Arsenal claimed their second Premier League win of the new year and are now second behind Liverpool thanks to a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest this evening.
Mikel Arteta’s side had a long break to prepare for the match against Forest after their 5-0 demolition of Crystal Palace. Forest is fighting for their lives in the Premier League, so the first thing they aimed to do was to be compact at the back, and they succeeded.
In the first half, Mikel Arteta’s side struggled to break down Forest despite some fine passages of play between the players. Arsenal has mastered many tricks to unlock defences, even when facing a low block, but Forest stood firm with their five at the back, which often seemed like seven.
However, Gabriel Jesus, who had terrorised the Forest defence for much of the game, found the back of the net first in the second half. This was a major relief and forced Forest to shift their focus to scoring a goal rather than just defending and hoping for a counterattack.
Arsenal found the net again, with Jesus turning provider for Bukayo Saka, and it seemed like an easy end to the game. But the returning Taiwo Awoniyi pulled one back in the last minute of normal time, setting up a nervy finish for the Gunners.
Arsenal was prepared and defended properly in the remaining minutes to move two points behind Liverpool at the top.
Glad we won. ESR does not seem like the answer to low blocks. Did not offer any-thing special compared to Havartz.
Both of them can’t handle the pressure in tight spaces, hence their quick release of the ball instead of turning with it to the opposite direction or making Cruyff turns
Havertz’s strengths as compared to Smith-Rowe are his height and his left-foot, but maybe Smith-Rowe needs to start in a few more games to build more confidence
Guys barely played firstly….secondly if he’s no better or worse why did we spend money on Havertz? Thirdly if you watched the game he made a ton of space and got into great positions, the team will take a while to adjust to.
I guess Turner’s sale was justified and Nottingham Forest managed to score because Saliba couldn’t handle Awoniyi’s physicality
Terrible touch from Awoniyi that fluked the space. Rate him as a striker but that was not it. Awful touch, goal because awful touch fell kindly to you and no-one anticipated the awful touch is not evidence of anything.
@gai, Don’t be too critical the Boys did well today against a team that packed the bus.I bet Awoniyi’s goal was just a lucky one and not because Saliba couldn’t handle his physicality. Even best of defenders like Van Dyke can conceed unbelievable goals.
And in my opinion ESR was more industrious in midfield than Havertz he had better understanding and interchange with Zichenko than Havertz.
We host Liverpool next. COYG!!!
OT: Brighton and Almighty Emery’s Villa taking a beating!
How did we fare against villa Vamos and Newcastle come to that?
1 nil defeats that did’nt tell the full story.
We lost six points, that’s the end of the story!!
And it will be interesting to see how they fare at our ground.
Newcastle were gifted the win thanks to, you’ve guessed it, the farcical VAR. The same farcical VAR that penalised Saka for the exact same challenge in the very next game, despite Saka being way smaller than Joelington.
Overall that game should have been a draw
The Villa game, we were the better team, and should have won, but our finishing was what cost us.
Performance wise, easily deserved 4pts, unfortunately football is cruel and VAR is a joke, so we got nothing.
The same var technology that ruled out united’s offside goal in the home game – that var sure is a joke!! 😂😂😂
Haha, omg, I cannot believe this needs explaining! Utd goal WAS offside, and Joelington challenge WAS a foul. Kids! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Juvenile😂😂
The referee GAVE the goal and it was VAR that called it offside. FACT
If, as you want it, VAR wasn’t there, united would have been awarded the goal!! FACT.
What a crackpot you are!!
You don’t even know what’s happening with VAR and yet you want it banned 🤡🤡🤡 of the highest order. FACT.
Of course th Joelington push was a foul, so your improving on your VAR knowledge, except that it wasn’t a clear and obvious error by the on field referee so VAR couldn’t intervene… meaning the said on field referee, you know, the one you want to replace VAR once again, made yet another error… it’s like taking candy from a baby proving you wrong time after time after time. 🤣🤣
Not a joke KEN , AS JOKES ARE FUNNY, WHEREAS VAR IS A TRAGEDY!
The keeper did not cut the cross that resulted in the goal. It was convenient for all of us to blame VAR and ignore our short comings. (NEWCASTLE GAME.) AS for the villa game we were just not up to it.
It’s been an interesting night in the league
I never thought Villa would lose nor Brighton – particularly by those score lines
The premier league throws up all sorts of unexpected results
Considering this was only ESR’s second REAL outing since his injury, I thought he had an excellent game.
Our biggest concern tonight, in my opinion, was our crossing – it was awful, whether from corners, free kicks or open play.
Forest were really good at nullifying Martinelli, but he kept on trying until he was subbed.
Did anyone notice the dummy by Havertz for Saka’s goal? Quite sublime.
Rice didn’t seem up to his usual performance I thought.
Odegaard was very good and we came away with the three points and no new injury concerns.
Job done and now it’s pool!!
Why start with esr? He was quiet and not involved in any of the massive moments. You’d do him a massive favour by laying off until he actually plays regularly and plays in an 8 as he did as lw for a team that finished 8th.
Angus
I thought he was involved. Considering how long he has been in the sidelines he did really well
Havertz has played the same game as ESR today and been slaughtered not going after esr just highlighting the hypocrisy.
I was going to say the exact same thing. Havertz is very neat and tidy, but never seems to take too many risks, and that was ESR against Notts Forest.
Havertz would have been called a joke for that performance, yet ESR, excellent performance!
How much did ESR cost?
How fit in ESR compared to Havertz?
If you actually understand off the ball movement you’d see the amount of space ESR was creating compared to Havertz, the team will take time to adjust to playing with ESR.
Lack of cognitive thought in your comment is frightening, shame.
Oh you often ignore history and facts.
And you’re wrong yet again. Havertz gets butchered for the same type of performances.
To be clear I love esr but the lies and misrepresentation need to stop. Reggie is below as well praising him. Havertz has had better games playing like esr today and was crucified. Why? Stop listening to standard fc because that applies to esr if you actually bothered to deep it. Ignore them trust the club until they give you a reason not to. Signings and performance has clearly been upward unless you lose your memory.
I don’t think you were replying to me as such, but I wasn’t comparing him to Havertz. I’m not against Havertz at all and neither am I pro ESR. I think both can offer much to the collective
I wasn’t and did reply to you and think that reply will make sense of everything that way. I respect you so much because you do have an open mind and you do read and you dm have empathy and demonstrate it regularly. Imo best commenter on here all told for that reason.
For context I have good intentions and a good heart but ultimately can be an arrogant insert words. Especially if drunk.
I don’t understand h people rate players. Give ESR the same number of playing time Harvertz had been given and see his confidence back. If he is that bad as Angus & co are insinuating, why would BBC rate ESR as the player of the match. I did not watch the match but from comments I got from other sites, I think ESR did pretty well. All Arteta needs to do is to build on his performance last night.
Let me say this. People don’t criticize Harvertz because he is a poor player rather, a lot is expected of him considering the huge amount invested in him. Fans expects to see stellar performances from him on weekly basis.
I started with ESR, because he impressed me you wally!!
Why not read what people write before you start replying?
To be fair I read everything you wrote and esr being 1st was forced almost certainly due to a preordained opinion (potentially subconscious but thats irrelevant ultimately) why I commented. Didn’t think esr was bad but to highlight him in that context is personal not what happened on the pitch.
You have to understand I wonder where these comments were for Havertz or Nketiah or Vieira or Jorgingo or Zinchenko or Gabriel or more recently Jesus or Raya or further back and Odegaard or White.
It wasn’t a great game and the team were not incisive or decisive enough. We have to be happy with the win in any case.
ESR did ok but to say he was “excellent” is really something given the criticism hurled at Havertz for similar or even better performances.
Some fans are simply not being consistent in their assessments because of their biases.
David and Angus – people have an understandable bias towards ESR for multiple reasons, such as;
He’s a humble, home-grown player who has come up through the ranks at our own academy, costing us nothing. Fans of Arsenal have been following him for the best part of ten years, so there’s a justifiable connection, not to mention he’s a really likeable young man.
He’s been unlucky with injury and we’ve all been waiting and routing for him to come back. Those who have watched him properly know how high his ceiling truly is.
He’s been really badly treated by MA this year, barely getting a chance to play when fit, so fans were eager to see him build on the cameos he’s recently impressed with.
2-3 years ago he was one of maybe three or four players that was saving the club from really hitting rock bottom, he laughed off a transfer away to Villa after serious interest and showed loyalty to the club he, like us, loves.
He’s versatlie, can play multiple roles, is one of our best finishers and injects urgency when he plays – all things we desperately need right now, so him having a solid game after so long out was really important for us as a team as it means we have another option to make us less predictable – something we have blatantly become this season.
Last night was his first PL start in a long time, so obviously there would be focus on him. And it was in a position he’s very much new to.
And to be perfectly honest, he did play well against a tough home team parking the bus and in his first game back in ages (!) he played as good a game as it’s taken Havertz 20+ consistent starts to reach the standard of. He won the ball back several times, he moved well, found space for himself and others, covered defensively, though it was clear he had been instructed to play it safe, which is a reason why he exited around 60mins, after which we looked a little less secure in the middle. He did enough in one game to show he can compete with what Havertz has shown in 20+. Long term I don’t think either are necessarily the LCM answer but based on last night, ESR showed we have possibly a better option than Havertz for many games. And surely it’s good to have two different options for the same role?
In contrast, Havertz came from Chelsea with whom we have an awful track record of buying players, he cost a staggering £65+m (which could’ve been far better invested elsewhere), he is now our highest paid player (our second or third highest of all time), half of the goals he’s scored have been put on a plate for him through the team trying desperately to get him to gel, he struggled for three years at Chelsea yet our boss still felt the need to spend big on him, when he plays he seems limp and often uninterested (not saying he is, just another reason why fans may wish to see someone else tried in his role). And crucially you’re both forgetting that the fans were very patient with Havertz for his first few games as we all wanted Arteta to prove he was a wise purchase, but that never really happened so naturally, and given the details just listed, fans grew restless waiting for him to shine. It’s since become clear that Arteta doesn’t see him as the answer to the LCM role, so let’s hope ESR does click there as otherwise we’ll have to pin all our hopes on Partey being fit for the rest of the season to get our midfield ticking properly.
Out of curiosity, why are you both so biased in favour of Havertz/against ESR? Only fair to ask given how you’ve both felt it necessary to stop anyone from praising ESR after one game. Personally, I’m happy ESR is fit and well enough to start, I’d have hoped most fans would be, if he gets a little praise for doing nothing wrong, whats the harm?
Great read L 👍 as for the two mentioned , they have their very own bias towards Arteta and any signings he’s made .
Not sure I’ve ever read from either of them a comment that doesn’t mention other fans and their opinions.
God forbid anyone who doesn’t tow the Arteta line .
Good read though mate .
L
One l of a post….well put but the usual fan boys wont see that…if pepe had been bought by the novice, they would have rated him better than harland
There is nothing in our comments to suggest we are biased against ESR. You have simply put together a strawman argument to further a pro-ESR/anti-Havertz agenda.
Havertz is now one of our players so surely it is in the best interests of the club if he maximises his potential whilst he is here. What we have had however is almost weekly criticism which continued even when he was doing quite well and scored important goals.
ESR is also important and we want him to do well. However, he has suffered with injuries, and issues with form and confidence so he has been managed carefully and eased back into the team. Some people keep stating that he has been treated “badly” based on nothing more than their personal biases for the player and an undercurrent of mistrust directed at the manager.
ESR needs to play when he is fit and can best help the team. Unnecessary and dishonest exaltation of his abilities and progress does not help the team. Doesn’t really help the player in the long run either. ESR was good and kept things safe but his performance was not exceptional.
Hi David, thanks for taking the time to respond, I appreciate it 👍 And thanks to Dan Kit and P.doff for your nice replies 🙂
To be perfectly honest, I didn’t create a strawman argument, I simply looked at the excessive comments (moreso from Angus, not yourself – my apologies for dragging you into that, David) being repeated in the comments, and saw somewhat of an agenda being hypocritically put forth. All I did was show why others do have an understandable bias towards Smith-Rowe, or simply why they were so happy to see him out on the pitch. Ultimately, ESR’s current situation makes him the underdog whereas all details us fans have clearly show Havertz as Arteta’s glamorous favourite. As such, most fans will obviously want the underdog to succeed, it’s not so much a conspiracy or agenda, just human nature. Havertz cost £65+m, which isn’t his fault, he got a wage package better than any other player in our squad suggesting he felt capable of being our best player, that unfortunately is his fault. He knew there’d be expectation, especially after what we went through with Ozil and Aubameyang, yet he has in no way justified those wages. I’d argue only 2-3 of his goal involvements have actually been important.
So what we have is a player afforded huge amounts of time to settle in and adapt, at a total cost of around £100m with wages, versus a player who grew within our own ranks supporting us all the way, cost us comparably nothing and has already saved us many times in the past. I think Gooners having a preference toward ESR makes perfect sense, and I’m surprised others wouldn’t see the logic in that.
Also, I didn’t claim ESR played amazingly, just that he had a surprisingly tidy game given how he’s had so little game time this past year. The defensiveness of Havertz I assume must be a slight bias given the extent in which (again, moreso Angus than yourself) how excessive the amount of comments telling others to reign in their praise of ESR were, given how you and Angus were claiming everyone else was being biased in favour of ESR, if you read both yours and his comments it seems somewhat contradictory of you both telling others not to be biased when you’ve exhibited such a stance in your own words – something you do again in this response.
I agree, we need Havertz to be at his best for the good of the team, just like we do ESR. In regards to Havertz reception when improving, I think you’ll find most fans agreed he was starting to improve but sadly he didn’t build on that and finally lost his place. That says a lot given we know how stubborn Arteta can be, even he knew we couldn’t operate well enough with his Kai project. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Arteta, but his managerial career has been a case of choosing to jump straight in at the deep end. By doing so, making such an audacious leap with little experience, he is likely to make errors and receive criticism, and we do see that often for better or worse. However, it’s the potential he has and the pedigree he’s been instilled with that we mustn’t forget, as he has the potential to go all the way as a manager, he just needs to be more willing to learn from his missteps first.
The ‘personal biases’ regarding ESR being treated badly by our manager are based off what we’ve heard from the player, his agent, his teammates, even the manager himself, plus all the pundit and media attention; how he’s been ready for ages to take his chance, his eagerness to play, how he should look to move if continually overlooked when fit, etc etc. It was well known he could’ve played for a number of weeks at the back end of last season but was constantly overlooked with Arteta putting both Nelson and Vieira ahead of him, he didn’t even get to come on to give a tired Odegaard a rest in the closing moments of games already won. The same has occurred lately, though it seems this time Arteta has had no other option but to use him due to the pressure from those who felt Arsenal needed to mix things up to get results again. Whilst I like players such as Havertz and Zinchenko we do need alternatives as they often slow the game down and make us one dimensional. Last night ESR brought Martinelli into the game more than Havertz has all season, our attack had balance. Saka gets service from Odegaard creating a lethal right flank, which leaves GM stranded usually with Zinchenko and Havertz frequently bypassing him, whereas last night we attacked from both sides making us difficult to deal with and constantly pegging Forest back. I think with a few more games under his belt ESR could help balance our play a lot. However, when Partey’s fit I’d happily drop ESR (based on last night’s match and if he doesn’t improve more in the coming games) and Havertz to accommodate a Rice, Partey and Odegaard midfield. Am I showing a Partey biased there? Or is it more likely that my bias is in fact whatever means I feel will better improve our chance of success? I hope you’ll understand it’s the latter, as it is for many others, and not an anti-Havertz agenda.
I decided to pass on your final two sentences as I feel that was actually more of a strawman argument as hardly anyone said ESR was excellent. It was more with the caveat of ‘ESR was great… considering lack of game time/fitness etc’, I don’t think anyone thought he was incredible, just simply that he didn’t look anywhere near as rusty as one might expect, if anything he seemed calm and collected. But there’s definitely room for him to grow into the role, last night showed us promise. Who knows, maybe ESR and Havertz competing for the same spot will help bring the best out of both🙂
My apologies, that ended up a rather long reply, I just felt it worth clarifying a few things to show there isn’t really so much an agenda than fans hoping to see a change that may inspire a title push.
@David @Angus you have been asked a question why no answer?
I have yet to see even once an Arteta follower finish the debate instead of running away. It shows how weak their arguments always are.
Yes ken, I thought ESR was very good at keeping and actually moving the ball quicker and forwards. He needs more trust and game time.
Agreed and he played well with Odegaard Reggie.
Kept trying to release Martinelli and wasn’t lacking in confidence.
Like you, I hope MA gives him more playing time, starting with Liverpool.
Another win and another’s 3 points. But another hard watch. Before we scored we had 80% possession and zero impact on the Forest goal. We score and the possession goes right down, we get sloppy at keeping the ball but get a goal on the break after a poor clearance from Forest. Then we look so untidy (with the exceof Trossard) and again cant keep the ball. It has to be said, until we scored, the football on show was insipid, predictable and boring. But 6 points against teams we should beat is fair. Liverpool next, in a season defining game. We must be better.
And I thought ESR played pretty well.
Did we watch the same match….
You guys sometimes think you just go out and blow teams away scoring for fun.
You discredit the team goid game combination and sustained pressure that resulted in us scoring by suggesting they were just goals that came about..
This was one of our better away performance this season by a mile with good movement and quick plays.
We had over 60 touches in their box what else do you want the players to do.
Please learn to give credit when it’s deserved like I deeply felt it was for this game.
I acknowledged the win and the 3 points BUT the football!!!!!! If you like watching that type of boring, negative football then good luck to you.
And Liverpool is a season defining game how ever well or not we played against Forest. It has to be a win and it doesn’t matter HOW we win it.
👍Reggie, a 6 point game.
Loads of possession but the slow pace of the first half drove me potty. Very little movement or incisiveness
Second half was much better and we benefited from a poor goalkeeping by Turner as I think he should have done better. That goal certainly helped the flow of the game
Aston Villa are having a torrid time at home to Newcastle which helps the points difference no end.
Correct Sue.
Newcastle at home is a bad away game for most clubs these days.
Couldn’t get past the low block (as usual) but once Forest opened up we took advantage. Their late goal was pretty fortunate when you see it again but we got 3 points in the end. I thought ESR had a decent game but he did pass backwards a lot, Jesus was a nightmare for them though, good goal and great assist.
ESR was superb in this match. By the time fatigue set in, he had done more than enough to show why he belongs with this team. Arsenal was back to its progressive fast, crisp, short passes and Smith-Rowe was an integral part of all the moves. Martinelli, Saka, Jesus and even Trossard were all sharp. Our two defence pillars collapsed on top of each other for the conceded goal, following Zinchenko’s I unsurprising failure to defend. He spent too much time trying to be visible to the cameras, unnecessarily standing on the ball too long. That’s our showman, Zin.
He was fine, no worse than others but did not stand out. In no way “superb”. He is not the solution to low blocks, since he does not have close control in tight spaces, so he usually quickly gets rid of the ball, afraid to get into contact with the opposition. Making him pass backward a lot.
Zinchenko is terrible ar the back…..
At
Looking forward to Sunday!
Win that game and the PL is back as a three-horse race.
Any other result and we are realistically out of it imo.
I thought it was a good performance overall.
However, the substitutions seemed to throw us into confusion, particularly when they scored. We seemed to have 5 or 6 players around the ball, all getting in each others way.
ESR had some nice touches, but he proved to me he is a forward, not a midfield player.
Still it is a win.
The acid test, however, comes on Feb 4th, against Liverpool.
I think this game will tell us exactly where are, and indicate our realistic chances of finishing in the top four.
I might go to church tomorrow, and pray for the arrival of Zubimendi
Happy win,but change faster the subs.
Generale response, not your response.
I thought Zinchenko was absolutely terrible again. Holds the ball way too long, poor movement, minimal overlapping runs, continuous sideways and backwards passing. Really slowed our game down.
We need to sit deeper and hold the ball and draw the teams before attacking out especially away from home. If we had done that and Forest still sat deep and didn’t come out their fans would’ve been on their back immediately for not trying.
Brighton does that well.
They hold 6-8 players back making sure possession works before they release longer passes forward.
Great win and a very important 3 points. We dominated the first half and should have been ahead by half time. Jesus played really well, a goal and an assist, couldnt ask for more. Glad to see ESR getting a start, really deserved it. We gave a goal away at the end and the last 5 minutes were very nervy which could be avoided. However, to give the title a real push, I feel we need a striker and a left back, Zinchenko is not great at defending although he would be a good midfielder.
I did’nt see the match but I am told we deserved to win which I suppose is the crux of the matter.The fact that ESR got meaningful game time at last is pleasing,but neither he nor Havertz are the box to box midfielder we desperately need.In the case of ESR he is a front three player whilst Havertz is a number ten ,if anything.Liverpool represent a huge challenge and having seen them on a number of occasions recently, the absence of Salah has not diminished their attacking capabilities imo. Indeed they have become more direct and guys like Diaz,Nunes and Gakpo have the pace to stretch defences whilst Jota is in terrific form.As a number of our more knowledgeable contributors have said, a season defining match looms large.
It’s a win and boost in confidence going into the Liverpool match.
Glad to see ESR start, and glad to see some competition for that LCM spot. Neither has been outstanding, but hopefully neither will be automatic starters and have to earn starts.
We seem so 1 dimensional in play, and possession over end product is questionable as our primary tactic.
Mix in last year’s directness with a bit of this year’s pragmatism, and we might have a good style of play.
Until then, our play this year is a hard watch. Electric & exciting play last year has morphed into Artetaball of several years ago.
Arteta seems to favor this style of play, and is a reflection of his play as an Arsenal midfielder. Safe, slow, risk-averse and wait for openings rather than attack and split defenses.
Agree with you
Over play in the final third
Want that extra touch
But I would throw in to the mix that teams are much more aware of how we would like to play
They suffocate by doubling up on certain players especially saka and Co. Last night was a prime example on there winger tracking back and doing more defending then attacking
Man Mark and closing dien space
Sitting much deeper
Saying that… I want us to pull the trigger faster and more often rather then keep trying to find that killer pass
Some of our play is still sublime at times so would disagree with you on one dimensional
I mentioned 1 dimensional in my opinion as our gameplay has shifted this year. The focus is on possession and a slower buildup to ensure we keep the ball and some semblance of control.
Last year we were more direct and looking to catch teams off balance and out of position defensively.
I agree with you on acting faster rather than patiently waiting for the perfect opening and the perfect pass to score a goal.
In doing so, deflections can lead to another opportunity or even a goal in itself.
I think your point about wanting to hold the ball, Durand, is why our throw ins take so long – to the point of being paranoid about losing it!!