Steve Cooper speaks
“I was disappointed with elements of our game in the first half,” says the Nottingham Forest manager. “Structurally we were good but I didn’t like us on the goals - we should have defended those much better.
“I didn’t love that we didn’t back ourselves in the duels. I showed some clips to the lads at half time - we needed to believe, back ourselves and compete.
“The real chance in the first half was Brennan Johnson’s from open play. The plan was going to plan with our counter-attacks but we needed to compete more. So it is a game of ‘what might have been’.
On the Declan Rice handball that wasn’t given: “I’m surprised the Declan Rice handball in the challenge with Willy Boly wasn’t checked by VAR. For me they let the referee down there.”
Mikel Arteta speaks …
“It’s always difficult to win the first game of the season,” Arsenal’s manager tells TNT Sports. “We deserved to be in front but we didn’t kill the game. And 2-0 in the Premier League is a dangerous scoreline and we had a lack of concentration, conceded a goal, and so it is game on.
“You cannot give teams anything and we gave them hope. Then the feeling is we want the game to end and take the three points.
On the inclusion of Eddie Nketiah: “Eddie was very disappointed he did not start [the Community Shield] against Manchester City but came on and had a huge impact. He trained like a beast this week, telling me ‘I have to play’. So I had to play him. A great example.”
Match report: Arsenal 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Premier League: Following a delayed kick-off due to a malfunctioning ticketing system, Arsenal played enough of the hits to suggest their star turns are back with renewed appetite, even if they were forced to endure a nervy finish. Nick Ames reports from the Emirates Stadium …
Eddie Nketiah speaks: “We had a really good start to the first half and scored two good goals and obviously they crept back into the game after making a few late changes,” the scorer of Arsenal’s opener tells TNT Sports. “Obviously it was a bit of a nervy finish but I think we defended really well and we deserved the three points.”
Full time: Arsenal 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeep! Michael Oliver brings the game to an end with three shrill blasts of his whistle. Arsenal win and deservedly so but were made to sweat in the closing minutes after Taiwo Awoniyi converted a cross from his fellow substitute Anthony Elanga to give his side a fighting chance of rescuing a point.
Arsenal managed to hang on for all three and truth be told, they deserve them. Forest leave a beaten side but have plenty of positives to mull over on their way home to Nottingham. They will rue Brennan Johnson’s missed chance in the first half, an opportunity that was squandered before Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka scored the goals that won the game for their side.
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90+8 min: Forest launch the ball forward again and Tomiyasu clears. It’s all over at the Emirates!
90+7 min: Turner thumps a free-kick long towards the edge of the Arsenal penalty area. Scott McKenna wins the header but Trossard and Tomiyasu combine to clear the ball up field for Arsenal.
90+5 min: Forest win a free-kick wide on the right but waste it with a poor delivery that fails to beat the first man. Bukayo Saka goes down after having his foot trodden on by Scott McKenna.
90+3 min: We’re into eight minutes of added time and Forest have brought on Chris Wood and Cheikou Kouyate on for Joe Worrall and Orel Mangala.
90 min: Havertz is played in behind the Forest defence, deliberately handles the ball as he tries to control it and is dispossessed by Aurier, who hooks the ball behind his own goal.
It should be a free-kick to Forest for an obvious handball but Arsenal get the corner. Nothing comes of it, the ball goes out for an Arsenal throw-in and Ben White is booked for time-wasting as he dawdles over chucking the ball back in play.
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88 min: With his side threatening to throw away another two-goal lead, Mikel Arteta has brought on Gabriel to shore up their creaking defence. Gabriel Matinelli makes way.
A neat passing move featuring Havertz, Trossard and Odegaard ends with Bukayo Saka sending the ball into the sanctuary of Matt Turner’s gloves.
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86 min: Forest have turned this game on its head with a superb goal on the counter-attack. Just on the pitch, Elanga scorched up the left side of the pitch and drilled a low cross into the Arsenal penalty area. Awoniyi was first to meet it, getting in front of White to poke home from six or seven yards.
84 min: Crikey! Forest almost equalise as Morgan Gibbs-White sends a shot from the edge of the penalty area narrowly over the bar.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-1 Nottingham Forest (Awoniyi 82)
Forest pull a goal back! A lightning fast counter-attack ends with Awoniyi poking home a low cross from Anthony Elanga, who has just replaced Brennan Johnson.
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82 min: Declan Ricce is on a mission to score on his Arsenal debut but once again he is denied by Turner. More of which anon …
80 min: Orel Magala is booked for a tug on the shirt of Martin Odegaard.
78 min: Willy Boly goes close after getting on the end of an outswinging corner but Declan Rice is marking him tightly and gets enough of his body in the way to help take the pace off the downward header. The ball hits Rice’s arm but it was not in an “unnatural position”.
76 min: Declan Rice is teed up for a shot from a few yards outside the penalty area and his low drive takes a nick off the heel of Joe Worrall. It’s headed for the bottom corner but Matt Turner gets down to save superbly, touching the ball on to the foot of the post.
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73 min: Arsenal substitution: Leandro Tossard on, Eddie Nketiah off. Kai Havertz moves up front.
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73 min: Dawdling slightly on the ball, Aaron Ramsdale almost gets caught out as Brennan Johnson ghosts in from his blind side and stretches to block a clearance. The ball goes out for a goal kick, while Johnson picks himself off the floor having apparently hurt his ribs.
72 min: Forest double-substitution: Taiwo Awoniyi and Neco Williams on for Ola Aina and Danilo.
70 min: Ola Aina tries to whip a low drive inside the near post past a wrong-footed Aaron Ramsdale. His shot is going wide but takes a nick off Thomas Partey. A corner for Forest, from which they win another. The whipped delivery is curled wide.
68 min: Arsenal continue to dominate, albeit without posing much of a scoring threat. Forest are struggling to win the possession they need to score a goal and get themselves back into this game.
66 min: Meanwhile in the Forest technical area, Steve Cooper is deep in conversation with one of his assitants. Such chats are forbidden this season, with no more than one member of any club’s coaching staff allowed in the technical area at a time. Both Cooper, Arteta and their staff have been adhering to it strictly until now, taking turns to bark instructions from the edge of their designated rectangles.
65 min: Joe Worrall collides heavily with an advertising hoarding behind the goal but picks himself up with a grimace and soldiers on.
63 min: Boly gets down to tackle smartly on the edge of his own penalty area, relieving Saliba of possession as the Arsenal defender ran on to a pass from Odegaard.
61 min: Martinelli takes on and tries to beat Aurier with some fancy footwork but the Ivorian international stands his ground and wins the ball. He’s being kept busy.
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59 min: Arsenal ping the ball hither and yon around the fringes of the Forest penalty area but Serge Aurier eventually puts a temporary stop to their gallop, poking the ball out for a throw-in.
56 min: Mangala “Delaps” the ball towards the near post, Danilo gets a flick and the ball drops for Ryan Yates in the Arsenal penalty area. He turns and shoots but Ramsdale saves. The flag goes up for offside.
55 min: Ramsdale is forced to hack the ball clear after receiving something of a hospital pass from William Saliba. He was under pressure from Brennan Johnson and puts the ball out for a Forest throw-in deep in Arsenal territory.
53 min: Saka scrambles, scurries and ferrets his way into the Forest penalty area from the right but runs into traffic and is crowded off the ball before he can shape to shoot.
50 min: Tomiyasu is quick to hit his stride … and a long shot from distance. His low effort doesn’t trouble Matt Turner unduly.
48 min: With nobody near him, Jurrien Timber goes to ground after pulling up abruptly, possibly still feeling the effects of, or even exacerbating the injury he picked up towards the end of the first half. This does not look good for the Dutch defender, who smacks the ground in pain and frustration before being helped from the pitch by a physio. Takehiro Tomiyasu replaces him.
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47 min: Gabriel Martinelli takes the ball on the turn and spins Willy Boly, who brings him down. Free-kick for Arsenal.
Second half: Arsenal 2-0 Nottingham Forest
46 min: Arsenal resume proceedings with the game firmly in their control after a first hal in which they enjoyed 84% possession. There are no changes in personnel on either side. Declan Rice is penalised for a foul on Ryan Yates.
More on the pre-match delay
Arsenal’s opening game of the Premier League season against Nottingham Forestwas delayed by 30 minutes after problems with the Emirates’ new ticketing system left thousands of supporters waiting outside. Nick Ames reports from the stadium …
Half-time: Arsenal 2-0 Nottingham Forest
Peep! Michael Oliver draws the first half to a close with Arsenal leading and looking impressive. They survived an early scare when Brennan Johnson missed a glorious opportunity to put Forest ahead, but took the lead when Eddie Nketiah capitalised on a wonderful bit of skill from Gabriel Martinelli.
Bukayo Saka got his season off to a fine start with a fine whipped effort from the edge of the penalty area that left his former teammate Matt Turner clutching at thin air. In other good news for Mikel Arteta, all three of Arsenal’s new signings, Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz seem to have slotted seamlessly into their new side.
45+5 min: Timber gets back to his feet and is shown his yellow card. He looks to have hurt his right knee and limps to the sideline and has to bide his time before being ushered back on by Michael Oliver.
45+3 min: As I type that, Jurrien Timber brings down Brennan Johnson illegally and gets a yellow card. The Dutch full-back also injures himself while making the challenge and requires treatment.
45+1 min: We’ll have three minutes of added time at the end of a half in which there have been very few interruptions. It’s been a quite good-tempered game with very little, if anything at all in the way of play-acting or moaning from those particpating.
44 min: Declan Rice tries a shot and his dipping effort from distance is on target. Turner dives to his right and saves with a minimum of fuss.
42 min: Odegaard picks out Ben White on the overlap on the right side of the Forest penalty area and the central defender pulls the ball back into the middle from the byline. It’s begging to be smashed into the basck of the net but there’s nobody on hand in an Arsenal shirt in place to finish a great move.
41 min: With Martin Odegaard in hot pursuit, Ola Aina does well to head a bouncing ball into the arms of Matt Turner under extreme pressure.
38 min: Martinelli gallops up the left flank, cutting inside and sending a cross towards Nketiah at the far post with the outside of his right foot. It’s too high.
34 min: That was a splendid goal from a player who has been a constant thorn in Forest’s side in the opening half hour. The goal came as the visiting side scrambled a corner clear after Rice had sent a near post flick towards the feet of Eddie Nketiah. It ended up out wide with Partey and he played it to Saka, who scored a beauty.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Nottingham Forest (Saka 31)
Arsenal double their lead! Bukayo Saka scampers inside from the right along the edge of the Forest penalty area with the ball at his feet. His whipped effort looks to be fizzing wide of the far upright but curls just inside the post, giving Matt Turner no chance of keeping it out.
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30 min: Trying to keep Bukayo Saka on a tight rein, Ola Aina has had a baptism of fire at right-back on his Premier League debut for Forest. He’s just been booked for hauling down the England international.
27 min: Forest only half-cleared a corner to Gabriel Martinelli outside the penalty area and he gave Danilo the slip by heading for the corner and then cutting inside two defenders with an audacious bit of skill. He played the ball to Neketiah with a backheel, and the Arsenal striker cut inside from the left and shot betweeen the legs of the stretching Worrall to give his side the lead.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Nottingham Forest (Nketiah 26)
Arsenal lead! Eddie Nketiah rifles home from eight yards after good work by Gabriel Martinelli, the ball taking a deflection off Joe Worrall on its way past Matt Turner.
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25 min: Scott McKenna puts the ball out for a corner, blocking an attempted cross by Saka, who had been played in behind to the touchline by Thomas Partey. Forest clear the set-piece delivery but only as far as Martinelli.
23 min: Danilo loses the ball near the touchline after being outmuscled by Jurrien Timber. He appeals for a free-kick but referee Michael Oliver waves his claim away.
21 min: Matt Turner dodges a massive bullet as Eddie Nketiah sticks out a leg and blocks his attempted clearance. The ball could have gone anywhere but ricochets wide of the Forest goal.
18 min: With Turner yet to make a save against his former club, Arsenal continue to press and probe patiently. They’ve dominated this opening period but the only chance – and it was a great chance – of the game has fallen to Forest.
16 min: It’s worth noting that at each corner they’ve had so far, Arsenal have sent Ben White and William Saliba forward to surround and generally harrass Matt Turner in the Forest goal. It seems a bit pointless as none of their deliveries from the corner flag have made it any where near the goalkeeper’s immediate orbit.
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14 min: Another Arsenal corner. Saka aims for the near post again and Willy Boly clears comfortably. Is this a tactic or is Saka just not striking the ball properly? Answers on a postcard.
13 min: Looking at replays from different angles, that’s a dreadful miss from Johnson, who not only sent the ball too high but well wide as well. Small wonder his manager Steve Cooper had his head in his hands on the touchline.
10 min: Oh my! Brennan Johnson misses a glorious opportunity to put Forest ahead after being put clean through on goal by a Boly header from midfield. He races on to the ball, but lifts it over both Aaron Ramsdale and the cross-bar.
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9 min: Partey advances upfield from right-back and plays the ball wide to Saka, who’s seeing plenty of action in these early stages.
8 min: Saka cuts inside from the right and tries to slip Nketiah in behind with a slide-rule pass. Willy Boly reads the situation well and gets his body between the ball and the Arsenal striker. Good defending.
6 min: Declan Rice gets a big round of applause from the Arsenal fans as he dispossesses Brennan Johnson in the middle of the park. He’s repaid about £6.50 worth of his £105m transfer fee with that challenge.
5 min: Saka’s second corner is poor and drifts towards the near post, where Scott McKenna heads clear.
4 min: In at Forest on a free after leaving Torino, Ola Aina puts the ball out of play for a corner as he prevents Saka from wriggling past him. Saka’s set-piece is headed behind at the near post by Serge Aurier. Another corner.
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3 min: Willy Boly is forced to block and clear a cross from Bukayo Saka, who was trying to pick out Eddie Nketiah in the penalty area.
2 min: Thomas Partey has, as expected, lined up at right-back for Arsenal.
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Arsenal v Nottingham Forest is go ...
1 min: Forest get the ball rolling after the players take the knee. It’s played back to skipper Joe Worrall, who launches it upfield. Arsenal win an early free-kick down in the corner and Aaron Ramsdale hoofs the ball up the left touchline.
Saturday blackout: “It’s worse than that, Baz,” writes Norrie Hernon. “Blackout starts at 2.45pm, which means TNT Sports might have to dynamite the feed halfway through the second half.”
Not long now: The stadium is not yet full to capacity but those fans who are still stuck outside are likely to miss the opening minutes of their team’s first game of the season. Michael Oliver and his team of match officials lead the players of both sides out on to the pitch.
Those of Nottingham Forest wear white shirts with pale blue … I’m going to say “swirls”, pale blue shorts and socks. Arsenal are in their customary home kit of red shirts with white sleeves, white shorts and white socks.
Tick-tock: More seats still look unoccupied than occupied at the Emirates as the players of both teams return to their dressing-rooms. Arsenal have a big decision to make as starting the game with thousands of fans locked outaside the stadium could prompt all sorts of unsavoury scenes outside the stadium. Here’s hoping everyone gets in safely ahead of kick-off.
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Soccer with Jonathan Wilson: Our resident tactics boffin and general human football encyclopedia will be writing a new weekly newsletter this season, analysing the major football stories across Europe for the benefit of – but emphatically not exclusively for – our American readers. You can sign up here …
Some activity: With tens of thousands of seats at the Emirates still unoccupied, the players are out for their second warm-up of the afternoon. Nottingham Forest’s were first out to re-limber up, while Arsenal’s have just joined them on the pitch. This is quite the farce.
This delay: A question to ponder – given the delay in this match’s kick-off time and the new directive for referees to add extra added time for goal celebrations and time-wasting, there is every possibility this game could end after 3pm … on a Saturday in the UK, when it is illegal to show live football between 3pm and 5.15pm. What happens to TNT’s maiden Premier League broadcast in that scenario? Hmmmm …
There are 35,000 fans outside the Emirates
Arsenal have introduced a new e-ticketing system for this season and it appears to be on the blink! Over 35,000 fans are still outside the ground and kick-off has been delayed by at least half an hour as Arsenal’s IT Department turn their new technology off and then on again.
Kick-off delayed until at least 1pm ...
With the scheduled kick-off time just five minues away, it has been delayed by 30 minutes. At a guess, I’d say it’s due to turnstile issues as there are a lot of empty seats.
Aaron Ramsdale: With David Raya on his way from Brentford to the Emirates on loan, the Arsenal goalkeeper will be hoping for an error-free game this afternoon. Despite his often excellent performances last season, his position as Arsenal’s first choice goalkeeper looks far from secure.
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Nottingham Forest: Steve Cooper’s side stayed up last season despite their dismal form away from home. Forest won just once on the road last season, earning three of the eight points they took on their travels. They did, however, beat Arsenal at the City Ground in their penultimate game of the season despite having just 18% possession of the ball. Arsenal coasted to victory in the corresponding fixture at the Emirates, prevailing 5-0 in October.
Those teams: Arsenal’s three new signings all come into the side for the first game of the season, while Gabriel is something of a surprise omission. We can probably expect Thomas Partey to drop in at right-back when Arsenal are on the back foot. Eddie Nketiah comes into the front three in Arsenal’s only change from the Community Shield last Sunday.
Matt Turner starts in goal for Forest, lining up against the club he left a couple of days ago. Ola Aina also makes his debut. Brennan Johnson will play up front, with Taiwo Awoniyi on the bench, alongside Chris Wood and Anthony Elanga.
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Arsenal v Nottingham Forest line-ups
Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Rice, Timber, Odegaard, Partey, Saka, Nketiah, Havertz, Martinelli.
Subs: Gabriel, Smith Rowe, Kiwior, Tomiyasu, Trossard, Jorginho, Vieira, Nelson, Hein.
Nottm Forest: Turner, Boly, Worrall, McKenna, Aurier, Yates, Mangala, Aina, Danilo, Johnson, Gibbs-White.
Subs: Williams, Kouyate, Awoniyi, Wood, O’Brien, Niakhate, Elanga, Freuler, Horvath.
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)
Today's match officials
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistants: Stuart Burt and Dan Cook
Fourth official: Darren Bond
VAR: Jarred Gillett
Early team news
The opening weekend of the season has come too soon for Gabriel Jesus, who is recovering from knee surgery and expected to return in around a month’s time, if not sooner. Oleksandr Zinchenko is also expected to miss out, while Mohamed Elneny and Reiss Nelson are both sidelined. Albert Sambi Lokonga, Folarin Balogun and Jorginho all missed last weekend’s Community Shield but could be available for selection today.
Having missed the entirety of last season through a variety of injuries, left-back Omar Richards has yet to make his debut for Nottinham Forest but is gradually approaching full fitness. The scorer of many crucial goals which helped keep his side up, Taiwo Awoniyi is back in training after recovering from an ankle injury but won’t feature today. Brazilian central defender Felipe is also a major doubt.
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Premier League: Arsenal v Nottingham Forest
Having defied the expectations of most fans and neutral observers last season, only to come up short in the title race and get accused of being “bottlers”, Arsenal kick off the new campaign against Nottingham Forest at the Emirates.
Last season’s runners-up have had a busy pre-season, snapping up Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice in what seem like excellent bits of business and all three players are likely to feature today.
Following last season’s summer trolley dash, Forest have had a comparatively quiet off-season, but have brought in Anthony Elanga, Ola Aina and Matt Turner. Following his loan spell from Newcastle last season, Chris Wood has also put pen to paper on a permanent deal. Signed from Arsenal two days ago, Turner could make his debut against his former club. Kick-off at the Emirates is at 12.30pm (BST) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
