Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi scored his first goals for the club in a comfortable win against Nottingham Forest, giving Ange Postecoglou a losing start in his first game in charge of the side.
Postecoglou, the former Tottenham manager, had failed to beat Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta in their previous four encounters, and that trend continued as the Gunners took control of the match.
Despite some promising moments from Forest, Arsenal dominated the game. Noni Madueke, who started on the right wing in place of the injured Bukayo Saka, was particularly impressive. His inswinging corners repeatedly troubled the Forest defence, and it was from one of these that Arsenal took the lead. A cleared ball fell to Zubimendi on the edge of the box, and his powerful volley, which took a slight deflection off Murillo, found the back of the net.
Forest’s best chance came from Morgan Gibbs-White, who shot wide from inside the penalty area after a swift counter-attack.
Arsenal doubled their lead just one minute into the second half when Eberechi Eze, making his first start for the club, set up Viktor Gyokeres for a close-range tap-in. Zubimendi then sealed the victory, scoring his second with a header from a cross by substitute Leandro Trossard.
Arteta will be pleased with the performance, particularly given that a number of key players were absent due to injury. Captain Martin Odegaard also had to be replaced in the first half with what appeared to be a shoulder injury.
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