Arsenal 1-2 Nottingham Forest: Player ratings show how the Gunners are getting closer to Liverpool.

To go closer to Nottingham Forest at the top of the Premier League on Tuesday night, Arsenal battled to a 2-1 victory on the road.

For sixty-four strong, albeit excruciating, minutes, Forest defended admirably. However, Arsenal’s effectiveness from dead balls kept them afloat once more, as Gabriel Jesus’ opening goal was set up by a cunning throw-in and Matt Turner’s hospitable posture. Within seven minutes, Bukayo Saka doubled the visitors’ lead.

Although Taiwo Awoniyi cut the deficit in half to create a tense stoppage period, the visitors were able to hold onto their slim lead and move up to two points behind league-leading Liverpool.

How the game unfolded

After watching Forest ship eight goals across his first four league games in charge, Nuno Espirito Santo sent his side out with an unashamed and unmistakable focus on tightening up at the back. At times in a painfully one-side first half, Forest’s defensive blockade was so deep the home centre-backs were fighting for elbow room with the first row of the Trent End.

Arsenal had completed more than 100 passes inside the final third before Forest managed their second. Yet, the visitors’ closest sight of goal came from Oleksandr Zinchenko’s hopeful fizz into a crowded penalty box. The ball broke for Saka but squirted narrowly wide of Forest’s upright.

The Gunners finally pulled off an intricate skein of passes which they had been trying without success for the first 57 minutes. Martin Odegaard and Saka combined to tee up Jesus who crashed the ball off the post.

With three-quarters of the contest navigated immaculately, Forest were punished for one brief flicker of indecision. Jesus was left unmarked at an Arsenal throw-in and, with time to let the ball trundle across his body, the Brazilian scurried to the byline and stabbed a shot which ricocheted kindly between Turner’s legs and into the Forest net.

The dam had been broken. As Forest loosened the stitching of their tight block, Arsenal had room to counter themselves. Gonzalo Montiel’s hurried clearance sparked a lightning break in the 72nd minute. Two passes and eight seconds after the wayward shank, Saka picked out the bottom corner.

Much of the pre-game buildup had been dominated by Emile Smith Rowe’s return to Arsenal’s starting XI but Forest welcomed back an even more integral figure. Awoniyi was only fit enough to come on half-time but immediately reminded the City Ground what they had been missing since November.

Fleet of foot and formidable in the air, Awoniyi bullied Arsenal’s own physical freak William Saliba before stabbing Forest back into the contest in the 89th minute. Stoppage time was three minutes old when the ball fell to Awoniyi again but David Raya was alert enough to make just his second save of the match