Nottingham Forest 0-0 Arsenal: Match report & 3 talking points from lifeless stalemate

Arsenal were unable to return to winning ways in the Premier League on Wednesday night as they were held to a goal-less stalemate by Nottingham Forest.

The Gunners were improved from Saturday's 1-0 defeat to West Ham United and did an admirable job of limiting the dangerous hosts on the breakaway, but they ultimately didn't do enough in the final third themselves to garner all three points.

Nottingham Forest will be content with a point after back-to-back defeats, but Chelsea and Manchester City have closed the gap on them in third.

How the game unfolded

Both teams headed into the contest off the back of defeats, although Nottingham Forest were enjoying the comforts of the City Ground for the first time since they thrashed Brighton 7-0 at the start of the month.

A physical slog-fest was projected in the build-up to the contest, and there were early signs of that expectation playing out as both teams received bookings inside the opening five minutes.

It didn't take Arsenal long to settle into a rhythm, though, and they enjoyed much of the territory in the opening stages. Riccardo Calafiori, one of those cautioned, had his issues defending one-on-one against Callum Hudson-Odoi, but his positioning in the final third did give the stubborn hosts something to think about.

It was the Italian who came closest to breaking the deadlock in what was a positive first half for the away side, as he spun beautifully in the Forest box before curling a right-footed effort off the inside of Matz Sels' post.

Going the other way, Forest were limited to moments, but they transitioned with menace any time the Gunners surrendered open space. David Raya wasn't tested, however.

There was no dynamic shift at the start of the second half, with Arsenal continuing to probe without reward. They started to have joy from set pieces, but half-time arrival Kieran Tierney headed wide after Mikel Merino was denied by Sels at the back post.

Nuno Espirito Santo was the first to turn to his bench in a bid to shift momentum, and Forest did start to boast a threat through Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White. The pair combined to draw the first notable save out of Raya, and they then forced an excellent recovery challenge from William Saliba to deny Wood from breaking the deadlock.

There was no major resurgence from the hosts, but Arsenal also struggled to sustain unrelenting pressure in the closing stages. There was little action of late as the contest veered towards a stalemate, with the two teams sharing the spoils at the City Ground.

Player ratings

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Arsenal's improvement not enough

An Arsenal response was expected from their dire display at the weekend, but there's only so much Mikel Arteta can do with this personnel.

While Forest conceded four at the weekend, their defensive record at home this season is impressive, and it was always going to be an uphill battle for this depleted Arsenal.

Structurally, there was little to criticise. A platform was laid by a sound performance in defensive transition to go and win this game. Forest never built ahead of steam, and David Raya enjoyed a quiet outing. However, once again, the Gunners couldn't fashion the one moment they required to win. There was a threat from set-pieces, but they faded considerably from open play in the second half.

Kieran Tierney, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and this post-30 iteration of Raheem Sterling are hardly momentum-shifters off the bench.

Chaotic Riccardo Calafiori

A start on Saturday suggested Arteta was set on using impressive teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly on Wednesday night, but his red card after entering the fray in the second half then meant the Arsenal boss had little choice but to stick with Calafiori.

The Italian struggled defensively at the weekend and certainly didn't cover himself in glory for the West Ham goal. The signs were ominous at the City Ground as he was booked inside a couple of minutes for pulling back Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Forest were limited with the ball in the opening 45 minutes, but they sought to attack Arsenal's left flank at every opportunity. Hudson-Odoi was fancying himself one-on-one.

At the other end, though, Calafiori showed off his value as an utterly unique footballer. The converted centre-back has taken his two Premier League goals wonderfully this season, and he came within a whisker of netting a sublime third following a wonderful bit of skill to outfox Nicolas Dominguez. He was given license to operate almost as a second striker at times, racking up plenty of box touches, with balance supplied by Declan Rice's deeper positioning.

Arsenal have lacked threat in their past couple of games, but they got some from an unlikely source on Wednesday night before Arteta, as a result of the player's early yellow card, brought him off at half-time.

Nottingham Forest content with point

While Forest have been excellent at home this season, losing just twice, and had won five of their previous six Premier League games at the City Ground before Arsenal's visit, Nuno was keen to restore stability in midweek. They entered the bout off the back of defeats at Fulham and Newcastle.

When the ball trickled towards Matz Sels towards the end of the contest and the Forest goalkeeper waited as long as he could to pick the ball up, it was clear that the hosts were content with what they had.

Nuno's side were frustrated by Arsenal here, with their speedy wide players getting into the contest in spurts. Morgan Gibbs-White offered surges and sparks, but the midfield was messy and Chris Wood was well marshalled.

Fortunately, they defend superbly at home and were facing up against an Arsenal team dwindling in confidence in the final third. They were made to work for their clean sheet, but Sels, like his opposite number, wasn't too busy.

A huge game beckons in ten days time when fourth-place Manchester City, now just a point behind, travel down to Nottingham.

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