Arsenal vs Forest: Instant Reaction

Thoughts at full time

Straight into it:

Headline: Arsenal remind us they are still outstanding

It hasn’t been an easy time to try and make the case that this team is still of the quality needed to challenge for a title.

The combination of injuries, red cards, suspensions, and a tough schedule have colluded to make analysis of this team hard. If you look hard the evidence is still there that the team that has challenged for the title the last two seasons is still there but it does require giving caveats/excuses (depending on your perspective) and that makes it a hard sell.

Today, especially in the first half, the team came out and had a performance that helped make this a much easier task. Even with a lineup that was a departure from “normal” and got a few second looks, this team looked like “Arsenal” and it was a sight for sore eyes.

Nottingham Forest came into this game playing really well. They were in 5th place and were earning that spot on the back of very good defensive performances and an attack that took advantage of the chances they could squeeze out. I was optimistic but had the worry in the back of my head coming into this one (I didn’t make any bets this weekend because I was traveling for work and didn’t have the time to prepare but the initial run of the model said back Forest here). It was going to provide a nice measuring stick for Arsenal and this was passed with flying colors.

The nice part about this game, especially in the light of how other games have started, was that Arsenal came out quickly.

Arsenal generated a great opening early, they had the ball in the back of the net on a close offside and then did finally get their goal from a moment of brilliance from Saka.

The first half was as good as I have seen Arsenal play this season and the numbers backed that up. Everything was tilted in Arsenal’s direction expect that the score was only 1-0 and given the dominance very well could have been 2 or 3.

Maybe those big scorelines come back over the next month or two.

Overall, there is almost nothing but positives that come from this match. It was exactly what the doctor ordered to help build the belief that this team has what it takes and reminds us that even though things have been tough and the road ahead is precarious with little margin for error this team has the talent to make it interesting still.

Stock Rising: William Saliba