Nottingham Forest 1-2 Arsenal: Man of the Match and Player Ratings

The Gunners return to winning ways with a narrow victory at City Ground.

Arsenal defeated Nottingham Forest 2-1 in their Premier League game on Tuesday. Second-half goals from Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka ensured Arsenal’s victory over the Bees.

What happened?

Arsenal dominated the game in the first half but struggled to create clear-cut chances. Jesus came close to breaking the deadlock with a header just before the half-time whistle, but Matt Turner made a brilliant save to stop him.

The Gunners’ pressure increased in the second half, leading to their opening goal in the 65th minute. Jesus latched onto a long throw from Oleksandr Zinchenko before smashing home a precise shot from a tight angle.

Only seven minutes later, the Brazil international provided an assist for Bukayo Saka, who made it 2-0 with a brilliant low shot from inside the box.

The goal forced Forest to put more bodies forward as they pushed to get back into the game. The hosts put one back through Taiwo Awoniyi in the 89th minute but it was already too late to mount a comeback.

Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal: Man of the Match

Jesus deserved the Man of the Match title for his game-deciding impact against Forest. The Brazilian star was directly involved in Arsenal’s two goals while constantly threatening Forest’s backline with his attacking runs.

Gabriel Jesus did his former teammate Matt Turner dirty 💀 pic.twitter.com/rcKtE7Kqey
— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 30, 2024

Player Ratings

Nottingham Forest: Turner (6); Montiel (6), Omobamidele (6), Murillo (7), Toffolo (7); Mangala (7), Danilo (7); Dominguez (6), Gibbs-White (4), Williams (6); Wood (5).

Bench: Awoniyi (7), Hudson-Odoi (6), Yates (6), Elanga (6).

Arsenal: Raya (6); White (7), Saliba (7), Gabriel (7), Zinchenko (7); Odegaard (8), Rice (7), Smith Rowe (6); Saka (8), Gabriel Jesus (8), Martinelli (6).

Bench: Havertz (6), Nketiah (6), Trossard (6), Kiwior (-), Jorginho (-).