Arsenal left the City Ground with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday, 18 October 2026, in a Premier League clash matchday 7 fixture that kicked off at 15:30 UK time in Nottingham. Nottingham Forest and Arsenal met in matchday 7 of the Premier League on Sunday, 18 October, with kick-off scheduled for 15:30 UK time at the City Ground. The only goal of a tight afternoon came from substitute Noni Madueke in the second half.
Impact substitute Madueke delivers the winner
Mikel Arteta turned to his bench at the interval, and it paid off. Noni Madueke was sent on at half-time to help the Gunners cut through Forest's resolute defence. The winger needed only until the closing stages to make the difference.
The decisive move came from the heart of midfield. Declan Rice found Madueke, who struck a shot that took a deflection and left goalkeeper Matz Sels with no chance. With Arsenal ahead, the visitors shifted into game-management mode to see out the closing minutes at the City Ground.
Arsenal keep the heat on Manchester City
The result mattered beyond three points. Arteta's side had gone into the weekend still in second place, three points behind table toppers Manchester City. A win at a ground where Arsenal have traditionally found it hard to break Forest down keeps that gap from widening.
A run of good away form
Sunday's win extended an encouraging sequence on the road. Arsenal arrived at the City Ground having won six of their last eight Premier League away games, keeping four clean sheets in that run. It followed a productive week in which Arsenal had already shown their quality in two competitions.
Momentum from midweek
Arsenal's confidence had been boosted domestically and in Europe before travelling to Nottingham. The Gunners had come from behind to beat Leeds United 2-1 the previous weekend, before a seven-minute second-half blitz saw off Lille. That midweek outing ended in a 3-0 win over Lille in the Champions League. Arsenal's women's side has also been in continental action recently, as seen in their goalless draw against Paris FC in the Women's Champions League.
A difficult season persists for Glasner's Forest
For Nottingham Forest, the defeat added to a tricky start under their new head coach. After a turbulent previous campaign that eventually saw the club retain its Premier League status, the previous coach was let go in the summer and Oliver Glasner was appointed in his place. Results have been slow to arrive.
Form heading into the match had been patchy at best. Forest's pattern of two consecutive defeats, a win and then back-to-back draws pointed to improved game management but limited attacking output, with just five league goals across six matches and eight conceded, leaving them 15th in the table. A sixth-minute addition to that goals-against column on Sunday will do little to ease the pressure on Glasner.
Team news: injuries bite for the hosts
Glasner was already missing key men before kick-off. Nicolò Savona and Igor Jesus both missed out through knee and calf injuries respectively. The Austrian coach was also without Nikola Milenkovic through injury, with no suspensions affecting his squad.
History still favours the Gunners
The scoreline continued a familiar story between these two sides. The two clubs had last met at the City Ground in January 2026, a game that finished goalless, and across their previous five head-to-head meetings Arsenal had won three times with two draws, Forest yet to taste victory in that sequence. Sunday's result extended that unbeaten run for the Gunners against Forest.
Arsenal now turn their attention to maintaining pressure at the top of the Premier League table, while Forest will look to arrest their slide before their position becomes more precarious.