For the vast majority of Saturday’s season opener against Nottingham Forest, Arsenal were in cruise control.
The Gunners were dominant in possession, comfortable dictating the tempo and doing about as good a job as you could ask for in keeping the opponent at arm’s length.
But they have developed a habit in recent seasons of throwing the opposition a lifeline when under no real pressure, and that maddening tendency was in evidence again this weekend as Forest were gifted a way back into the match when they had for so long been peripheral.
From one of our own corners, the ball was cleared and scarcely two passes later, it was in the back of the net, with any hopes of a clean sheet shattered and the three points suddenly in jeopardy. It was as quick and easy as that.
The problem, in truth, was how easy the game had become for Mikel Arteta’s side. They had been so absurdly comfortable in the second half that they had slipped down two gears and the fresh legs Steve Cooper had thrown into the mix paid dividends.
It’s frustrating more because it took the shine off what was an excellent team performance on the day and made what should have been a processional final 15 minutes into a nerve-jangling circus.
As it was, Forest offered nothing after notching a goal back because, well, they’re not very good but it would only have taken a set-piece for them to steal a point and that is not a situation we want to find ourselves in, leaving our fate to fortune.
Leaving aside the irritating final quarter, it is worth noting that the Gunners did plenty of things right on the day. Chief among their virtues was patience because Forest did not come to play. They were predictably compact and deep and sought to condense the game into one third of the pitch.
Though they were at times slow and ponderous on the ball as they looked for ways around a packed defence, it is to their great credit that Arsenal stayed patient and they were rewarded with two stonking goals after working spaces enough to let their star boys shine.
Our best player on the day was the creator of our first goal, Gabriel Matinelli, with the Brazilian producing a dazzling piece of skill to unlock the Forest defence and tee up Eddie Nketiah. The second, a sublime curling effort from Bukayo Saka, was worthy of winning any game.
Alongside our young wingers, Declan Rice enjoyed an excellent Premier League debut in red and was unlucky not to find himself on the scoresheet (thanks to Matt Turner no less!), while Kai Havertz was a touch of fatigue away from registering himself, although he was neat and tidy throughout.
Jurrien Timber, meanwhile, was an able deputy at left back and full of what seems to be his customary energy and endeavour. Hopefully, the injury which forced him off early in the second half is nothing serious.
In the cold light of day, we started our campaign with a decent performance and a win and that’s all that will show in the league table. There remain wrinkles to iron out, however, and perhaps the manager will rethink how he sets his side up when we go on the road because giving away cheap goals will be far more costly away from home.
We have a week of relative serenity to look forward too now as the Premier League transfer window heats up elsewhere, and plenty of time for the manager to take stock and ready his charges for Crystal Palace next weekend.
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