Arsenal Round-Up, Sunday 18th October: Madueke the Super-Sub as Gunners Edge Past Forest
Arsenal made it back-to-back wins with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest, substitute Noni Madueke scoring a deflected late winner to settle a largely scrappy affair at the City Ground (Evening Standard) (Sky Sports) (BBC Sport) (The Guardian) (Sky Sports) (BBC Sport). The result kept the champions within touching distance of leaders Manchester City, despite Arsenal having had only one shot on target all afternoon (Sky Sports). Before kick-off, Arsenal wore black armbands for the fixture (Evening Standard).
Mikel Arteta made several changes to his starting line-up, with Eberechi Eze among those dropped to the bench, while Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard all returned to the squad for the trip to the East Midlands (Football.London) (Arsenal.com) (Football.London). Arteta later made a triple change during the match in an attempt to spark his side into life (Football.London), and afterwards the manager said his substitutes had changed the game (BBC Sport) (Football.London) (Arsenal.com).
Reaction to the win was mixed. ESPN felt Arsenal's attacking performance showed they are not yet ready to properly challenge for the title, even if the three points were valuable (ESPN). The Guardian's Jonathan Wilson argued the win demonstrated that Arsenal's current strength lies in squad depth rather than creative spark, with Forest's disciplined approach nearly paying off before the bench made the difference (The Guardian). Sky Sports noted Forest dropped into the bottom three following the defeat (Sky Sports). In the player ratings, Madueke was singled out as the star man while one fringe player was rated poorly for his display (Evening Standard) (Football.London) (BBC Sport). A fan quoted by BBC Sport said he wants to see Madueke handed more starts after his impact off the bench (BBC Sport).
Elsewhere, TeamTalk reported that a summer Arsenal signing has divided opinion among supporters following his part in the win, with some fans labelling him a "liability" and others calling him a "silent star" (TeamTalk).
On the transfer front, BBC Sport and Sky Sports both carried reports in Sunday's papers suggesting Viktor Gyokeres is keen to leave Arsenal (BBC Sport) (Sky Sports). Separately, Football.London reported comments from Jose Mourinho suggesting Vinicius Junior should have forced through a move away from Real Madrid, with the Brazilian previously having been linked with Arsenal (Football.London).
In loan news, Football.London reported that German media have given a fresh verdict on Ethan Nwaneri following a dramatic moment for Borussia Dortmund, after the Arsenal loanee was involved in an incident that led to a red card being overturned just seconds into the game (Football.London).
Away from the pitch, Football.London reported that an unnamed former Arsenal player has opened up about a past fall-out with a team-mate, describing a "bad vibe" between them (Football.London). Arsenal fan and broadcaster Piers Morgan was also quoted criticising Manchester City's Phil Foden over his conduct following a guilty verdict, branding it an "odd mindset" (Football.London).
In the academy and women's game, Arsenal's U18s beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1, with highlights available on Arsenal.com (Arsenal.com), while the Arsenal Women's side drew 1-1 with Birmingham City, also shown in extended highlights on the club's official site (Arsenal.com).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.