Some talk from Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League
Arsenal battled to victory over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday with a 1-0 win.
Substitutes Noni Madueke scored a crucial goal off the bench in the 80th minute, firing in thanks to a great deflection off Jair Cunha.
The Gunners have now recorded three consecutive wins in all competitions and here’s some talk from the East Midlands.
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Shy Madueke
Noni Madueke is clearly not one for the limelight – even after scoring a goal that could be crucial at the end of the season.
A match-winner was nowhere to be seen as Arsenal’s relieved stars cheered on the traveling faithful. Instead, Madueke avoided the back of the pack, hiding behind his colleagues.
That is until Declan Rice caught wind of Madueke, who was trying to keep a low profile, and he surged to the front as Gunners supporters chanted the winger’s name.
The limelight is not Madueke’s style, but if he continues to maintain his quality in crucial moments – he was heavily involved in the draw with Leeds – he may well get used to it.
Mikel Arteta later said of the forward: “I have a smile on my face because he’s a special character. It’s a very loving person in and around the dressing room, the way he communicates, the way he talks to people. He’s just a special person. I think I saw an interview where a few of our players were asked who would you call if you had a problem? And some of them surprised me.
“I think it’s a big credit and it shows what kind of person he is. He’s in a good moment. I think after the break he’s showing something else, another level of anger, another level of confidence, also in his actions and he’s now decisive in matches, which is what we expect from a player like him.”
Madueke has now scored 13 of his 17 Premier League goals away from home (76 per cent), four for Arsenal. This is the highest away ratio among players with 15+ goals in Premier League history.
Disappointed Eze
There is no doubt that Eberechi Eze will be happy for Noni Madueke after his teammate’s important win. But Eze cut a reflective figure as Madueke took all the praise after the match.
He appeared deep in thought as he walked across the meadow towards the tunnel. It’s never nice to be on a break, but this was an opportunity begging.
With Madueke now fit and Christos Tzolis on the way back, Eze should have marked Sunday but he failed to impress with the momentum he built on Tuesday with his first goal of the season against Lille.
A hug with former Crystal Palace team-mate Wayne Hennessey, who now serves as part of Nottingham Forest’s goalkeeping coaching department, helped lighten the mood, although Eze looks unlikely to start against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. Konsa and Gabriel are rock solid
Oliver Glasner said during a press conference that he was asked the same question six times in each of his interviews after six games. Does he feel bad because he didn’t take something away from the game?
“Ezri Konsa and Gabriel are probably the best center backs in the world right now,” the Austrian added. He is right because the duo gelled very naturally and the chemistry is clear.
England international William Saliba is too good to be dropped on his return, so could move him to right-back, but for now both Konsa and Gabriel are delivering the goods.
Gabriel completed 70 of 73 passes, made 12 defensive contributions, won nine of 12 face-offs and didn’t dribble once.
Meanwhile, Konsa had eight rebounds, won 75 percent of his ground duels and boasted a long pass completion percentage of 100. In stoppage time he closed in on his final tackle on Chris Wood and that was almost the completion of the £55m signing.
Konsa has been dubbed a plug-and-play signing and has been exceptional value since his arrival from Aston Villa. He has already been essential in wins over Napoli, Chelsea, Sunderland, Leeds, Lille and now Nottingham Forest.
Post-match sprints It is not surprising that Arsenal’s team did not participate in the small-sided game after the match. First, the schedule is relentless and the games come really tight and fast. Arsenal have four of their next five away games in all competitions.
Second, with both Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi suffering from ankle problems due to freak separate incidents, there is growing focus and attention on their cooling after the 2-1 win over Leeds.
After Sunday’s victory at Nottingham Forest, head of performance Antonio Gomez, head of strength and conditioning Jose Jimenez Iglesias and assistant coach Gabriel Heinze oversaw a running-based session on the beach at the City Ground.
Four players, Marley Salmon (traveled but not in the lineup), Max Dowman, Cristhian Mosquera and Martin Zubimendi, unused relievers, completed a series of complete-pitch runs.
Mikel Merino and Victor Gyokerez also ran, but their workloads were controlled and they didn’t complete as many serves as their peers.
It is interesting that Jurrien Timber, who celebrated his 100th game in “Arsenal” from the bench, was not called, despite entering the field at the same time as Merino and Gyokeres (66th minute).
Timber’s condition has been closely monitored after being sidelined for the past six months and Arsenal are determined to manage his condition carefully. Match winner Noni Madueke also missed the sprints after his decisive contribution.
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