That's How You Zu It

The first international break of the season has come and gone and the Arsenal squad returned from their travels unscathed. In fact a few of our players thrived while away, Mikel Merino springs to mind after bagging himself a hat-trick against Turkey. This will do wonders for the mental fortitude of our players as they enter a tricky run of games before the next international break. We kicked off our run of fixtures against Nottingham Forest at the Emirates and it's fair to say we got everything we hoped for.

There's two unwritten curses in football. The early kick off on Saturday and a new manager bounce. If you're unfamiliar with the concept of either of them then I'll briefly explain. If you're one of the big teams and you've got the 12:30Pm kick off slot on Saturday then more often than not you're going to struggle, and potentially lose. The new manager bounce phenomenom is that any club that hire a new manager will experience an uptick in form, usually rewarded with wins. Arsenal had to face both curses.

Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked by Forest earlier in the week which came as a shock. Getting Forest into Europe was a huge achievement and he started the season with two wins out of three, so certainly not in bad form, but he was let go. In has come Ange Postecoglou, a former Tottenham Hotspur manager. Ange didn't record a win against Mikel Arteta, so he was certainly hoping to do that in this fixture. Arsenal had to weather the storm of an unpredictable Forest side and they did that by completely controlling proceedings.

Arsenal began the game and controlled the tempo. Forest had a couple of bursts forward, but largely left the Arsenal defence untroubled. Mikel Merino had a big chance early on, but Matz Sels made himself big and had to use his body to make the save. In the events following the chance, Martin Odegaard had to be replaced after landing on his shoulder again, the same one as before. This gave Ethan Nwaneri another chance in that midfield role and he excelled in my opinion.

Arsenal picked up the tempo after Odegaard came off and began to string some nice attacking moves together. Arsenal's first goal didn't arrive until the 32nd minute, but it was worth the wait. The result of a set piece, of course, but it was so much more than just a 'set piece goal'. The ball was launched into the box and Forest cleared their lines, but only as far as Zubimendi who hit a first time volley that zipped into the top corner. An immense strike that needs to be seen on repeat. After the first goal went in, Arsenal dictated play with almost total control. They just needed the 2nd to enter that zone of comfort. The second half had barely begun, but Riccardo Calafiori was determined to get Arsenal on the front foot immediately, he sent a long ball over the top to Eberechi Eze who had pulled away from the full back. All Eze needed to do was slide the ball across to Viktor Gyokeres who had the simplest of tasks of knocking it into the net. Three goals in four games for our Swedish international.

Arsenal remained on top throughout the rest of the game, the only trouble they encountered was an accidental chested shot from Chris Wood that almost looped over David Raya. The only shot that looped over anyone was Zubimendi's header against Sels that grabbed Arsenal their third and final goal of the game. The statistics back up the final score with Arsenal recording an xG of 1.84. 16 shots and five big chances make up that xG. Forest only recorded an xG of 0.2 with only five shots.

Player ratings:

Raya - 6 - Raya had very little to do so I can't really give him much of a rating, but, was always present to receive the ball and move it on.

Timber - 7 - An overall solid performance from Timber. He made a crucial contribution when he disturbed Morgan Gibbs-White's shot and enforced him putting it wide. He was always happy to get forward and linked up very well.

Mosquera - 8 - Once again Mosquera was immense. Like against Liverpool, he slotted in seamlessly and makes us not miss Saliba at all. His anticipation of attacking endeavours is incredible and was able to shut down play with ease. A very strong performance.

Gabriel - 8 - Much like Mosquera, Gabriel played that towering defender role very well. He didn't give Wood an inch and mopped up everything that came his way.

Calafiori - 8 - Our marauding left back popped up everywhere and you can see why we missed him so much last season. His pass to Eze for the 2nd goal was incredible and he did the exact same thing against Leeds. If he can sustain his fitness then he'll be an extremely valuable asset for us.

Zubimendi - 10 - There's nothing that this guy can't do apparently. He wasn't brought in to score goals, but bagged himself a brace and one was a worldie of a strike. Not just the goals, but his overall play is so nice to watch. The way he finds space in midfield and looks to shift it on with pace and precision is second to none. He linked up very well with Nwaneri and Merino.

Merino - 7 - He does what he needs to do, but this guy is so effective in both boxes. He almost scored a goal to add to the four he scored for Spain over the international break. He's brilliant in the air and actually linked play together pretty well.

Odegaard - 5 - He wasn't on long, but things looked better after Nwaneri came on. When a game doesn't require him to press, he doesn't seem to know what to do and a few things he tried didn't come off.

Eze - 8 - How refreshing it is to have a winger that can beat a man and get something productive done after. It took a little while to get going, but once he did, Forest couldn't handle him. Provided a nice assist for Gyokeres. It was a simple ball across the box, but I feel like we haven't seen a goal like that for a while.

Madueke - 9 - For someone that's only supposed to be a backup for Bukayo Saka, Noni is making a case to be the starting right winger. Every single time he had a chance to run at the Forest defence he did and often got beyond them. Saka is brilliant, but Noni is a different kind of winger and one which we've lacked for a while.

Gyokeres - 8 - I think we're finally starting to see the best of Gyokeres again. It's taken a few games to get warmed up, but he added a third goal in four games and looked way more dangerous. It may be because he had more service, but then that's the answer in how to get the most out of him. My favourite moment of his in the game was when he picked up the ball on the left, exchanged passes and drifted into the middle, he then found Noni and went for an overlap and crashed a shot against the post. It shows how hard he'll work for his chances, but will also be there for the tap in.

Substitutes:

Nwaneri - 8 - He came on for an injured Odegaard again, but changed the dynamic of our play all over the pitch. He linked up with Zubimendi really well and was often found between the lines causing all sorts of problems. He didn't get a goal or assist, but his overall play deserves a huge mention.

Lewis-Skelly - 6 - He came on at a time when we were in cruise control, but he conducted himself with his usual hustle and bustle.

Rice - 6 - Like Lewis-Skelly, he didn't need to do much when he came on, just sustain control and he did that.

Martinelli - 6 - It was always going to be hard to take over from a player that was electric all game in Noni, but he attempted a few things and it's nice to have him as an option still.

Trossard - 7 - Much like the substitutes it was all about sustaining control, but Trossard went above the call of duty and provided a sweet assist for Zubimendi. Leo is still a handy player to have at the club.

Despite the Liverpool loss, there's a good feeling around the club at the moment. Momentum is building and it feels like we have the squad ready to compete on multiple fronts. We were missing Kai Havertz, Saka, William Saliba and Gabriel Jesus, but it didn't feel like we missed them at all. We can rotate the squad with more freedom and not worry about the quality dipping. We have Athletic Bilbao next, it will be away on Tuesday 16th September and then Manchester City at home next weekend. I feel as though we can see players like Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly, Trossard, Martinelli, White and Dowman midweek and still definitely get the win. Even Norgaard can deputise for Zubimendi on Tuesday. Keep the squad fresh for City who I think we can definitely beat.

Onwards and upwards!