EPL: Madueke’s strike seals victory for Arsenal against Forest

Noni Madueke scored the only goal as Arsenal secured a scrappy 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in their English Premier League (EPL) encounter at the City Ground on Sunday.

The EPL champions were far from their best and had to dig deep for the umpteenth time to put together a performance that earned them all three points.

The match was shorn of clear-cut chances for both sides, but Dan Ndoye and Neco Williams had half-chances for Forest while Kai Havertz had a header and a tame shot off target.

Forest dominated the second half but were let down by poor decision-making and finishing, and were punished with ten minutes left.

Madueke, on as a halftime substitute, was afforded space to cut in on his right foot in the box and take a shot that deflected off a defender into the net for the eventual winner.

The scoreline marks Arsenal’s 10th one-nil win in 15 EPL matches, and it helped the Gunners end their City Ground hoodoo, where they haven’t won since January 2024.

Mikel Arteta’s EPL title holders remain second on 18 points, three behind league leaders Manchester City.

In earlier matches, Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored the leveller as Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by Leeds United to continue a run of six matches without victory. Bryan

Mbeumo scored for the Red Devils but couldn’t stop the poor run for the first time since 2019.

Brighton scored three goals in the first 10 minutes, including a sensational volley from the halfway line, to thrash fierce rivals Crystal Palace 5-0 and move up to third, while Bournemouth also beat Sunderland 2-0.