We beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City Ground on October 18, 2026, with Noni Madueke’s deflected strike ten minutes from time the only goal of the game. The win takes us to 18 points from seven Premier League games and back up to second, three points behind Manchester City, after Brighton had briefly moved above us earlier in the afternoon. It is our third straight win since the defeat at Brighton, and our first win at the City Ground in three seasons after two goalless draws there.
The cost was the performance. Madueke’s goal was our only shot on target all afternoon, and for the second time in three games, a starting forward was taken off at half-time after failing to make an impression. We go to Bayern Munich on Wednesday with three wins in a row and very little attacking fluency to show for them.
Why did we not have a shot on target in the first half?
Because Forest gave us the ball and dared us to do something with it, and we did not. We had around three-quarters of possession and spent most of it moving the ball across the edge of a deep, well-organised block. Kai Havertz led the line, with Eberechi Eze on the left and Bukayo Saka on the right, and none of the three found the space to turn and run at a defender.
Forest had the better of the moments that mattered. Around the 20-minute mark, a Riccardo Calafiori error let them break, and Dan Ndoye’s shot was only deflected behind for a corner. Murillo also went close. We went in at half-time without testing Matz Sels once, and Arteta said afterwards that the lack of a shot on target was “something we discussed” at the break.
What did Madueke change?
Arteta replaced Eze with Madueke at half-time, and the second half looked like a different game. Madueke went to the left, where he plays inside onto his stronger foot, and Forest suddenly had a winger running at them rather than one checking back. Mikel Merino, Viktor Gyokeres and Jurrien Timber followed him on as the half went on.
The winner came from the move that Madueke had been threatening all half. Declan Rice worked the ball out to him on the left, Madueke cut inside and drove a shot towards goal, and it took a heavy deflection off Jair Cunha before beating Sels at the far post in the 80th minute. It was a scruffy goal from a deliberate pattern: give the ball to the player who will go at his man, and let him shoot.
That is now three games running in which Madueke has decided something. He made the equaliser against Leeds, made the opener against Lille, and won this one. For a player who was left out of the latest England squad, that is a strong answer.
Where does this leave Eze?
Under pressure, and fairly. With Christos Tzolis out with his hamstring injury, the left side was Eze’s to take, and he scored against Lille in midweek. At the City Ground he was the player Arteta chose to sacrifice at half-time, and the player who replaced him won the game.
Arteta was keen to put Eze’s afternoon in context, pointing to his contribution against Lille, and one 45 minutes should not decide anything. But the competition on the left is now real. Madueke has earned his chance to start there, and Eze has to win the position back rather than wait for it.
Does it matter that we won ugly?
Not at this stage of the season, and not at this ground. We drew 0-0 here on our last two visits, and those were four points dropped against a side that knows exactly how to frustrate us. Arteta made the point himself: “Something we didn’t do the last two seasons, which was win the game.”
Forest have now lost three home games 1-0 this season and dropped into the relegation zone, and they are still very hard to break down. The title last season was won partly on afternoons like this one, when we had little to show for our possession and found a way anyway. The bench has now won three games in a row for us. I will take a squad that can do that over a starting eleven that cannot be improved on.
One shot on target, three points, and a ground where we had stopped winning: champions win these.