Bukayo Saka shines as Arsenal bounce back with victory

Mikel Arteta's team was eager to bounce back from their recent winless streak in the league, knowing that three points were vital to keeping their title aspirations alive. The match seemed to be in their control right from the start, as Saka's early goal set the tone for a dominant performance.

England forward Saka combined with the influential Odegaard to finish in style after 15 minutes and the hosts should have been further ahead before halftime with Forest keeper Matz Sels making several fine saves to keep his side in it.

Forest began the game level on points with Arsenal but their hopes vanished when halftime substitute Thomas Partey doubled Arsenal’s lead with a curled finish in the 52nd minute and teenaged substitute Ethan Nwaneri added a late third.

Victory kept Arsenal in fourth place with 22 points from 12 games, six points behind leaders Liverpool who face bottom club Southampton on Nov 24. Forest slipped to sixth.

Arteta was celebrating his 250th game in charge and the sight of Odegaard and Saka back up to speed was the perfect tonic after a disappointing run of form.

“I think that’s chemistry. You meet somebody and you make eye contact and something flows. It happens on the field and off the field. In football it’s very hard to say,” Arteta said of the duo, who proved too much for Forest to handle.

“I sensed a different energy 48 hours before the game. There was something different. What happened was we could train with 19 players instead of 12 or 13 for the first time in weeks.”

Odegaard returned from a lengthy lay-off with an ankle injury in the draw at Chelsea before the international break and looked sharp as he pulled the strings for Arsenal.

Saka also looked revived after missing the latest England camp because of injury, combining to great effect with Odegaard before both were substituted late on with Arteta switching his attention to a Nov 26 Champions League clash away to Sporting.