Madueke's Deflected Strike Gives Arsenal 1-0 Win at Nottingham Forest
Noni Madueke scored an 80th-minute winner as Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City Ground on Sunday, October 18, in the Premier League. The goal took a big deflection. It was Arsenal's only shot on target in the whole match. The win keeps the reigning champions within three points of leaders Manchester City.
It was a poor performance from Mikel Arteta's side. Arsenal did not have a shot on target for the first 70 minutes. It was the first time since 2023 that they had gone that long in a Premier League game without testing the goalkeeper. Kai Havertz headed over from a Declan Rice free kick in the first half. After the break, Rice fired a long-range effort over the bar. Martin Ødegaard's free kick came to nothing, and Bukayo Saka dragged a shot wide.
The breakthrough came from the bench. Madueke came on at half-time for Eberechi Eze. In the 80th minute, he took a pass from Rice and cut in from the left. He took on Forest's Daniel Muñoz and drove a powerful shot at goal. It hit Jair Cunha and flew past goalkeeper Matz Sels into the far corner.
Madueke has now scored 13 of his 17 Premier League goals away from home. That includes all four of his goals for Arsenal. It is the highest away ratio of any player with 15 or more goals in Premier League history. He was named Player of the Match.
Arsenal still had to survive some late pressure. Rice made a key intervention in the 89th minute. Murillo sent a shot narrowly wide in stoppage time. Konsa made an important block to deny Delap in the 93rd minute.
Forest boss Oliver Glasner said the result felt unfair on his side. He said the defensive performance was top level, but it was another game in which they could not score at the City Ground. Forest are in the relegation zone with just five points from seven games. They have won only one of their last 15 home Premier League games, with eight draws and six defeats.
Arteta's side have now won 32 Premier League games by a 1-0 scoreline since he took charge in December 2019. That is the joint-most of any team, level with Everton. Arsenal had beaten Leeds in the league and Lille in the Champions League before this match.