Goals from Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka helped Arsenal start off their Premier League campaign with a 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest in a tense, well-fought match at the home arena of Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The kick-off was delayed by half an hour due to turnstile issues.
Despite a attacking line-up set by manager Mikel Arteta, the Gunners could not prevent their opponents from having the first chance at the goal. A harmless-looking long ball went to Brennan Johnson, who sped through the defences for a one-on-one with goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale but fired over.
This was Forest's only chance in the first half and Arsenal dominated the ball possession with 86 per cent. Kai Havertz and Saka's shots were blocked.
But a stunning goal came from Nketiah in the 26th minute. Gabriel Martinelli picked up a clear corner and fed the ball to Nketiah, defying two Forest defenders. Nketia wasted no time in putting the ball past goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Another clear corner saw Saka pick up the ball and cut inside. He arrowed the shot into the top corner of the goal, doubling Gunner's lead in the 32nd minute.
The first half ended with a scoreline of 2-0 in the Gunners' favour, with Declan Rice missing his shot at the goal.
The second half started in a laid-back manner for Arsenal who tried to hold the ball to themselves. Their first blow of the afternoon came after new signee Jurrien Timber limped off the field after a muscle pull in the second half.
Rice continued to make chances, but Turner pulled out a save.
Forest fought back, with former Manchester United winger Anthony Elanga producing a counter-attack and crossed for Taiwo Awoniyi, who put the ball past Ben White to keep them alive in the 82nd minute.
Morgan Gibbs-White almost scored an equaliser for Forest, but Arsenal managed to cling to their lead and win.
Following this win, Arteta asked his side to be more ruthless.
"Welcome to the Premier League! We were super dominant, there was no question that we deserved to win the game. But when you are 2-0 up, and you have some chances to kill the game, we did not. And then we gave a sloppy one away from having a corner, then straight away in two passes concede a goal," said Arteta as quoted by Sky Sports.
"When that happens, it is game on, every team has the quality to create issues. The reality is we did not concede much, but when you are running the clock down, it is a dangerous thing to do in this league."
"It is going to be very difficult to dominate for 100 minutes, but it is why we allow them to get a ripple of the game. We did not concede anything but the moment changes on that goal. Then you have to be so good at dealing with that situation. We have to be more ruthless, critical and pushy."
"We knew the pitch, it would be dry, it was really hot. And it was going to be slow. And everything would be a low block like a Christmas tree. And it would benefit the opponent," he concluded.
Nottingham manager Steve Cooper admitted that his side could not do well in the first half.
"I was frustrated with the first half. We came to Arsenal who are a good team, more than a good team, strengthened from last year. A really good team at home and lots of our team are getting up to speed," he said.
"At half-time, I questioned us to back ourselves in the duels. They dominated and had territory, we didn't compete strong enough and didn't show enough quality on the turnovers."
"We had the real chance in open play in the first half through Brennan and although they are brilliant finishes, you look at it from our point of view and we could have done so much better. And from all the territory and play they had, they did not have that many chances," he concluded.
Arsenal lock horns with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park next Monday. Meanwhile, Forest host Sheffield United, a newly promoted team on Friday, August 18.
READ ALSO:
