Arsenal struggled to break down Forest (Image: Getty)
’s struggles continued on Wednesday night when they were held to a 0-0 draw by at the City Ground.
Despite the Nuno Espirito Santos’ high-flying side struggling on the night, the Gunners hardly created any chances and did very little to justify any claims that they will track down table-topping .
Express Sport takes you through how each of ‘s stars performed…
Arsenal player ratings vs Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1)
David Raya: 6
Had very little to do besides recycling Forest’s wayward long balls. Made two saves.
Jurrien Timber: 5 (White, 85)
In a game where he was afforded plenty of space to bound into, the fullback frequently refused. Nwaneri was able to cope without the Dutchman overlapping, but the teen certainly could have had more joy if his teammate was able to open up some more space for him.
William Saliba: 6
Faced a tough task in the shape of Chris Wood but did well up against the target man. Made a goal-saving challenge to deny the striker in the second half.
Gabriel: 6
With Forest failing to retain possession throughout, the Brazilian enjoyed a quiet evening on the defensive front. Spent plenty of the match attempting to orchestrate attacks from deep.
: 6 (Tierney, 45)
Proved to be a real handful going forward and was unfortunate not to open the scoring in the first half when striking the post after a neat piece of footwork. Struggled defensively to deal with Callum Hudson-Odoi though and was subbed off at half-time. Booked.
Jorginho: 6 (Zinchenko, 70)
Steady performance from the Italian, willing to sit and keep things ticking whilst Rice and Odegaard roamed forward.
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Martin Odegaard struggled to create any sort of chance at the City Ground (Image: Getty)
Declan Rice: 5
With more of a licence to roam forward, Rice was the brightest spark for in midfield. Lacks the creativity to unpick a defence and should have made more of a mark with the sheer volume of possession that he enjoyed.
Martin Odegaard: 3 (Partey, 85)
At a time when needed their captain most, he was nowhere to be found. The Norwegian international is bang out of form, and his decision-making in possession and overall creativity was of a player who is running very low on confidence. He has to find a way to get out of this rut, and fast.
Ethan Nwaneri: 6 (Sterling, 77)
Remains the saving grace for in the final third. Drifted into central areas frequently to compensate for his side’s lack of a spark in those areas. One of the few players to emerge with credit in recent weeks, despite his age.
Mikel Merino posed very little threat as a No.9 (Image: Getty)
Mikel Merino: 3
Simply not a striker. His impressive late No. 9 cameo against Leicester very much looks like a flash in the pan now and Arteta must weigh up whether this is the makeshift striker that will solve all of his problems – based on this performance, it won’t.
Leandro Trossard: 4
Slowed his side down on countless occasions with his desire to cut inside rather than taking on his man. Drifted in and out of the game.
SUBS
: 5
Made a few positive runs forward but his crosses posed very little threat.
Oleksandr Zinchenko: 6
Few promising runs forward from midfield.
Raheem Sterling: N/A
Ben White: N/A
Thomas Partey: N/A