Well it wasn’t pretty, but it’s three points and that’s all that matters. The relief when Noni Madueke’s deflected strike found the net was palpable, keeping us in a strong position in the Premier League. Tense moments followed with Liam Delap continuing to pose a threat in the game’s closing stages but we got the job done in the end. One shot on target, one goal. Clinical, efficient and defensively stable. Away wins like this win titles.
That first half was a real struggle though. With little goalmouth action at either end, I let out a big sigh at the 35 minute mark, a result of being thoroughly bored from a turgid affair against a stubborn Forest side. I predicted a tight 1-0 win and when it was read out on commentary that only two goals had gone in at the City Ground this season before today for any team, that very much seemed like the best we would get. But the game did get better, part again due to Arteta’s subs. Madueke is always lively and provided the moment of quality in the game that he sometimes lacks. I love his positivity on the ball though – always looking to commit defenders and make something happen, even if he himself does not directly provide the shot creating action.
To me, Gyokeres looked like himself again. A feature of his game last season was his persistent off the ball running and scrapping with defenders to hold up the ball. Havertz does it too, albeit with a bit more flair but Gyokeres was effective and tenacious in his 30 minutes of action. It almost seemed as if Arteta told Gyokeres to forget about scoring and just be an absolute nuisance to opposition defenders. He managed that in a similar way to Delap at the other end. Playing number nine in a game like this can be a thankless task and the Swede did about as well as he could have done in the circumstances. And while Timber and Merino had a less dramatic impact, both diligently went about their business as has come to be expected. Timber provided a bit of energy and a couple of Ben White-esque overlaps to support the attack. It felt like a classic game for Merino to grab the headlines with a winner, but Madueke had other ideas.
All in all, a solid result and now to look forward to Bayern on Wednesday night.
