2-1! Arsenal overtook Manchester City, 2 points apart to bite the leader, and beat Liverpool
Arsenal spent heavily on three new signings last summer, Rice, Kai Havertz and Timber, and are determined to win the Premier League title. However, so far in the new season, the Gunners who have high hopes can be said to have started high and low, and after 21 rounds, they are 5 points behind Liverpool at the top of the table, and the championship situation is not optimistic. On this matchday, Arsenal face Nottingham Forest in the 22nd round of the Premier League, who are fifth from bottom and still struggling with relegation. The veteran Turner gave a gift, and Gabriel Jesus scored in seven minutes, and Arsenal narrowly defeated the opponent 2-1, temporarily surpassing Manchester City and rising to second place in the standings. In the next round, Arsenal will host leaders Liverpool!
Despite the intense schedule, Arteta, who led the team to the away game, did not dare to slack off and continued to form a 4-3-3 formation, with Gabriel Jesus playing as central striker, Martinelli and Bukayo Saka on either side, Smith Rowe appearing in the starting line-up for a long time, with Rice and Odegaard in midfield, and the defensive quartet still featuring Zinchenko, Gabriel, Saliba and Ben White, and Raya as the goalkeeper.
After the start of the game, Arsenal had no suspense to play the ball and Nottingham Forest also wisely set up a bus to test the Gunners' attacking ability. In the 14th minute of the first half, Martinelli and Zinchenko made a fuss on the left, the latter sent in a through ball, Smith Rowe crossed from behind, and Jesus scrambled to get a shot blocked.
In the 30th minute, Gabriel Jesus ran inside the right and then ran away, but Smith Rowe was too eager to get his feet high from outside the box. Gabriel Jesus was already unmarked, so he spread his hands and complained that his team-mates were too lonely.
In the 42nd minute, Rice made a mistake in handling the ball in the middle of the field, Danilo advanced to the edge of the penalty area with the ball and fired a powerful shot over the crossbar. In the 44th minute, Zinchenko swept a cross from the left side of the penalty area, Odegaard disrupted the opponent's defense, Saka followed up with the shot was blocked, the ball grazed the post and went out of bounds, and Arsenal missed a great opportunity.
In stoppage time, Odegaard cut inside from the right and crossed, Gabriel Jesus nodded the ball into the back of the net, but Turner was brilliantly cleared. Throughout the first half, Arsenal had over 80 per cent possession but had just two of their eight shots on target as the two teams returned to the dressing room with a 0-0 scoreline.
After returning to the pitch, Arsenal continued to raise the banner of attack. In the 56th minute, the Gunners played their trademark flashy combination, Saka played the ball with his heel, Odegaard inserted a through pass, Jesus volleyed from close range, but unfortunately it slammed into the post and bounced!
As the saying goes, there are only three things, in the 66th minute, Arsenal's throw-in attack, Jesus received a pass from his teammates, cleverly turned and wiped into the penalty area, and then forced a shot from a small angle, through Turner's small goal, the ball drilled into the dead corner, Arsenal finally broke the deadlock, 1-0!
Turner is actually an Arsenal veteran, who only officially joined Nottingham Forest this season, and now he is giving a big gift to his former club. In the 73rd minute, Montiel's pass was cut off, Odegaard instigated a counterattack, Jesus crossed diagonally, and Saka made a slight adjustment to burst into the shot. With Manchester City's veteran passing in seven minutes, Arsenal won two consecutive games to take a 2-0 lead.
With the big picture set in mind, Mikel Arteta brought in his squad and Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah came off the bench to bring on Gabriel Jesus and Martinelli to save energy for the weekend's clash with Liverpool.
In the 81st minute, Havertz advanced and split the ball, Trossard made consecutive passes on the left, and the edge of the penalty area burst into a cold arrow, but unfortunately it was slightly wide. In the 89th minute, Omoba Midler made a long pass with his big foot, Montiel's header was ferried, Awoniyi turned around Gabriel in a dashing manner, and pushed back a city in front of the goal, 1-2!
The goal boosted Nottingham Forest's morale and in the 93rd minute, Gibbs-White's volley from outside the box caused chaos and Awoniyi's close-range effort was confiscated by Raya and failed to equalise.
Winning 2-1 against Nottingham Forest, Arsenal ushered in two consecutive league wins, overtook Manchester City with two more games, temporarily ranked second in the standings, and narrowed the gap with Liverpool to 2 points. According to the schedule, Arsenal will host Liverpool in the next round, and this game is likely to decide the title.