Mikel Arteta had defiantly insisted that he would give up the title race “over my dead body”, but here was the night to call the undertakers.
Arsenal’s season is threatening to flatline and, with his team possessing the cutting edge of a plastic spatula, Arteta must surely know that all the fighting talk will disappear into the ether.
Their poor misfortune with injured forwards and failure to recruit a new attacker in January will surely haunt the north Londoners when another late title collapse is reviewed at the end of another season which promised so much.
The gap to leaders Liverpool is surely insurmountable and while there was plenty of fight here against Nottingham Forest, their impotency was glaringly obvious.
Forest recovered from a jittery, nervous first-half to finish a strangely absorbing encounter the stronger team, but they could not find the goal to cement their place in the top-four.
Full report to follow
10:12 PM GMT
More from Nuno on BBC
After this period we had conceding it was important to go back to basics - solid, clean sheet. We had a couple of moments to do it better. But in terms of the game, positive because it was very important to go back to the team we are that allows us to be successful.
They have danger all over the place. Set-pieces are some of them. It requires focus. The boys did well. We prepared it.
This is one of the main messages, more than anything, the feeling of being a team that don’t concede too many chances, always in the right places, organised, balanced. Going forward we have talent.
10:00 PM GMT
No imminent Saka return
Arteta says he does not expect Saka or Martinelli to be back before the international break.
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) February 26, 2025
09:54 PM GMT
Arteta speaking to BBC
[We showed] unquestionable character, how much wanted it and tried.
We dominated the game. We tried in many different ways. We insisted but lacked that spark, that final pass to unlock a well organised team. We have to generate more shots on target.
Very different standard [to the West Ham defeat]. We defended with energy, purpose, fight, willingness to make things happen. It wasn’t because we lacked that. We tried until the end but weren’t able to do it.
09:54 PM GMT
Arteta speaking post-match
Arteta says Nwaneri was cramping throughout the second half. Calafiori was taken off to avoid the risk of him receiving a second yellow card.
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) February 26, 2025
09:50 PM GMT
How things stand at the top of the Premier League
09:50 PM GMT
Martin Keown speaking on TNT
It didn’t happen for Arsenal tonight because they had Leandro Trossard, Mikel Merino and a teenager in Ethan Nwaneri playing as the front three and that has crippled the team.
Throughout the team they looked solid, defended really well and it was a solid contest.
09:41 PM GMT
Nuno on his gameplan tonight
I see it as a good point definitely. It was a good game, a tough game, Arsenal are a top team and they are a hard team to control.
As Arsenal doesn’t have a striker there is no need to have an extra body at the back, so it is about managing the overload in the midfield [on why he played a back four].
It is very hard to get your wingers on the transition points because of the way Arsenal overload the wide areas, and even their centre-backs play near your box.
09:25 PM GMT
FT: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Not a game for the artisans as two robust, physical sides crashed up against each other with very little in the way of craft. It is a good point for Forest in their Champions League push. It confirms what we already knew about Arsenal: they are not going to win the league, Liverpool are. Arteta was pretty scathing about his team after the West Ham loss and will be happier with the general level of performance. As a pallet cleanser after a defeat before PSV in the Champions League next week, it might serve a purpose.
09:22 PM GMT
94 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Arsenal have one last chance to load the box here, with a wide free-kick to be taken by Declan Rice. Easily headed away by a Forest head. He tried to clip it rather than crossing with pace.
09:20 PM GMT
92 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Half a promising move for Arsenal, but Sterling goes down looking for a free-kick and is penalised for handball. It does not look like that one big chance is coming for Arsenal.
09:18 PM GMT
90 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Great idea from Anderson, trying to feed a cross behind the Arsenal defence but it was just beyond Hudson-Odoi. Just the four minutes of added time to play. Yates wins a free-kick in midfield. Arsenal have weakened in the closing stages, just no viable attacking impetus off the bench.
09:16 PM GMT
88 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Forest producing a stirring finish here. Partey caught on the ball in midfield, and Williams’ sees a shot blocked behind by White but Forest have a corner. It will be retaken after Andy Madley blows up for some grappling. The delivery is far too strong and drifts behind for an Arsenal goal kick.
09:13 PM GMT
85 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Chris Wood is off, Awoniyi replaces him. Ben White and Thomas Partey are on for Arsenal, with Odegaard and Timber on.
Moments earlier, Hudson-Odoi wasted a chance in a promising position when he blazed over.
At the other end, Partey scuffed a shot wide when he had Sterling and White open to his right.
09:12 PM GMT
83 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Martin Odegaard thought he had just missed two huge chances to win the game, with Murillo and then Sels saving, but Zinchenko was offside in the build-up in any case. It was a slick move down the Arsenal left but Zinchenko went too easily.
09:09 PM GMT
81 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Sterling penalised for a very obvious push on Williams. Both defences have guarded their penalty box ever so well, Forest have repelled so many Arsenal set-pieces. Murillo pinged a diagonal into the box from the free-kick and Gabriel was cut to win a free-kick. Taking a leaf out of the Forest playbook at the other end.
09:06 PM GMT
79 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Sterling stands up a decent cross to the back post, and Arsenal win a corner. Time is ticking away from them. Zinchenko could have tried a volley but flicked the ball towards Tierney.
Delivered towards Merino at the back post again, and Gabriel is screaming for handball against Wood, but it was down by his side. Arsenal have another corner.
09:05 PM GMT
77 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Raheem Sterling for Nwaneri is Arteta’s next change. I think that is an attempt to introduce some pace (or whatever pace Sterling has left). Forest have squeezed up in the last seven or eight minutes and it has been harder for Arsenal to break out.
09:04 PM GMT
75 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Yates is clever to get in front of Merino and the Arsenal man is penalised for a high foot. Forest have a free-kick near the right corner of Arsenal’s penalty area. Hudson-Odoi is over it. I think this is in a shooting position for someone of his ability.
He crosses, and Arsenal win a couple of important defensive headers. Merino got up to win the first.
09:02 PM GMT
A different role for Zinchenko
Having spent two years refusing to play Zinchenko as a midfielder, Arteta has now done so twice in two games. He came on there against West Ham at the weekend, too.
09:00 PM GMT
72 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Forest carrying a threat now as the game starts to get stretched. Gibbs-White swept an early pass from right to left over Saliba’s head, and he stuck out a leg that directed the ball into Wood’s path. The Forest striker was about to see the whites of Raya’s eyes but Saliba recovered to hook a leg round and clear. Forest were then caught offside almost straight from the corner.
08:58 PM GMT
70 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Forest’s best chance of the game: Gibbs-White with a lovely turn inside Jorginho and a poked through ball, Wood was in front of Gabriel but his shot from a tight angle was beaten away by Raya. Zinchenko replaces Jorginho.
08:56 PM GMT
69 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Trossard indecisive with his touch around the edge of the Forest box, and then he commits a foul as the ball runs away from him. Zincehnko is about to come on for Arsenal.
08:54 PM GMT
67 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Aina heads clear a Nwaneri cross to the back post, and Merino stays down after his boot came off in the penalty area. Milenkovic did not know much about it but stood on the back of his foot. No hint of a VAR check.
08:52 PM GMT
64 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Better from Forest, who now have a corner. Gibbs-White swung a cross to the back post and Tierney cleared his lines. This is Forest’s first corner of the game. Arsenal stand strong and defend though and force Forest back to Sels. Nwaneri and Odegaard then show silky feet in a tight space to win a foul.
08:51 PM GMT
62 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Nuno is making a change to his midfield: Yates and Danilo are on for Dominguez and Elanga. They will look to add some more bite and continuity on the ball for Forest.
08:47 PM GMT
59 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Nwaneri with a shot from distance which deflects over, and Arsenal have another corner. Sels almost got himself stranded in no man’s land but Gibbs-White clears. Arsenal quickly establish a long spell of possession in the Forest half but they are struggling to create anything with open play. The home crowd are not happy with Sels who has booted it straight through to Raya.
08:45 PM GMT
58 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Gibbs-White with a foray through midfield to help move Forest up the pitch and he is tripped by Jorginho.
The home crowd are getting a little restless here, with Arsenal totally dominant since the half-time break. Not for the first time this season, a set-piece currently seems to be Arsenal’s best route to goal.
08:43 PM GMT
55 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Another Arsenal corner after Timber whips a cross straight into Murillo. Could he have delivered earlier in the move? Another chance for Odegaard to deliver, and this time Tierney’s glancing header went just wide at the near post.
08:41 PM GMT
53 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Arsenal are building momentum now, even if their attacking movements look a little jerky. Rice drags the team up the pitch through brute force if anything. Tierney’s cross is headed behind for a corner. Forest head away, but they give it straight back to Arsenal.
08:38 PM GMT
51 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Big chance gone for Arsenal from that corner: it was swung to the back post and Merino had a running jump at it, but Sels raised his fists quickly to keep it out. Arteta’s team knocking at the door.
08:37 PM GMT
49 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Arsenal have a corner after positive play down the right from Nwaneri. Odegaard runs across to take it. Forest were successful at buying fouls in the first half. Deep to the back post, but Arsenal keep the pressure on and Timber wins another corner. Wood blocks, shouts for handball but no chance of that being given.
08:35 PM GMT
47 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Both sets of centre-backs exchanging long balls forward in the early exchanges, the game has yet to settle down again. It really does feel a case of first goal wins. If Arsenal are to make the title race the least bit interesting, they need it with Liverpool one up against Newcastle.
08:33 PM GMT
We are back under way in the second half
Forest shooting towards their preferred Trent End in the second 45 minutes. Tierney will play wider than Calafiori so a change of structure for Arsenal when they attack.
08:32 PM GMT
Half-time change
A mixed bag for Calafiori in the first half, and Tierney has replaced him. Arsenal cannot afford another red card, but they are losing one of their main goal threats (genuinely).
08:22 PM GMT
Calafiori an auxiliary striker
Calafiori’s positioning here is fascinating. When Arsenal have possession in the Forest half, he’s effectively playing as a centre-forward. Here is his touch map in the first half:
And here is the first-half touch map of Arsenal’s on-paper striker Mikel Merino:
08:18 PM GMT
HT: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
A half of few chances but Arsenal came the closest to scoring through Calafiori hitting the post. The Italian was booked inside four minutes, but has managed to keep himself out of trouble since. Arsenal will be probably be the happier: they are the away team and have silenced the crowd and established control. But you would be hard pressed to say which team is most likely to score the first goal. Neither, perhaps.
08:15 PM GMT
45 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Elanga’s turn to appeal for a foul against Timber but nothing doing. Saliba and Gabriel have mopped up Forest’s direct play quite comfortably so far. Just the one minute of added time to play.
08:13 PM GMT
43 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Calafiori and Jorginho combine before Nwaneri produces a lovely no-touch turn in the box but Murillo got across before he could shoot. The youngster is angry with himself that his touch was heavy but Arsenal have a corner.
Timber goes down looking for a penalty after a challenge by Anderson, but nothing doing.
08:10 PM GMT
40 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Gibbs-White with a smart piece of movement but his cross deflects into the arms of Raya. Trossard then buys a foul after a surging run forward from Rice, but no other Arsenal player could keep up with him. Stronger showing from Rice tonight in a deeper role.
Arsenal are lacking an injection of pace in their attack. They simply don’t have the players capable of really stretching the Forest defence. Arteta’s side are largely in control and have done well to nullify Forest’s counter-attacking threat, but it doesn’t feel like they are about to slice through the home team’s defence.
08:08 PM GMT
37 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Forest struggling to build any offensive momentum and growing a touch frustrated, but Hudson-Odoi tries to inject some life into things with an early cross which Gabriel clears. Merino is then penalised for a tackle from behind on Aina but it was a very late whistle.
08:04 PM GMT
33 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
A bit of a familiar story for Arsenal so far: this has been a very competent performance up to the final third of the pitch, but they are missing that dynamism to run away from and punish the Forest backline. Anderson with an unnecessary foul on Merino to give Arsenal the chance to deliver a cross from a free-kick.
08:01 PM GMT
31 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Odegaard and Timber on different planets and the through ball from the Arsenal playmaker was far too strong. Timber then redeems himself with a brilliant turn out of pressure to get Arsenal playing forward but the move slows down. Good defensive recovery from Forest to stop Calafiori.
07:59 PM GMT
29 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Merino flagged well offside coming back from an offside position. Forest, as you would do against a full-back on a yellow, are trying to feed Hudson-Odoi at every opportunity to run at Calafiori. Arsenal are trying to settle on the ball in the Forest half to limit counter-attacks. Calafiori pops up in another interesting attacking position but Forest get a foot in.
07:56 PM GMT
Calafiori in the thick of it
Arsenal have had a good 10 minutes of dominance but the Hudson-Odoi versus Calafiori battle will be a real area of concern for Arteta. The Italian looks so much more comfortable going forward than running back — as he just demonstrated with that shot against the post.
07:54 PM GMT
24 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
The two sides of Calafiori on full display here: he was just produced a Cruyff turn in the Forest box and curled a shot against the post with his weaker right foot. Very close to 1-0 Arsenal. Forest then win a free-kick in Arsenal’s half which comes to nothing.
07:53 PM GMT
23 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Scary moment for Arsenal and Calafiori there as Hudson-Odoi once again skips beyond him, threatening a second yellow and then a penalty. On replays, the ball was running a long away from the winger and he was stumbling. Correct call from the referee, but Calafiori is a glaring vulnerability for Arsenal at the moment.
07:51 PM GMT
20 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Trossard starting to extert more influence on the game for Arsenal, first with a nice diagonal out to Timber and then chasing a lost cause to pinch the ball of Aina and win a free-kick in a crossing position. Threatening deliver but Forest head away. Arsenal have settled fairly well all things considered, but Forest do not need much to create.
07:48 PM GMT
18 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Calafiori is penalised for a foul from the Arsenal corner. Martin Odegaard with some smooth work across midfield to find Nwaneri, but his cross was beyond Trossard at the back post. The Belgian keeps it alive to win Arsenal another corner.
07:46 PM GMT
16 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Arsenal with some probing possession but Forest break in typical style with Timber pushed forward. Gibbs-White run away from Saliba which takes some doing, and he fed Wood, but Gabriel produced a superb block at the edge of the box and won a goal kick. Arsenal go up the other end, and Rice sees a shot deflected over for a corner. Decent hit from just outside the box.
07:44 PM GMT
14 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Strong defending from Gabriel up against Wood to allow the ball to run through to Raya. Nwaneri did well to keep a Rice diagonal alive but then he fouled the Forest left-back Williams. Nobody was predicting many goals in this, and the game feels very much in the balance so far.
07:42 PM GMT
11 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Promising attacking moments for both teams. Gibbs-White with a glorious sweeping pass between the Arsenal centre-halves for Wood to control, but he failed to get the ball out of his feet and Saliba blocked. Then Nwaneri almost found Trossard with a disguised reverse pass but the Arsenal forward could not quite get there.
07:38 PM GMT
8 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Arsenal starting to see more of the ball now in the Forest half, but are yet to test Sels. Odegaard goes down looking for a free-kick between the lines but nothing doing. Some of Arsenal’s passing is a little scratchy, but they are scrapping well to keep Forest penned in and the pressure on.
07:36 PM GMT
6 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Early days, but it looks like Rice is dropping deeper in Arsenal’s build-up alongside Jorginho. In recent games, he has been running beyond almost as a second striker. Saliba clips a ball forward for Timber and Arsenal win a corner, but the short one proved ineffective.
07:34 PM GMT
4 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
An early problem here for Arsenal: Calafiori has been booked inside three minutes for getting too tight to Hudson-Odoi before pulling him back. The left-back is on a tightrope now for the rest of the game. From the free-kick, Timber is fouled before Milenkovic picks up a yellow card for delaying the restart. Both teams with a defender on a yellow now.
07:32 PM GMT
2 minutes: Forest 0 Arsenal 0
Within the first 30 seconds, Saliba was caught out from a long throw forward but Elanga’s cross was too heavy. The same can be said of Nwaneri’s pass towards Odegaard after some quick feet. Forest back on the attack, but Gabriel intercepts a low cross. Positive start from the home team, they are taking the ball and not sitting off.
Forest appear to have swapped Hudson-Odoi and Elanga on the flanks, with Hudson-Odoi on the right tonight. He’s already causing problems for Calafiori, who has been booked after just two minutes.
07:30 PM GMT
KICK OFF!
To the sounds of the customary rendition of Mull of Kintyre, Forest get the game under way.
07:27 PM GMT
The players in the tunnel at the City Ground
And what a tight tunnel it is, though not quite Highbury levels of claustrophobia. Forest usually generate a cracking home atmosphere, something Arteta will try to kill with a thousand passes. The only problem is Forest have been quite happy to let opponents made a thousand passes before picking them off.
07:09 PM GMT
Rice hoping for a better outing
He was hooked before the hour against West Ham for reasons unknown at the time, but clearly it was performance related. He was caught under the cross that led to Bowen’s goal. Alongside Jorginho this evening, I think he may have to sit a little deeper than usual to ensure the Italian is not left on an island of green grass where his lack of mobility can be exposed.
06:52 PM GMT
Nuno’s thoughts on the race for Champions League football
The teams who now have a big gap can win three or four in a row and everything changes. You come from a good result and expect to achieve it in the next game against a team in the bottom half of the table – it goes the other way round and you get surprised.
I still believe the most difficult thing is to sustain it [across a season]. This is what I remind our players: our first goal is to bounce back from the last performance and try to raise our standards and perform better. It’s not about our position in the table.
06:45 PM GMT
Arteta’s quite striking pre-match thoughts
If somebody tells you at the start of the season, by this time, you have played five times with a red card for over half an hour in each of those games, and you have lost this amount of players, what’s the bet? That you are in the middle of the table, at least and you are out of the Champions League.
That’s not the situation. So that tells you the resilience, the resources, the ambition that the team has, that every individual has and that has been probably in my time, one of the proudest moments.
I think we have made big strides this season. Big time. Because we should be in a very different position with everything that has happened. There’s no team in Premier League history with five red cards and the amount of injuries we have had that were in the position that we are in today. It hasn’t been done.
06:41 PM GMT
Merino gets another chance at centre-forward
Mikel Arteta is sticking with Mikel Merino as a centre-forward, then. This must be a decision based on the performance at Leicester City, rather than the defeat at home to West Ham United at the weekend. It simply didn’t work the second time round. Murrillo and Nikola Milenkovic are a powerful centre-back pairing and Merino is in for a physical battle here.
On a separate note, there is a chance tonight for Ethan Nwaneri to equal a record held by Wayne Rooney. If the Arsenal teenager scores here, he will be the first player since Rooney to score home and away against the same opponent in a single season before the age of 18.
06:24 PM GMT
Is that screen for Marinakis to watch replays of contentious incidents?
06:21 PM GMT
Assessing the team news
Must be quite unusual for two teams beaten last time out to make just the one change between them. Arteta and Nuno are quite structured in their approach though, and it has them second and third in the league, so perhaps we should not be surprised. Jorginho offers Arsenal some more creative forward passing, but could be a point of vulnerability if Gibbs-White can face him up. No changes in Forest’s midfield despite Sangare and Yates being decent options.
06:18 PM GMT
Arsenal team and subs: Jorginho in for Partey
Arsenal starting XI: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Jorginho, Rice, Odegaard; Nwaneri, Merino, Trossard
Subs: Neto, White, Tierney, Zinchenko, Kiwior, Partey, Sterling, Kabia, Butler-Oyedeji
06:16 PM GMT
Nottingham Forest team and subs: No changes from Newcastle defeat
06:11 PM GMT
How the top of the Premier League looks
06:07 PM GMT
Marinakis is in town
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis will be in attendance at the City Ground this evening, and it is crunch time in the season after a run of results which has prompted fears of a wobble. John Percy writes that this season represents the next phase of Marinakis’ grand plan after investing nearly £300 million on players since promotion to the Premier League.
06:04 PM GMT
Time for a change?
What can Arteta do to mix things up? Sam Dean has run the rule over some possible tactical tweaks. Whether they are full-backs pushed high and wide from a back four, covered by two deep midfielders, or wing-backs in front of a back three, it feels incumbent on Arteta to lean into the only area of Arsenal’s squad with some depth. Without Havertz, Jesus, Saka or Martinelli, there are no choices to make up front.
06:02 PM GMT
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06:02 PM GMT
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06:01 PM GMT
Forest are in a battle for Champions League football... are Arsenal?
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have endured some dark days at Nottingham Forest and they arrive at the City Ground this evening short on attacking options and at a relatively low ebb.
Forest knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup third round in 2022, while losing this fixture also put the mathematical tin hat on Arsenal’s title challenge in 2023 when Manchester City were confirmed as champions. They did win at Forest last season but a dismal display against West Ham and Liverpool’s victory at City means Arsenal are now 11 points behind the league leaders and their challenge appears a lost cause.
If you were clutching at straws, you could point to Arsenal’s game in hand (at home to Chelsea on League Cup final weekend, March 16). Win that, in addition to Liverpool dropping points elsewhere, and Arsenal could be within five or six points going into the March international break, after which there are nine more fixtures including a May date at Anfield.
The reason it feels like curtains is that Arsenal’s lack of firepower is likely to make every game at arm wrestle, at best. They started central midfielder Mikel Merino at centre-forward against West Ham. Ethan Nwaneri, 17, is one of the best players in the country in his age group but should not be relied up to this extent in a so-called title run-in. Beyond that, there is the option of Raheem Sterling at least until Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka return later in the season.
Forest’s push for Champions League football has been built on a robust defence and incisive counter-attacking, although there have been signs in recent weeks that they are losing some stability. They have lost three of their last four games, and in five of their last seven have conceded at least 1.5 expected goals. Nikola Milenković and Murillo have not been missing, but Nuno Espirito Santo has been chopping and changing between a back four and a back five.
Nuno may well have taken note of how West Ham enjoyed success with a 5-3-2 at the Emirates, with the pace of Jarrod Bowen and Mohamed Kudus causing problems. Riccardo Calafiori had a tough time, and Anthony Elanga’s speed could pose the Arsenal left-back a serious challenge. Myles Lewis-Skelly is suspended.
Full team news on the way shortly.
