It was boring, then comfortable, then horribly tense. Still, Arsenal got the job done at the City Ground, securing a 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest that sees us climb up to second in the table, albeit temporarily.
Here’s what the managers, players, pundits and stattos had to say after the game…
Arteta on his side’s win…
I’m really happy, really happy with the performance, even though at the end it was a bit tight. We dominated the game, we played the game that we wanted, didn’t concede anything and we looked a threat in various ways which is what we needed to do. Obviously, it’s been two disappointing results here in the last two years and we needed to put that right. You have to play certain balls, and take the risk in the right areas because they are just waiting for that, for you to make a mistake, to lose the ball in certain positions and then run, that’s the biggest quality that they have. I’m really pleased with how we understood the game.
Source: beIN SPORTS
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Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo on the result…
Disappointed. Frustrated. Especially the way we conceded after so much hard work that we’ve done, how organised and committed we were blocking the game of Arsenal. We conceded from two moments that we require more attention. The first half, we didn’t allow too many situations, we blocked the game. We were missing possession to play a little bit more. In the second half, we are doing that and we concede the goal at a moment when the team is playing good and attacking the game. It’s disappointing from that aspect, both situations are from our own responsibility.
Source: beIN SPORTS
Nottingham Forest 1-2 Arsenal
A win that takes Arsenal to within two points of Premier League leaders Liverpool thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka.
Taiwo Awoniyi made it nervy for the visitors late on, but Arsenal complete a league double over Forest.#NFOARS pic.twitter.com/r12Aty9J37
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) January 30, 2024
Arteta on Jesus’ contribution…
He was magnificent. He was magnificent two days ago because he had a slight problem with his knee and everybody was trying to keep him away and he said, ‘I want to be there’ and he trained and he trained, and he looked really sharp in training. When someone has this desire and the ability he has, good things are going to happen.
Source: beIN SPORTS
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Martin Keown on Forest’s defending for Jesus’ opener…
It’s real questionable defending, it’s naivity. How has Jesus got that kind of space? It’s really ridiculous. Montiel, I mean, he’s is a World Cup winner, why does he leave Jesus, he runs past him. Jesus is all on his own. In the end, the goalkeeper should do better, it’s gone through his legs and it’s a bit of a nightmare for him.
Source: TNT Sports
Gabriel Jesus has never lost a Premier League game in which he has scored:
WWDWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWDWWWWWWWWDWWWWWWWDDWWWWWW
60 games unbeaten.👏 pic.twitter.com/iAC4x2yqz2
— Squawka (@Squawka) January 30, 2024
Martin Odegaard on facing another low block…
We’re quite used to it now. We play a lot of teams that defend deep. They have a lot of players behind the ball, in front of the goal, in the box. We knew we would create something and it’s just about staying patient and keep going and keep finding those small spaces and putting the ball in the right moment. We knew we had a goal coming we just had to keep going and keep trying and in the end, it was a success.
Source: TNT Sports
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Arteta on Arsenal wanting revenge after recent bad results at the City Ground…
I really needed it because I could feel it, they [his players] were talking about it and coming to that dressing room, it already reminds you. Our brains and bodies are really intelligent and when they come to the same situation, they know what happened and they were really active, they were really engaged, they were talking about the game with each other. I thought the team was really good.
Source: Post-game press conference (via Hayters)
Arsenal are now only 4 points worse off after tonight's win than the total earned from the equivalent 22 fixtures they have played versus last season.
22/23 vs (diff 23/24)
3 Palace H (-)
0 Forest A (+3)
3 Liverpool H
1 West Ham A
3 Burnley A (Leicester)
1 Newcastle H— Orbinho (@Orbinho) January 30, 2024
Arteta on Zinchenko and White confronting each other at full time…
That’s pushing each other and being not happy, conceding nothing. And I have to encourage that and promote it in the right way, in a respectful way. Sometimes after the game, it’s too emotional and too heated, but I love that the players are pushing each other and demanding excellence. And today we conceded a goal that is not at the level that we want.
Source: TNT Sports
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Arteta on Arsenal being in a title race…
We have some momentum now, let’s go for it.
Source: beIN SPORTS
23 goal contributions in 29 appearances across competitions this season…
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐲𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐤𝐚 ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/SjJYbmnujB
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 30, 2024
Gabriel Jesus on playing with a slight knee injury…
Unfortunately, I have had some injuries that I don’t want. I think no player wants this. And then my knee again, I got kicked in the training and then some problems again. So I’m working hard, I’m doing everything to be on the pitch because I think I can help more on the pitch than outside.
Source: TNT Sports
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Arteta on Emile Smith Rowe’s second league start of the season…
I thought he was really good. I think he looked exactly the same as he looks in training. Every time we have put him in this year, he fully deserves the chance. He’s put his head down, he’s worked so hard, his attitude has been really good. He’s a tremendous player and you see the way he moves, it’s just a joy to watch him.
Source: Post-game press conference (via Hayters)
+ 3 points 💪🏽🤙🏾
A Deus toda a glória ❤️🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/WOVuiPaIKm
— Gabriel Jesus (@gabrieljesus9) January 30, 2024
10 – Bukayo Saka is the first player to record 10+ goals and 10+ assists in all competitions in two consecutive seasons for Arsenal since Alexis Sánchez did so three times running from 2014-15 to 2016-17. Star. pic.twitter.com/mMJRzsZrA0
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 30, 2024
Re the low block: We should be taking more shots and sending in more crosses for the possession and number of touches we have in the opposition box. More shots lead to possibility of goals, rebounds, own goals, hand ball (penalties), and corners. We need to take more risks. Going left, to right, right to left for 48 minutes without working the goalkeeper is just not a great tactic. Our corners were very poor too. Didn’t really mix it up. Everything was too easy for them. We need to be more creative!!!!!
That is always my first reaction too but then you look at a game like yesterday and as frustrating as it was we weren’t finding the final ball or delaying it, imagine how frustrating it was for Forest they couldn’t get the ball or one or two passes going. Too many crosses mean too much possession lost and just at the end when we were just clearing the ball and they were running at us it didn’t look pretty. Thank God Trossard had some calmness to run with it and get us holding onto it and denying them the ball… Read more »
You are redeemed.
Fully agree
Agree on the need for more shots. They should make that a priority in training. But don’t agree on more crosses. Crosses lead us nowhere.
Kept the home fans quite with our possession, our away fans were marvelous again, ESR like any player who has been out for so long needs a few games to get up to speed but can Havertz replacing him for Liverpool game.
I think ESR needs game time against this kind of opponent. Havertz as much as he’s been bashed would help us better in the big games. 4 league goals from the number 8 position so far after a slow start at a new club and incredibly they could have been more. They should have been more and that’s both a negative and positive. Our left sided 8 who doesn’t start every game could be having double figures in the league by the half way stage. That is one area we can improve on in the second half of the season… Read more »
Abysmal performance, and needed Agent Turner to help us by letting in two soft goals. Not sure why some of our fanbase is getting excited again.
Bore off you fool
Ok
That’s the spirit mate 💪
How was it a bad performance? They scored with their only chance and despite that it was a comfortable win away from home.
Wasn’t anything to get overly excited by but certainly wasn’t ‘abysmal’. Routine.
Who would win in a Benny vs Zinny cage match? My Benjamins are on Benjamin.
Zinny would be all action at the weigh in and pre fight talk, with Benny just silently giving him the ice cold stare.
Hard one to judge whether the Dark Tanned Destroyer v The Eastern Cyclone would win, reach advantage/weight and not wanting a glove on his pretty face would probably see DTD on the back foot using his jab for a points win, then again the fleet of footwork, hand speed (at throw ons) of EC i can see him recording a stoppage in the later rounds, as they say in boxing its not the size of the lion in the fight but the size of the fight in the lion, Zinny victor..
Jesus is way cool
Might be reading too far into it, but does the repeated ‘injured player gets played with an injury because they say they want to play’ concern anyone else? Martinelli at City springs to mind ‘the physios were terrified’ but he plays because he says he wants to!
Top 3 points there, another 3 and we’re right back there!
It seems like a bit of preferential treatment when it comes to Zinny and Jesus doesn’t it? Almost feels like they are peers to MA while the rest of the squad have to be obedient
I’m sure that’s just media talk, all managers do it sometimes, to stop the press creating other narratives. In reality nobody’s ever going to overrule the club doctor.
I thought Saka was much better this game. More direct with his running and looked like he is coming back to his best.
I thought the Smith Rowe was great, technically more composed than Havertz and offered something different. Great to see him back 🙂
I know all teams suffer with injuries but man it feels like an age since we had a full selection.
I can see games where it’s a smith Rowe game and others where it’s a Havertz but I think Timber and partey were required to fill in the gaps
I think you are seeing what you want to see. No one has made a great case for the left 8 spot but Havertz is the best of a mediocre bunch. I miss Xhaka.
I get the frustration trying to break these teams down. But I also feel like some of the criticism is off. First of all. We won. Had this game been end-to-end, chaos, chances galore for both sides, we’d have been happy with the win. But because we had the ball for 80 out of 95 minutes, it feels like we didn’t “do enough”. But as frustrating as that seems (to me too!) would we honestly rather be hanging on by our fingernails every game for 90 minutes? For 80 minutes last night, there was only one team on the pitch.… Read more »
I agree, except for shooting more from the outside. You don’t have to love analytics to understand that a team is more likely to score with a pass into the area and a close shot (even against a packed defense) than with a shot from distance. Yes, the pass is not likely to succeed in that situation–but it is still more likely than a shot from outside (which, of course, is unlikely to even get to the keeper against a packed defense). I am not talking about a player like Saka getting free for a shot and seeing a lane… Read more »
If that’s how ESR plays in training it’s easy to see why he doesn’t get picked.
A core tenet of Arteta ball is to keep the ball in the opponent half. It’s the surest way to make sure you don’t concede. The problem comes with scoring against an opponent that is more than happy with a 0-0, which is most of the PL teams we face. In order to maintain possession in the attacking half but also maintain defensive structure in the event of a loss of possession a certain number of bodies are always behind the ball. Opponents have studied this and they know they will only face isolated threats for most of a game… Read more »