Long before Arsenal’s celebratory 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, when there was a very different kind of noise over Noni Madueke, Mikel Arteta spoke to the player about that initial response to his signing. Back in the summer, over 5,000 fans had signed a #NoToMadueke petition following Arsenal’s interest in the Chelsea winger.
“Pzzzzt, I’ll go for it,” Madueke said. “I can’t wait to put that shirt on and play for you guys.”
Now, after a performance like that, the Arsenal fans won’t be able to wait to see Madueke play again.
He really did go for it, repeatedly taking on Morato and shredding him. Even better for Arteta, Madueke was far from the only Arsenal player to do that. This was one of those near-perfect days for a title challenger, from the scale of the win to the fact that it was created by so many launch moments for new players. There was Madueke’s impact, Eberechi Eze’s assist, another poacher’s goal for Viktor Gyokeres, another assured display from Cristhian Mosquera and, of course, the best illustration of all, the moment that set it all off.
Martin Zubimendi, letting fly from his right boot, with a supreme volley.
“Incredible execution,” Arteta enthused. “The timing, the way he connects with the ball, and the way the ball travels in that trajectory. He’s given us a lot of positive things. His presence, his authority on the pitch, the way he connects with the players and the composure that he’s had. If he starts to attack and goes like this, then it’s another dimension of a player.”
Zubimendi even enjoyed another feat. His header to close out the scoring ensured this was the first match in his career where he scored twice.
The midfielder was in that kind of mood, and that was kind of the story of the game.
Arteta had been mulling over his selection for this match. It’s always a bit more complicated when players return after an international break, and that was only made harder to prepare for, given the fact that Forest had been taken over by a coach with a completely different style in Ange Postecoglou. One decision, however, was clear.
Declan Rice was given a rare rest because Arteta had taken note of how Mikel Merino was in “a high emotional state” after scoring four goals in two games for Spain.
“I want to use that, when a player is in that moment, I want to play him, because it’s going to bring something different with the qualities that they have.”
A “high emotional state” is how you could describe almost everyone at Arsenal after this win. It did feel like the kind of match that pointedly underlined how good they are, after all of the debate following the narrow defeat at Liverpool.
This aspect was perhaps better showcased by the second goal rather than the first. It was also just as good in its own way. Riccardo Calafiori played a beautifully searching ball that Virgil van Dijk would have been proud of, one that Forest substitute Nicolo Savona found himself caught under. Many players might have taken the ball on from there, but Eze instead played an instinctively enticing first-time pass for Gyokeres to finish from close range.
It was one of many moments when Arsenal were perfectly in sync. The feeling within the dressing room was that this was the best performance of the season so far. In the 32 minutes before Zubimendi’s first goal, Forest couldn’t get out of their own area. By the second half, Arsenal were so buoyed that they were expressing themselves and spraying the ball around.
Typically, it wasn’t completely perfect. Martin Odegaard had to go off once again, after falling on his troublesome shoulder, and Arsenal will now assess what’s next.
Whereas such a development might have been a disaster in previous seasons, it barely affected this display. Ethan Nwaneri came straight in to keep Arsenal on an even keel.
“With the injuries that we have, unfortunately, some of them are very difficult to control, we would have been in a very different place,” Arteta said.
They instead stayed at the same level with different players. The front three had never played together before. You wouldn’t have thought it.
That shows how a different kind of challenge will be posed for Arteta. He now has such a big squad that players have had to spread out across the training-ground pitches in a way that staff haven’t seen before. The manager is going to have to ensure everyone keeps feeling involved. Some have been struck by a comparative lack of minutes compared to before.
Arteta, however, can point to the calendar. With the Champions League now a parallel campaign, Arsenal are virtually guaranteed to have a match every three days until February. Breaks will be rare. Players are going to need rest, while the manager will need to sustain the same level. That is where some of those on the sidelines here will literally step in.
There is consequently some efficient calculation to such excess. This is a newly sized squad for a new era.
“They have to play 70 or 74 games throughout the season,” Arteta said. “It’s never been done. When the intensity was that high, they were not going to be able to sustain that. So you need more players, the standards have raised, we need better players, and there’s no secret.”
He pointed to Rice, who never usually needs time on the bench. “Declan comes in and he will have an impact immediately, he’ll play the next game and that’s what we need to try to manage the best possible way.”
If all of this comes from Arteta by now deeply knowing his squad, and the challenges they face, Postecoglou is in the totally opposite situation. He had only known his players for two days.
Hence, he had to go with an approximation of Nuno Espirito Santo’s approach, rather than the more expansive game he wants. When asked how long it would take to see “Angeball”, however, Postecoglou was effusive.
“It won’t be months, it won’t be weeks, it’ll be Wednesday. This is not a project.”
Crueller elements in the Arsenal fanbase might say it’s already there, since Forest conceded three goals, allowing the home fans to sing: “Are you Tottenham in disguise?”
That was harsh, but not as harsh for Forest’s players as the experience. They were run ragged. Arsenal have picked up a new pace. In the words of Madueke, they look ready to go for it.
