Arsenal Back To Second After Late Madueke Winner At Forest

Arsenal leave it late to beat Forest 

Noni Madueke's late strike earned Arsenal a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest to move within three points of Man City.

Madueke the hero as Arsenal edge past Forest to close on Man City...

Arsenal moved back up to second in the Premier League with a 1-0 win at the City Ground, making it nine victories for the Gunners in the last 12 top-flight meetings between the sides.

The visitors dominated possession early on but found it tough to break down the Tricky Trees, while Liam Delap looked to cause problems at the other end.

Matz Sels tipped a Bukayo Saka cross away in the 10th minute, but Forest had the first effort of the game after a mistake from Riccardo Calafiori. The Italian recovered to get a touch on Daniel Munoz's cross, yet the ball stayed alive and Dan Ndoye saw his shot tipped wide by David Raya.

There was a break in play while Murillo received treatment for a head injury, but he soon returned to put Gabriel Magalhaes under pressure as the Brazilian's instinctive backheel struck Ezri Konsa.

The centre-back was then at the right end to block an ambitious effort from Delap, before Kai Havertz headed harmlessly wide from a Declan Rice free-kick and fired into the side netting from a tight angle.

Delap did well to win a free-kick on the edge of Arsenal's box, but Bruno Guimaraes got his head in front of Neco Williams' strike, and Murillo's overhead kick just before the break was comfortably saved.

Mikel Arteta brought on Noni Madueke for some spark after the restart, but Forest created the first chance of the second half after Havertz handled a shot from James McAtee, who blazed the resulting free-kick over.

Buoyancy

Delap then had a shot deflected behind as he and the Tricky Trees continued to threaten, though Murillo's header from the resulting corner was comfortably held.

Gabriel headed over moments after Arteta made a triple change in search of inspiration, and Jurrien Timber did well to set up Declan Rice, who wastefully fired over.

It was Arteta's first substitute who made the difference with 10 minutes left, as Madueke jinked past Munoz and fired past Sels with the aid of a deflection off Cunha.

By The Numbers

Rice then threw himself in front of a Chris Wood effort to secure a third straight win in all competitions for Arsenal, moving them to within three points of Premier League leaders Manchester City.

Noni Madueke's late strike earns @arsenal the win on the road 🔴 https://t.co/AwVUjpc23u

— Premier League (@premierleague) October 18, 2026

In contrast, Nottingham Forest end the weekend in the relegation zone after three successive defeats.

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