Arsenal defeated Nottingham Forest 5-0 today to retake the top spot in the Premier League.
Bukayo Saka was taken off in the 27th minute with an injury, which will worry England head coach Gareth Southgate.
When Gabriel Martinelli scored the scoring in the fifth minute, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta knew that win would allow his club to pass Manchester City at the top of the table. As a result, the outcome never seemed in doubt.
At the start of the second half, Reiss Nelson scored two goals in three minutes, and Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard added the final two goals to complete the rout.
After drawing with Southampton the previous weekend and losing to PSV Eindhoven on Thursday in the Europa League, Arsenal made an incredible comeback.
With yesterday’s 1-0 victory over Leicester, City, the defending champion, widened its lead at the top to one point. However, Arsenal’s stellar start to the season was maintained with its 10th victory in 12 games.
While Forest, which had defeated Liverpool the week before, needed a reality check, the game served that purpose.
Martinelli gave Arsenal the early lead by stooping to head home a Saka cross.
Shortly before the half-hour mark, Saka limped off after attempting to shake off an earlier knock.
Nelson came in to take his place, and on his first Premier League outing since the season-opening loss at Brentford last year, Nelson had a significant impression.
In the 49th minute, after Dean Henderson had done well to stop Nelson’s initial attempt, he increased the lead with a high finish into the net.
Three minutes later, the points were locked up. In the 57th minute, Nelson added a fourth goal by turning in a cross from Gabriel Jesus and then passing to Partey, who finished expertly from outside the area.
After 78 minutes, Odegaard pounced on a Jesus pass to score the fifth goal.
Arsenal returns to the top after defeating Forest 5-0.
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