A deflected shot from Noni Madueke was enough for Arsenal to secure all three points against Nottingham Forest.

It was a game with very few chances of note at either end, with neither side wanting to give much away, but the Gunners were just about worthy of the win.

Forest made more of an effort after going a goal down, but Mikel Arteta’s side managed to hold on to an important away win.

Press the next page as we give our Arsenal player ratings for the 1-0 victory at the City Ground on Sunday evening…

Goalkeeper and Defence

GK – David Raya – 6/10 – the Spaniard was solid and did what was asked of him, claiming crosses, making a couple of routine saves, and starting attacks with some accurate kicking.

RB – Ben White – 6/10 – the 29-year-old did well to keep track of Neco Williams, but he was unusually poor when he tried to overlap.

CB – Ezri Konsa – 7/10 – had the better of Liam Delap for the most part, deflecting one of the striker’s shots wide of the goal.

CB – Gabriel – 8/10 – another dominant performance from the Brazilian, who was excellent both in the air and on the ground. The way he caught up to Dan Ndoye in the second half and prevented a chance was outstanding.

LB – Riccardo Calafiori – 5/10 – uncharacteristically poor in possession, with one loose pass leading to a Forest counter-attack in the first half. Improved slightly after the break.

Midfield

CM – Bruno Guimaraes – 6/10 – the midfielder did the dirty work defensively, making blocks and winning the majority of his duels.

However, Guimaraes could not produce many of his trademark line-breaking passes as Forest crowded the middle of the park with bodies.

CM – Declan Rice – 6/10 – made one crucial block to stop Chris Wood from scoring, but it wasn’t one of the 27-year-old’s best games. The shot he blasted over following a neat cutback from Jurrien Timber summed up his evening.

AM – Martin Odegaard – 5/10 – the captain really struggled to create anything of note. He came too deep for the ball and slowed the game down when he did. The spark he had in the early weeks of the season has started to fade.

Forwards

RW – Bukayo Saka – 4/10 – looked dangerous at times, but this is one of those performances which his detractors will point to when criticising his output.

CF – Kai Havertz – 4/10 – the German just didn’t do enough. He wasted Arsenal’s best chance in the first half, but other than that, he was ineffectual.

LW – Eberechi Eze – 3/10 – Arteta has really struggled to get consistent performances out of the 28-year-old since signing him at the start of last season.

Eze looked lazy against Forest, and he made several basic errors in possession. It was not a surprise whatsoever when he was hooked at halftime, with Noni Madueke coming on in his place.

Substitutes

Noni Madueke – 8/10 – the winger was very direct after replacing Eze at halftime, and while he got a bit lucky with the deflection, it was his goal.

Viktor Gyokeres – 6/10 – made a nuisance of himself after replacing Havertz, holding up the ball and making runs into the channels.

Mikel Merino – 5/10 – had a chance to score at the back post, but he failed to apply the necessary finish.

Jurrien Timber – 7/10 – carried on from where he left off against Lille, making a marauding run down the right just after coming in. He cut the ball back to Rice, who blasted his shot over the bar.