Functional Minimalism: Arsenal Grind Out Victory at Forest Without the Flair

Beauty is a luxury the modern title contender can apparently do without. For eighty long, tedious minutes at the City Ground, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal presented a masterclass in inertia, failing to register a single shot on target against a floundering Nottingham Forest side. Then came Noni Madueke, a heavy deflection off Jair Cunha, and three points tucked neatly into the ledger.

The champions were utterly devoid of rhythm in the East Midlands. Eberechi Eze paid the price for Arsenal's lethargy, hauled off at the interval for Madueke. Yet the functional stagnation lingered. Bruno Guimaraes endured another underwhelming afternoon in only his second league start since his summer arrival from Newcastle, eventually making way as Arteta threw on Viktor Gyokeres, Mikel Merino, and Jurrien Timber to inject life into an impotent attack. It was the first time since 2023 that Arsenal had gone 70 minutes without a shot on target in a Premier League match.

Forest, sitting third from bottom, had their chances to punish the visitors. Dan Ndoye tested David Raya early on, while Liam Delap squandered multiple opportunities to break the deadlock. Near the end, defender Murillo came within inches of equalizing with a thunderous strike that cleared the bar. Oliver Glasner’s team continues to suffer from a persistent inability to turn performances into points, having won just twice in their last 17 home league fixtures and managing a single victory in seven top-flight matches under the Austrian.

Yet for all their tactical lethargy, Arsenal retain the mercenary ability to secure results when artfulness fails. Having answered a 3-0 defeat at Brighton with consecutive wins over Leeds, Lille, and now Forest, Arteta’s side remains squarely in the title hunt, trailing Manchester City by three points after the leaders defeated Ipswich 3-2. With a midweek trip to Bayern Munich looming before hosting Everton next weekend, Arsenal must decide if grinding out functional wins will be enough to sustain another championship campaign.

Written by Andreas Hofer andreas.hofer@alpineweekly.com