Nottingham Forest Beat Arsenal 1-0 to Retain Permier League Place

Arsenal continued the slump in form with a lacklustre performance against relegation threatened Nottingham Forest.  Arsenal lost this game 1-0. The defeat confirmed Manchester City as Premier League Champions without the Citizens kicking a ball. It also confirmed Nottingham Forest as a Premier League for next season

The team selection was a bit confusing. Was it 3-4-3 or 4-2-3-1? Based on the selection and how they played it looked like the former, with Partey as a right wingback and Xhaka as the left wing back. It’s a formation that Arsenal haven’t played since winning the FA Cup against Manchester City in 2020.

Nottingham Forest started well, but were not able to create a clear-cut chance in the early minutes of the game. Arsenal managed to take control with their passing and created the first real chance of the game. Gabriel’s effort was saved by Kaylor Navas. The home side defended well and for a few minutes struggled to get out of their own half.

Odegaard, so reliable with his passing, played a wayward pass that was intercepted by a Nottingham Forest player. Gibbs-White moved forward with the ball and played a great ball to Awoniyi. Gabriel Magalhaes’s slid in in an attempt to clear the ball, but the ball bounced back off the home striker, past Ramsdale into the net.

The goal seemed enough for the home team, who now sat deep and let Arsenal have the ball. Arsenal had most of the ball after the goal, but were not able to create any meaningful chances. The one chance that was created came from a corner. Saka took the corner and played the ball directly to Trossard on the edge of the box, who hit the ball first time. His effort went wide. It was as good as it got for the away side. They ended the half 1-0 down to their host.

The home side started the second half the better side and had a chance to double their lead. Defender Felipe’s effort narrowly going wide from a Gibbs-White ball. The match quickly settled into the pattern of most of the first half.

Arsenal continued pushing forward for an equaliser without creating many really clear chances, and were not able to convert the ones they created. Saka forced a save out of Navas, and Jorginho’ efforts going wide. Arsenal were still lacking attacking intensity to put Nottingham Forest under serious effort. The home team were comfortable, and were able to launch counter attacks on occasions. These attacks were dangerous for Arsenal on the odd occasions when they occurred.

Arsenal’s first substitution was to replace Xhaka and Kiwior with Tierney and Nketiah. The substitution did not change the match. A further substitution saw Trossard going off to be replace by Vieira.

Morgan Gibbs-White was playing well and controlling most of Nottingham Forest’s counter attacks. Gibbs-White had a chance towards the end of the game, but his effort hit the side netting.

The match ended 1-0 to Nottingham Forest, guaranteeing their survival from relegation. Win, lose or draw, Arsenal were already guaranteed second place.