The Bottom Line

Men: Arsenal won 1-0 at Nottingham Forest through Noni Madueke's deflected 80th minute strike, their only shot on target and a third straight win. It takes them to 18 points, three behind Manchester City, and drops Forest into the relegation zone. Madueke replaced Eberechi Eze at half-time, and Gyokeres is reported to be ready to leave in January.

Men

Madueke's deflected strike wins it at Forest

Noni Madueke cut in from the left on 80 minutes and his shot deflected off Jair Cunha past Matz Sels, Arsenal's only shot on target. The win puts them on 18 points, three behind Manchester City, and sends Forest into the bottom three.

Also covered by The Guardian and Sky Sports.

Arteta explains taking Eze off at half-time for Madueke

Eze was replaced at the interval after a quiet 45 minutes on the left. Arteta pointed to the way Forest defended and said attacking players need different profiles against a side with ten men around the box.

Also covered by Evening Standard and BBC Sport.

Both teams wore black armbands for a nine year old Forest supporter

Arsenal and Forest wore black armbands at the City Ground in memory of James Kerry, a nine year old Forest fan who died earlier this month after a battle with cancer.

Gyokeres reported to be ready to leave in January

ESPN, citing TEAMtalk, reports that Gyokeres is prepared to leave in January, frustrated at three Premier League appearances this season, all from the bench. Atletico Madrid are named as an interested party, though nothing is confirmed.

Arsenal among the clubs tracking Bournemouth's Alex Scott

The Athletic reports Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are circling Scott, who has little more than 18 months left on his contract and no plans to sign a new one. A reported valuation of about £100m is the obstacle.

Social

• arseblog on Bluesky: Andrew Mangan's verdict on the win: a poor performance, but a team that knows how to find a way, with Konsa's late defending and the Murillo chance the difference between three points and none.
• Orbinho on Bluesky: The win at the City Ground was an improvement on last season, leaving Arsenal four points up on their own equivalent fixtures. City and Liverpool are plus three, Manchester United minus 10 and Tottenham minus one.
• now.arsenal on Bluesky: On Ezri Konsa's block in the final minute, with Liam Delap through on goal.

Podcasts

• Arseblog Arsecast, The Arsenal Podcast, Arsecast Extra Episode 717 - 18.10.2026 (1h 26m). A look back at the 1-0 win, the goalless first half, the half-time change of Madueke for Eze, and listener questions on Eze, Konsa and more.
• The Thing About Arsenal, Nottingham Forest 0-1 Arsenal: The fix it force (24 min). Laura and Luke on a frustrating 80 minutes at the City Ground and the substitutes who settled it.
• Inside Arsenal - with Charles Watts, MADUEKE WINS IT! Forest 0, Arsenal 1 - Match reaction and player ratings (14 min). Immediate reaction reported from the City Ground, with player ratings.
• Latte Firm - Arsenal FC x, Ugly but effective. Nottingham Forest 0-1 Arsenal Match Reaction (29 min). Match reaction built around Madueke's impact as a half-time substitute.
• Arsenal Women: Trailblazers, Arsenal 1-1 Birmingham: What's Going Wrong Under Renée Slegers? (1h 10m). Roberto Revilla on Saturday's draw at the Emirates and the questions being asked about Slegers and the direction of the team.

On This Day

2013. Mesut Özil scored either side of an Aaron Ramsey goal in a 4-1 win over Norwich at the Emirates, after Jack Wilshere had opened the scoring. Jonny Howson replied for Norwich. Via Wikipedia

2011. Aaron Ramsey settled a goalless Champions League night in Marseille two minutes into stoppage time, in front of 24,534 at the Stade Velodrome. Via Wikipedia

1999. Dennis Bergkamp and Marc Overmars scored, but Barcelona won 4-2 through Rivaldo, Luis Enrique, Figo and Cocu. It was played in front of 73,091 at Wembley, where Arsenal staged their European home games that season. Via Wikipedia

1868. George Groves was born, and played for Arsenal between 1892 and 1896, the club's first years as a professional side.