Mikel Arteta said he “loved” the heated exchange between Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko after Arsenal held on late to beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 at the City Ground.
Arsenal managed the game well and limited Forest to very little, but their goalscoring problems were seemingly present again after an hour of squandering countless opportunities inside the Forest box. Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka eased Arsenal’s concerns though as they produced two clinical finishes to put Arsenal in command.
Nottingham Forest went for it and cut the deficit in the 89th minute through the returning Taiwo Awoniyi, who capitalised on a mistake at the back and brilliantly slotted past David Raya. White displayed his frustration towards Zinchenko- who in his eyes- had switched off at a crucial moment.
Danilo’s ambitious long ball up towards Arsenal’s box was not contested by Zinchenko, who allowed Gonzalo Montiel to freely head the ball into the box. Awoniyi’s strength took over from there as he bounced off William Saliba and slammed the ball into the corner.
It didn’t matter as Arsenal showed their resilience and held on for a vital win as they went within two points of Premier League leaders Liverpool. Arteta endorsed the reaction of his defenders and encouraged the high standards they have set for themselves on the pitch.
He said: ‘I love it- I like the passion of the players. It’s not enough for them just to win the game. They wanted the clean sheet, and they were trying to resolve what happened.
“We wanted to put right what happened last year and generate some momentum in the league – we’ve got that,’ Arteta said. ‘The players were talking about last year’s game when they walked into the dressing room.
“We are very happy with the performance and the result. We made chances in various ways and showed a lot of maturity to deal with the game.
“Sometimes after the game, it’s too emotional and too heated, but I love that the players are pushing each other and demanding excellence and today we conceded a goal that is not at the level we want.”
