Mikel Arteta’s teachers and students overcame difficulties at City Ground with a hard-fought 2-1 victory.

1. Arsenal lacks innovation

The difficulties of being guests at the City Ground for Mikel Arteta’s teachers and students were something that had been predicted in advance. Despite being the team that actively controlled the ball most of the time, Arsenal appeared to be stuck when entering the opponent’s 1/3 of the field.

Nottingham Forest’s dense defense meant that Arsenal’s attacking players did not have enough time and space to create a breakthrough. In the first 45 minutes of play, stars like Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard or Gabriel Martinelli had to “give up” before the home team’s defenders.

This season, the North London representative played well against opponents in the “Big Six” group, but played ineffectively every time they encountered clubs that were willing to give up the game, defend tightly and wait. opportunity to counterattack. Coach Mikel Arteta needs to quickly overcome this weakness.

2. Gabriel Jesus shines at the right time

Despite being the team with the initiative, Arsenal needed Gabriel Jesus’s shining moment to take the lead. The Brazilian international poked his former teammate Matt Turner in the groin from a shot from a tight angle. A few minutes later, he delivered a dreamlike assist for Bukayo Saka to double the gap.

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Unlike the disappointment that Gabriel Jesus brought in the first 45 minutes of play, he was the highlight of Arsenal’s attack in the second half, making an important contribution to helping Mikel Arteta’s team win all 3 points.

Given the strictness of Financial Fair Play laws, it is almost certain that the “Gunners” will let the winter transfer period pass without adding any quality strikers. The home team at Emirates Stadium needs the striker wearing the number 9 shirt to continue showing impressive performance as in the two matches against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

3. Arsenal’s defense needs to be more focused

The 5 minutes of extra time could have passed easily for Arsenal fans if it weren’t for the defense’s distraction in the final minutes of the match, allowing Taiwo Awoniyi to take the opportunity to kick David Raya’s net. shortened the score to 1-2 for Nottingham Forest.

Notably, that was a rare situation where the home team players had a real opportunity to put pressure on Arsenal’s goal. What if the “Gunners” dominated the whole match, took a two-goal lead, but were tied in the final minutes?

When the final whistle blew, Declan Rice and Oleksandr Zinchenko argued with each other on the field, both unhappy with the wasteful loss. The “Gunners” need to avoid a similar situation recurring, because in a few days, they will host Liverpool in a landmark match of the season.