LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 12: Gabriel of Arsenal is embraced by his manager Mikel Arteta after the team's victory in the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium on August 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
3 positives & negatives as Arsenal edge past Nottingham Forest
Another scintillating Saka strike 🤯 pic.twitter.com/dwFG5p5KDg
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 13, 2023
Positive #2: Wingers provide again
When playing against a resolute low block, as we were against Forest in this match, you occasionally have to rely on moments of magic to win the game. Both Martinelli and Saka provided just that, and their ability to decide games all on their own helped secure the victory.
First came an excellent piece of skill from Martinelli, which allowed Nketiah to pick up the ball inside the box and coolly smash it home to take the lead for his side. Then came Saka’s moment to shine, with the 21-year-old effortlessly beating his man on the edge of the box before expertly curling the ball into the top corner.
We are extremely lucky to have both of them at the club, and they proved that once again in this match.
Negative #2: Lack of ruthlessness
It is something Arteta has alluded to at various points during his reign as Arsenal manager, and it was true once again against Forest.
At 2-0, Steve Cooper’s men were there for the taking and had we been able to kill the game at that point, the nervy ending we were all made to endure could have been avoided.
Arteta was keen to stress that very point after the game, saying:
“Welcome to the Premier League! I think that’s the highlight, we were super dominant, we deserved to win the game, there’s 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 didn’t and then we gave a very sloppy one away after being there and having the corner and having a chance on the corner. “
If we are going to go one step further than last season, then we must develop our ability to kill games off when we have the opportunity to do so.
Continued on the next slide…
pic.twitter.com/7zy3BpMZTZ
<p>— Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-edge-past-forest/2/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1690604595834187776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>August 13, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-edge-past-forest/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<h2>Positive #1: The three points</h2>
<p>Without a doubt, the most important thing in your first game of the season is securing the win, and although it wasn’t as comfortable as many of us would have liked, the team did just that.</p>
<p>It is of course still incredibly early in the season, however, with Manchester City winning their opening day fixture less than 24 hours prior, dropped points would’ve already handed Pep Guardiola’s side the psychological advantage.</p>
<p>It was by no means one of our best performances, but it was an important victory nonetheless.</p>
<h2>Negative #1: Jurrien Timber’s injury</h2>
<p>A standout negative from the match was the injury sustained by Jurrien Timber, who before his departure, had followed his impressive Community Shield display with another good performance.</p>
<p>Arteta confirmed that all parties were happy for Timber to continue after the halftime interval, however, were forced to substitute the Dutchman after he pulled up again in the second half.</p>
<p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-edge-past-forest/2/"https://www.arsenal.com/news/every-word-mikels-post-forest-presser-0">Speaking after the game, Arteta said:</p>
<blockquote><p>“No, the officials, the doctors, they looked at him and they were happy to continue, him as well, but straight away in the second half the first action he made a movement and it was a bit funny so we took him straight out and now we have to assess him to see what he has. “</p></blockquote>
<p>Timber has already proven himself to be a very valuable player in the squad, and if were to be sidelined for an extended period, it would be a huge blow for the side.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-edge-past-forest/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 positive and negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Another scintillating Saka strike 🤯 <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-edge-past-forest/2/"https://t.co/dwFG5p5KDg">pic.twitter.com/dwFG5p5KDg
<p>— Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-edge-past-forest/2/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1690664497231355904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>August 13, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-edge-past-forest/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<h2>Positive #2: Wingers provide again</h2>
<p>When playing against a resolute low block, as we were against Forest in this match, you occasionally have to rely on moments of magic to win the game. Both Martinelli and Saka provided just that, and their ability to decide games all on their own helped secure the victory.</p>
<p>First came an excellent piece of skill from Martinelli, which allowed Nketiah to pick up the ball inside the box and coolly smash it home to take the lead for his side. Then came Saka’s moment to shine, with the 21-year-old effortlessly beating his man on the edge of the box before expertly curling the ball into the top corner.</p>
<p>We are extremely lucky to have both of them at the club, and they proved that once again in this match.</p>
<h2>Negative #2: Lack of ruthlessness</h2>
<p>It is something Arteta has alluded to at various points during his reign as Arsenal manager, and it was true once again against Forest.</p>
<p>At 2-0, Steve Cooper’s men were there for the taking and had we been able to kill the game at that point, the nervy ending we were all made to endure could have been avoided.</p>
<p>Arteta was keen to stress that very point after the game, <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-edge-past-forest/2/"https://www.arsenal.com/news/every-word-mikels-post-forest-presser-0">saying:
<blockquote><p>“Welcome to the Premier League! I think that’s the highlight, we were super dominant, we deserved to win the game, there’s 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 didn’t and then we gave a very sloppy one away after being there and having the corner and having a chance on the corner. “</p></blockquote>
<p>If we are going to go one step further than last season, then we must develop our ability to kill games off when we have the opportunity to do so.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-edge-past-forest/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 positive and negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_135857" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-135857" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-edge-past-forest/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1666,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1609818243-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1666" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1609818243-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1609818243-768x500.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1609818243-1536x1000.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1609818243-2048x1333.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Nketiah took his chance on Saturday. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2>Positive #3: Eddie Nketiah answers again</h2>
<p>Nketiah seems to divide opinion among the fanbase, but whichever side of the debate you fall on, it is undeniable that when relied upon from the start of a match, the 24-year-old is capable of scoring goals in the Premier League.</p>
<p>He proved that last season when deputising for the injured Gabriel Jesus, and he started this campaign in the same vein.</p>
<p>His all-around game certainly requires improvement, but it is also worth noting that at his relatively young age, it is very rare for a striker to be the finished article. Nketiah isn’t a world-class striker, but he is certainly good enough to be an understudy to Jesus this season.</p>
<h2>Negative #3: No clean sheet</h2>
<p>The final negative from the match was the absence of a clean sheet. Our defensive frailties were a key factor in our collapse towards the backend of last season, and if we are going to win silverware this year, we must start keeping clean sheets in games of this nature once more.</p>
<p>We limited the number of clear chances the away side were able to create very well, however, a single lapse of concentration allowed Forest the chance they needed to score, and that is an area we can improve in.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="MfCRsJcKNY"><p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-edge-past-forest/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/arsenal-nottingham-forest-3-talking-points-premier-league/">Arsenal 2-1 Nottingham Forest – 3 talking points as Gunners begin season in style</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="“Arsenal 2-1 Nottingham Forest – 3 talking points as Gunners begin season in style” — Pain in the Arsenal" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/3-positives-and-negatives-as-arsenal-edge-past-forest/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/13/arsenal-nottingham-forest-3-talking-points-premier-league/embed/#?secret=BjCOh5GXPB#?secret=MfCRsJcKNY" data-secret="MfCRsJcKNY" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div>
<p>It may seem very early on in the season to be discussing the importance of goal difference, but against juggernauts such as that of Manchester City, every goal matter, even in the first game of the season.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
