Awoniyi silenced, Partey stands out as Arsenal thrash Nottingham Forest

Thomas Partey scored as Arsenal claimed a 5-0 victory against Taiwo Awoniyi’s Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

WHAT HAPPENED? Gabriel Martinelli scored Arsenal’s opening goal in the fifth minute. Takehiro Tomiyasu won the ball on his left before he fed Bukayo Saka, who was on the right.

The winger crossed to Martinelli, and the Brazilian managed to plant the ball into the bottom corner for his first goal in five games.

The Gunners extended the lead in the 49th minute after a good combination between Partey and Granit Xhaka. The Swiss midfielder picked out Jesus, and the Brazilian laid it on for Nelson, who found the far corner. 

Nelson collected his brace in the 53rd minute after Arsenal broke through. Forest pressed the London side, but the Gunners managed to contain them and launch their own counter-attack, which gave them the chance to score again.

Jesus crossed the ball to Nelson at the near post, and the 22-year-old slid the goal past Dean Henderson for Arsenal’s third.

Partey scored the fourth for the dominant Gunners in the 57th minute. In a similar manner, when he scored against Tottenham Hotspur, the Ghanaian curled in an effort into the top corner from the edge of the box.  

The fifth goal for Arsenal came in the 78th minute, with captain Martin Odegaard the scorer this time around.

Partey played the ball to Jesus, who later crossed it to the Norwegian in the box. Odegaard managed to manoeuvre past a number of opponents before he found the back of the net.

The Gunners have now recorded their biggest-ever top-flight victory over Forest while they won by 5-plus goals under Mikel Arteta in the Premier League for only the second time; they also won 5-0 against Norwich in December 2021.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Partey’s critical involvement with Arsenal is positive news for Ghana ahead of the World Cup finals in Qatar.

ALL EYES ON: Despite playing crucial roles in Forest’s two wins this season, Awoniyi was unable to find a way against Arsenal’s backline before he was replaced in the 64th minute.

THE VERDICT: With a passing accuracy of 90% and 113 passes, Partey was one of the shining stars for Arsenal. The Black Star further managed four shots, one shot on target, one key pass and two key passes.

On the other hand, Awoniyi had zero shots and zero key passes while his passing accuracy was 87.5%.

WHAT NEXT FOR PARTEY AND AWONIYI? Partey and Arsenal will shift focus to Uefa Europa League duty against Zurich on November 3. Forest will be up against Brentford on November 5.

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