premier league,
Round 7
Nottingham Forest
NO
arsenal
ARS
-
place
- City land
-
referee
- Michael Oliver
Ara Madueke 80′
Noni Madueke praised the “absurd” strength of of Arsenal team after coming off the bench to grab the winner Nottingham Forest this afternoon
Madueke started among the substitutes, but his introduction at half-time for the ineffective Eberechi Eze brought some life to the Gunners’ attack and it was no surprise that he conjured the only goal of a largely woeful affair.
The former Chelsea man cut in from the left with 10 minutes remaining and fired in a shot that deflected off the hapless Jair Cunha and past Matz Sels. It was Arsenal’s only shot on target.
Forest came close to equalizing twice in stoppage time thanks to Murillo and Liam Delap though Arsenal held on to climb back into second place, three points behind leaders Manchester City.
Madueke told BBC MOTD: “If you look at the quality of our starting eleven and the bench, it’s absurd, so we know we’re going to start and finish some and for me it’s the same mentality every time. I just want to create or score.
“It’s an amazing feeling (to score), but I feel better about the win. We have elite players, all the players in their 20s are elite and at the highest level. It’s great to have that kind of competition. You know on the bench you’re ready to make an impact.
“He had hit it (his marker) to the outside a couple of times. I thought he was coming inside and he did it.”
Forest made life difficult for Arsenal – Madueke
Forest entered the relegation zone this weekend but Madueke was relieved to have secured three points after two successive goalless draws at the City Ground.
He added: “They make it very difficult for you. It was a difficult game. We are very happy together. We showed courage and determination and showed a champion spirit. Sometimes, maybe last year, this game might not have gone our way. We have the extra belief and mentality.”
Arteta was equally pleased that his players stuck to the task despite being well below par.
“We had to win it until the last second,” he said. “They’re a well-coached team and hard to break down. We had to take chances, they’re a dangerous team. We had to manage the emotional part very well. We stayed focused and the finalists made a big impact.
“Sometimes you can get frustrated with teams that are tough to break down. In the first half we didn’t have a shot on goal and that’s something we talked about. We had two other big ones in the second half but the only one we had was a little bit off and that’s it.”
It was Arsenal’s third win in eight days after beating Leeds and Lille.
“Some of them played three days ago and some will start the next game and they know that everyone has to be there,” said Arteta when asked about the players he has at his disposal. “If they need you after 60 minutes, 45 minutes and sometimes two minutes, now we have a team that can offer you at moments and we have to use that.
“Noni (Madueke), Jurrien (Timber), Mikel (Merino) were brilliant when they came on and Viktor (Gyokeres) really changed the game – they all did and that’s what we need. Noni obviously the standout because he scored the goal and that’s the difference.”
Murillo backs Glasner to turn it around despite Arsenal setback
Despite sitting 18th in the table, Murillo was confident things will improve for Forest under Oliver Glasner.
He said: “We have a good manager and I think we are still getting his ideas. This season we have changed everything in our system. It is difficult, but after three or four months we are still improving and I think we are close to the best.
“We have a very good team, experienced players too. Now we continue because we know how tough the Premier League is.”
