Madueke's 80th-Minute Deflected Strike Sends Arsenal Past Forest and Back Into Second

Arsenal grind out another one-goal win at the City Ground

Arsenal returned to second in the Premier League table with a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Sunday, as Noni Madueke struck the only goal of a scrappy contest in the 80th minute. The result condemned Oliver Glasner's Forest to a third-straight defeat and kept the reigning champions firmly in the early-season title picture.

Madueke's far-corner strike at the City Ground took a deflection off Jair Cunha on its way in, settling a game in which Arsenal had earlier seen Gabriel Magalhaes and Declan Rice both send efforts over the bar.

For long spells it looked as though Arsenal's frustration would grow. Forest defended admirably and posed a genuine threat in the closing stages, with Chris Wood and Murillo both spurning promising chances to snatch a point.

Arteta: 'We had to be so patient'

Despite describing the display as largely flat, Mikel Arteta was quick to credit his players' resolve and their willingness to wait for the breakthrough.

"We knew the margins would be really small," Arteta told Sky Sports. "They are extremely well coached and organised.

"The longer the game goes on, they gain more belief. We had to be so patient. And clinical when we got the chance.

"The way they were defending, they were more comfortable. But we have players with different qualities and can adapt to what the game is delivering.

"We have another three big chances that should be goals. That is the difference, you have to be clinical. If we keep generating chances, they will come.

"Today, let's enjoy the win, because it was a very tough one."

One-nil victories now a signature under Arteta

The narrow margin was nothing new for Arsenal. Since Arteta took charge, the Gunners have recorded the joint-highest number of 1-0 wins of any Premier League side — 32, level with Everton.

Sunday's win also continued a strong follow-up to their title-winning campaign: Arsenal have now won as many as six of their opening seven games of a Premier League season for the fourth time, after also doing so in 2004-05, 2007-08 and 2022-23.

Madueke's decisive contribution came in what is his first season making an impact for the Gunners. According to a FotMob player snapshot fetched on 2026-10-18, the forward had made four Premier League appearances in 2026-27, scoring one goal and providing no assists.

Arsenal's next challenge will be turning these hard-fought, single-goal wins into more convincing performances, but the points haul is what matters most in the early weeks of the campaign.