First thoughts: Nottingham Forest (H)

My raw reaction on the final whistle to Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest

Thoughts at full time, big picture, the positives, and even a couple negatives (but had to stretch to find stuff here today!).

Main takeaway: A balanced and all-around excellent performance

For the first few matches of the season, it is not out of the ordinary for things to look a bit disjointed and not totally in full flow. That can be the case especially coming back from an international break where the training time in the lead up is disrupted by when the players all return. Throw in rotation and it can be a recipe for things to look off.

There were maybe some early signs of that at the start of the match, especially in the final third but Arsenal were able to shake that off and put together one of their most complete matches of the season.

This was a nice combination of all of the things that I want to see from the team this season.

15+ shots and multiple excellent scoring opportunities ✅

Suffocating defense that gives the opposition nothing ✅

Total control of the match but still finding the opportunities to go direct when they are available ✅

Adding on after the first goal and not taking the foot off the gas ✅

This is the type of match and performance that you want coming off of a disappointing loss. That Liverpool match was a real gut punch and not one that it felt fair that they lost, it also meant Arsenal were in the narrative spin cycle for two weeks and we all just had to marinate in that with no club action to give a new story line.

To come out and beat a team that while not the strongest, had shown to be one that was tough to beat and had the potential to play a style of play that teams in the past have used so effectively to frustrate Arsenal.

That’s three big points and a confidence boost ahead of a tough run for Arsenal.

Positives: