Nottingham Forest 0-1 Arsenal: Madueke's late strike keeps Gunners on City's heels
Arsenal made hard work of it at the City Ground but ultimately came away with all three points, substitute Noni Madueke settling a tense, goalless deadlock with a late winner to seal a 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest. The result moves Arsenal up to second in the table, three points behind leaders Manchester City, while Forest's miserable run continues as they slip into the relegation zone.
The only goal of the game arrived in the 80th minute. Declan Rice slipped a pass through for Madueke, who had only recently been introduced, and the winger drove a right-footed effort from the left side of the box that found the top of the net. Sky Sports noted it came via a deflection, describing it as a strike that proved enough to "snatch victory" despite Arsenal managing just a single shot on target all afternoon (Sky Sports).
It was a tight, cagey affair before that breakthrough. The Guardian set the scene by highlighting how both sides had been struggling for goals coming into the match, making Forest's resistance eventually crumbling to Madueke's intervention all the more notable for a side managed by Oliver Glasner (The Guardian). Football.London's live coverage noted that triple change made from the bench helped spark Arsenal into life after a flat opening to the second half (Football.London).
In terms of other key moments, Neco Williams was booked early for Forest in the 17th minute for a rash challenge, while Noni Madueke himself picked up a yellow card shortly after coming on, in the 53rd minute. Arsenal made a flurry of changes just after the hour mark, sending on Jurriën Timber, Viktor Gyökeres and Mikel Merino inside a couple of minutes, before Madueke's introduction completed the raft of substitutions that turned the game Arsenal's way.
Statistically, it was a one-sided contest in terms of territory, with Arsenal dominating possession at nearly 74 per cent and completing well over 500 passes to Forest's 155. Yet Forest actually had the greater number of shots and corners, with the hosts registering 14 attempts to Arsenal's nine, underlining how wasteful both sides were in front of goal. BBC Sport's coverage pointed to a big missed chance for Forest that went unconverted, framing the game as one that could easily have gone the other way (BBC Sport).
Reaction from the player ratings reflected a mixed Arsenal performance overall, with Football.London rating Madueke highly for his match-winning impact off the bench while other individuals struggled to make their mark, with one player rated as low as 3 out of 10 (Football.London). Sky Sports' highlights package summed up the afternoon simply as Madueke scoring a late winner to see Arsenal edge past Forest (Sky Sports).
The win extends Arsenal's fine recent form and keeps the pressure on at the top of the table, while Forest, now with just one win from their last several league outings, remain deep in a relegation battle that shows no signs of easing.
Written with the help of AI, using the match facts and the headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
