari 👏#ARSNFO pic.twitter.com/VZOzliRrSg
— 101 Great Goals (@101greatgoals) October 30, 2022
20 – Aged 21 years and 55 days, Bukayo Saka is the third-youngest player to assist 20 goals in the Premier League:
19y 352d – Cesc Fàbregas
20y 300d – Wayne Rooney
21y 55d – Bukayo Saka
21y 74d – Ryan Giggs
21y 80d – Trent Alexander-ArnoldGifted. pic.twitter.com/XCIbsaIMtC
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 30, 2022
Nottingham Forest have conceded 11 goals from outside the box this season – more than any other Premier League team.
— Orbinho (@Orbinho) October 30, 2022
– Reiss Nelson goal involvements for Arsenal today against Forest: 3
– Jadon Sancho Premier League goal involvements this season for #MUFC: 3
A huge impact from Nelson 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Yn9vEaWTCl
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) October 30, 2022
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