Noni Madueke ran the show as Arsenal cruise to victory, Zubimendi double and Gyokeres strike batter Postecoglou’s first game in charge of Nottingham Forest

Arsenal returned to winning ways in the Premier League on Saturday, beating Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

The headline team news was Declan Rice being rested in midfield, and Mikel Arteta fielding a front three of summer signings, in the form of Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and making his first start for the club Eberechi Eze.

Madueke was the pick of the trio in the first half, both in open play and from set-pieces and it was after another of his excellent deliveries that Martin Zubimendi opened the scoring, volleying in superbly from the edge of the penalty box.

Just 42 seconds into the second half and the home side were two up, with Eze and Gyokeres combining this time, the winger crossing perfectly first time to his centre-forward after being set free by a long pass from Riccardo Calafiori. It felt like a very new sort of Arsenal goal, something that will no doubt please the fans and Mikel Arteta in equal measure.

Zubimendi who only scored two league goals for Real Sociedad in the whole of 2024-25 then made it 3-0, heading home late on after a well-worked free-kick move.

Zubimendi matched his Real Sociedad goal tally from last season with his two goals this afternoon, showing that he may not only be a threat in midfield. For his second goal, it was interesting that Arsenal’s set-piece routines have extended to free kicks as well as corners. Gyokeres thrived in situations that suited his attributes too, which was promising.

Arsenal needed a reset after the Liverpool defeat last month. That came naturally with the international break, but this victory was a nice palate cleanser ahead of a busy few weeks.

Arteta also had the chance to rest Declan Rice, before he came on in the second half to see the game out. While it may have been a surprise to see Rice on the bench, he had started both of England’s September internationals, and with Athletic Club and Manchester City on the horizon, it is essential not to overuse him.

In the summer, the midfielder spoke of wanting to be a consistent performer throughout the whole season and how the number of minutes he played for West Ham, Arsenal and England before last season hindered him at the start of 2024-25.

It was telling that Noni Madueke’s name was being chanted by Arsenal fans inside the Emirates Stadium moments before they went ahead against Nottingham Forest.

The winger was Arsenal’s brightest spark in the first half, and had just left Dan Ndoye in his wake with one of many dribbles into the Forest penalty area. On that occasion, Madueke tried to find Jurrien Timber with a lay off but it was put behind for the corner Arsenal took the lead from.

Before that, it was just how direct the 23-year-old was that caught the eye. He wasn’t reliant on his stronger left foot at all, almost more willing to drive around the outside of his opposite number to clip right-footed crosses to the back post that were unlucky not to be finished.

By the end of the first half, no player on the pitch had attempted or completed more dribbles than Madueke (five attempted and four completed).

He may not have scored or assisted, but Madueke was just as dangerous in the second half and showed some variation to his game too.

Source: nytimes