Substitute Noni Madueke struck in the 80th minute as Arsenal ground out a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday, October 18, moving the defending champions within three points of Premier League leaders Manchester City. The goal, a powerful drive from the left flank that took a heavy deflection off Forest defender Jair Cunha, spared Mikel Arteta's side an afternoon of total frustration in the East Midlands.
According to IOL, Arsenal failed to register a single shot on target until Madueke found the net ten minutes from full-time, the first time since 2023 that the Gunners had gone 70 minutes in a Premier League match without testing the opposing goalkeeper. It was an ugly win, and Arteta's men will take it without apology.
How the match unfolded at the City Ground
The champions were sluggish from the start. Bukayo Saka's early cross forced Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels to claw the ball off his line, but Arsenal never established any rhythm in a scrappy opening period. Forest's Dan Ndoye tested David Raya at the far post, while Kai Havertz could only fire into the side-netting after Martin Odegaard's pass opened up the home defence.
Arteta's frustration grew on the touchline as the half fizzled out. He hooked Eberechi Eze at the interval, sending on Madueke, and later introduced Mikel Merino, Viktor Gyokeres and Jurrien Timber in a bid to spark his side into life. Bruno Guimaraes was also sacrificed after another flat display in only his second league start since his summer move from Newcastle.
The changes barely worked. Declan Rice ballooned a wasteful shot over the bar from inside the area, Gabriel Magalhaes headed wide from a corner, and Forest's Liam Delap twice went close, drilling just wide after a rampaging run and then failing to beat Raya from Xaver Schlager's pass. The breakthrough finally came in the 80th minute, when Madueke cut in from the left and saw his drive deflect past Sels off Cunha. Murillo nearly snatched a late equaliser for Forest, but his rocket whistled over.
The Guardian's live report described it as a low-quality game in which Forest then missed two good chances to level, while NBC Sports noted that Arsenal stayed within touching distance of first place thanks to the late, deflected strike.