Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal is again back on top of the English Premier League after thrashing Nottingham Forest 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium, a day after Kevin De byrune’s goal took Defending champions Manchester City on top. Arsenal now leads with 31 points, Manchester City with 29 points, Tottenham Hotspurs with 26 points and Newcastle with 24 points.
Moments before the clash, Arsenal paid tribute to their defender Pablo Mari who was discharged from hospital after being stabbed in a supermarket in Millan. Mari is currently on loan at Serie A side Monza. The unfortunate incident led to the demise of a Carrefour worker Luis Ruggieri. Mari was forced to under surgery after being inflicted with a deep wound.
Having suffered a defeat at the hands of PSV Eindhoven, Arsenal sailed through the Nottingham Forest defense and Gabriel Martinelli handed them the forest goal heading in Bukayo Saka’s brilliant cross after five minutes. Saka suffered an ankle injury and he limped off. Reiss Nelson replaced him at the start of the second half.
Saka’s injury will be assessed to determine whether he will be in contention to play for England during the world cup competition in Qatar, barely three weeks away.
Nelson ignited Arsenal’s title charge after scoring a brace. Thomas Partey fired a long-distance shot to add the fourth goal before Odegaard closed the chapter by scoring Arsenal’s fifth goal. Arsenal will now have a tough test next week on Sunday against Chelsea, who suffered an embarrassing defeat of 4-1 to Brighton at Amex stadium. They will also play on Thursday against Zurich Fc in the last game on the Europa group stages.
Discussions have been raised over Arsenal’s squad depth for the past weeks. A win against Forest is not enough to justify that They will be able to keep up the fight against Manchester City, who have an incredible squad depth. This will depend on the players like Nelson, who scored a brace for the first time since July 2020 during the closed-door game against Liverpool.
Arsenal will face Zurich, Chelsea and Wolverhampton before the world cup break. Much anticipation is that most Arsenal starts will be called to their respective national teams due to their recent form.
