On a day when Manchester City stumbled badly at Old Trafford, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal failed to capitalise.
The Gunners were held to a 0-0 draw at the City Ground against Sean Dyche’s resilient Nottingham Forest, meaning they stay seven points clear of Pep Guardiola’s men.
Daily Mail Sport’s ISAAN KHAN was on-hand in the East Midlands to analyse an intriguing clash.
Gunners miss chance to put one hand on the trophy
Three points squandered, Arsenal failed to really cut loose at the top of the Premier League after being held to a goalless draw by Nottingham Forest.
Nine points clear or seven. The difference is just two, yet the feeling and optics tell a different story.
Mikel Arteta will be ruing how his team squandered this opportunity to really cut loose at the top of the Premier League after Manchester City had slipped up to Manchester United earlier in the day.
After buying Antoine Semenyo, with Marc Guehi soon arriving, Man City have shown their cards.
They are feeling the heat of Arsenal and have committed a final roll of the dice to try usurping them by May 24.
A win against Nottingham Forest, who the Gunners were expected to beat no matter the opposition’s defensive set-up, would have sent a clear message that the north London club are a different team to the ones of recent years.
And that slip-ups or nervy moments are not a marked feature anymore. A nine-point gap edges on the wire of double-figure territory which even a fully rolling Pep Guardiola team would find hard to surpass, even if they pretend not to show signs of wilting in the weeks to come.
Instead, dropping points at the City Ground was a reminder that this title race isn’t over because Arsenal have the potential of dropping points along the way to teams you’d expect them to beat.
Forest join Sunderland in holding Arsenal to draws on home territory. It is on the road against weaker opposition where the Gunners need to be better.
On this occasion, Arteta’s substitutions could have been more attacking.
Bringing on Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard early in the second half were good moves, but the introduction of Eberechi Eze on 79 minutes felt late.
He arguably should’ve come on for the ineffective Martin Odegaard on 57 minutes instead of Mikel Merino.
That’s easy to say in hindsight, but the enormity of this chance to go nine points clear can’t, and shouldn’t, be understated.
Time will tell for Viktor
Just a couple of minutes in, goalkeeper Matz Sels had sprinted out to clear the ball after Viktor Gyokeres bustled with the Forest backline.
It was a glimpse of confidence earned from his goal and assist against Chelsea earlier in the week.
He’s a confidence player, the type that struggles when momentum is not on his side.
The Swede’s eyes lit up on 41 minutes when Murillo slipped, as he rampaged through with a few defenders in his wake.
Murillo caught up and deflected the shot away for a corner, but it reflected what Gyokeres offered to Sporting Lisbon who utilised him so effectively.
It’s those run through the lines, particularly on breakaways, which were so deadly in Portugal.
This is Arsenal, of course, and counter-attacks are not the modus operandi. Anyhow, the Gunners were trying to get him involved in play compared to earlier in this season, which is a promising sign.
Still, the page is not yet fully turned with Gyokeres – even with a goal and an assist against Chelsea. The coming weeks will be telling.
Risky Raya impresses
David Raya’s risky dashes outside the area are accepted as an advantage of his game.
It’s part of the sweeper-keeper phenomenon, whereby goalkeepers are expected to be nimble on their feet and good at ball distribution.
There were two instances in the first half in which Raya got to the ball milliseconds before an opposition player could do so.
The first saw the Spaniard hare out of his net to intercept a through ball which was nearly met by Callum Hudson-Odoi. It was excellent, decisive decision-making; if Hudson-Odoi got there first, the goal would likely have beckoned.
Later, on 45 minutes, Murillo drilled the ball forward for Igor Jesus which sprung Raya into action. He hadn’t communicated with William Saliba which nearly led to a mix up, but he got there just in the nick of time and put in a challenge. He was lucky to have got the ball.
It reflected two sides of the same coin. When it works, Raya’s sweeping abilities are a real asset. The line is fine, though, and he needs to communicate more effectively with his backline as there’s been a couple of similar instances of confusion in recent weeks.
