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Updated August 12, 2023

Arsenal started their mission with a victory

TL;DR

Mikel Arteta's boys started their new campaign with a comfortable victory against Nottingham Forest today. Arsenal defeated the Forest by a 2-1

Arsenal started their mission with a victory

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Last season, Arsenal were so close to winning the title. But they were very unfortunate and missed the golden opportunity. But this season, the Gunners have their eyes on the title. Mikel Arteta's boys started their new campaign with a comfortable victory against Nottingham Forest today.

As it happened

Arsenal welcomed Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium, starting the mission at their home ground. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta set up his team formation with 4-3-3, where Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli led the attack with Eddie Nketiah. However, the manager deployed his two new signings, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, today against the Forest. On the other hand, Forest boss Steve Cooper played his team in a 3-4-3 formation, raking the risk of playing three center-backs. Nottingham Forest's new signing Matt Turner made his debut today against Arsenal. The match started with the Gunners dominating the visitors. But Nottingham Forest could have stunned the home team very early. In the 10th minute, the visitors got a golden chance as Brennan Johnson got Arsenal's goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale one-on-one. Unfortunately, he missed the biggest chance of the match for the Forest. However, Arsenal didn't take much time to find the net at Emirates Stadium. Gunner's young striker Eddie Nketiah scored a goal in the 26th minute from a brilliant pass from Gabriel Martinelli. The Gunners doubled their lead within six minutes. This time, Bukayo Saka scored a stunning goal outside the box. His brilliant curl beat Matt Turner to find the net in the 32nd minute. However, both sides couldn't score more in the remaining minutes of the first half. Coming back from the break, Arsenal kept the same pressure on the visitors. But their striker couldn't find the net despite trying hard. The home team conceded at the very last moment. Forest forward Taiwo Awoniyi reduced the deficit as he scored a goal in the 82nd. However, this goal was not enough to avoid defeat for the visitors. As a result, Arsenal won their very first game of the season by a 2-1 margin.

Mikel Arteta's Reaction

Mikel Arteta is pleased to win the first game, but the manager demands more. He said, "Welcome to the Premier League! I think that’s the highlight, we were super dominant, we deserved to win the game, there’s no question that we deserved to win the game. But when you are 2-0 up and you have some chances to kill the game we didn’t and then we gave a very sloppy one away after being there and having the corner and having a chance on the corner." The manager also talked about Bukayo Saka. "What I ask him and all the players is to be the best version of themselves every single day. That’s the only thing that they can do. We don’t know how the Bukayo of two years ago or today or two years’ time will be, and the same applies to the rest."

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