Madueke fires Arsenal to victory over Nottingham Forest in Premier League

Noni Madueke’s late goal sealed Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday as the champions survived a scrappy display to close the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City.

Arsenal were well below their best at the City Ground and did not register a shot on target until Madueke bagged their winner 10 minutes from full-time.

It was the first time since 2023 that the Gunners had failed to have a shot on target in the first 70 minutes of a Premier League match.

But they finally made the breakthrough in the 80th minute as Madueke cut in from the left flank and unleashed a powerful drive that took a hefty deflection off Forest’s Jair Cunha as it flashed past Sels.

While the Gunners earned few style points in the east midlands, they will not be overly concerned after moving with three points of table-toppers City, who beat Ipswich 3-2 on Saturday.

After a shock 3-0 loss at Brighton on September 19, second-placed Arsenal have bounced back with three successive victories.

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They beat Leeds in the Premier League and Lille in the Champions League before their hard-fought success by the banks of the River Trent.

Arsenal have not been able to recapture the relentless consistency that took them to a first title in 22 years last season.

But the north Londoners retain the priceless ability to grind out wins and this was their sixth in seven league matches.

Arsenal head to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday before hosting Everton in the top flight next weekend.

Third-from-bottom Forest have won just twice at home in their last 17 League games, while boss Oliver Glasner has managed only one victory in seven top-flight matches since taking charge in the close season.