![ NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND – JANUARY 30: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal celebrates scoring his teams second goal with teammates during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal FC at City Ground on January 30, 2024 in Nottingham, England.
The North London outfit dominated proceedings from the onset but they found it tough to break down Forest, who defended quite deep in their own half. Arsenal had a chance to break Forest’s resistance after 30 minutes Gabriel Jesus did well to create some space for Smith-Rowe on the edge of the box, but the midfielder sent his effort over the target. Bukayo Saka did go close to pulling a goal back just before the halftime break after pouncing on a loose ball in the box, but his effort deflected inches wide of Matt Turner’s upright.
The game opened up in the second half as Forest introduced Taiwo Awoniyi, who managed to carve out a chance eight minutes in when he forced Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya into a good save. Forest’s resistance was eventually broken on 64 minutes when Gabriel Jesus collected a long throw Oleksandr Zinchenko, before weaving his way into the box and scoring from a tight angle. The lead was doubled six minutes later as Saka got his name with a composed finish into the bottom corner after being played through on goal by Jesus after Forest lost possession.
Forest did pull a goal with two minutes left on the clock when Awoniyi outmuscled William Saliba before poking the ball past Raya. However, the Gunners managed to see out the latter stages to claim the win and move two points behind Liverpool, who they face on Sunday.