Arsenal started their Premier League campaign with a 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest, thanks to a goals from Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah.
The England international dded to Eddie Nketiah’s 26th minute opener with a curling effort from outside the area that nestled itself into the top left corner of the Forest net, well past the reach of former Gunners keeper Matt Turner.
But last season’s Premier League runners-up had to survive a late charge by Forest after substitute Taiwo Awoniyi clawed a goal back in the 83rd minute.
Mikel Arteta gave Premier League debuts to summer signings, Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber, but it was Gabriel Martinelli who was the best player on the pitch.
The Brazilian winger was a constant threat down the left flank, and he created the opportunity for Nketiah’s goal with a sublime dribble. Arsenal will be hoping that Martinelli can continue his good form this season, as he has the potential to be a world-class player.
Eight minutes later, Saka’s quality shone through when he received the ball on the edge of the penalty area, cut inside and fired home Arsenal’s second.
Overall, it was a good start to the season for Arsenal, who will be looking to build on this performance in their next game against Tottenham Hotspur.
Here are some quotes from Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta after the game:
“We were super dominant, 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. Straight away from two passes you concede a goal, when that happens in the league it’s game on, every team has the resources, the quality to create issues.”
“It’s going to be very difficult to dominate games for 100 minutes, but it is why we allow them to get some grip of the game, because they create anything but at the end of that action the game changes and momentum changes and shifts immediately after that goal. That is not the moment to change it, you cannot change it, now you have to be so good at dealing with that situation and running the clock down and earning the points. The team have done that really well but we have to be more ruthless and more critical of ourselves to be more pushy and kill the games.”
