It has been 17 years since these sides last met and for Nottingham Forest the reunion was a chastening experience given that Arsène Wenger had effectively put out a reserve side. Arsenal still managed to win with something to spare and the second half was so one-sided it was a stark reminder about the gulf that exists between the higher end of the Premier League and the middle reaches of the Championship.
Wenger’s players passed the ball with the kind of elegance that is simply not seen in second-tier football and, in the process, Lucas Pérez’s confidence should be soothed by the two goals he scored during that period of the match when the away side were at their most dominant. On that basis alone, Wenger can reflect on a satisfactory evening, featuring another spectacular goal from Granit Xhaka and late debuts for Chris Willock and Krystian Bielik, two 18-year-olds from the club’s conveyor belt of young talent.
The imbalance was clear from the moment Xhaka struck midway through the first half and when Lucas made it 3-0 after 71 minutes it was almost a surprise they had to wait until the third minute of stoppage time before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ran clear to complete the rout. Forest are still waiting for their first clean sheet of Philippe Montanier’s watch and this was the seventh occasion out of 11 that they have conceded two or more. In truth, the ordeal could have been even worse.
For Wenger, it was also a victory that justified his team selection and the calculated gamble of starting with only three players aged above 24. He had six teenagers on the bench and, in total, Arsenal’s starting XI and seven substitutes wore shirt numbers totting up to 618.
It was clear that Wenger was prioritising the game against Chelsea on Saturday and there was only a brief flurry early on, when Pajtim Kasami made a mess of a presentable chance, when Forest threatened to repeat what Sheffield Wednesday did in this competition last season.
“I told the players before the game that we went to Sheffield Wednesday and lost 3-0 because we were not ready mentally for the commitment of the Championship,” Wenger said afterwards. “Our history helped us tonight to start in a much stronger way.”
Nicklas Bendtner caused few problems against his old club and Arsenal did not look back after Xhaka let fly midway through the first half. He had shown his ability to strike the ball with power and precision in the 4-1 win at Hull on Saturday. Xhaka was 35 yards out when he swung back his left foot for his latest goal. The shot skimmed off Chris Cohen’s back and, to be generous, that slight deflection might explain why the goalkeeper, Vladimir Stojkovic, appeared to lose the trajectory of the ball. Stojkovic, diving to his right, did get a glove to the ball but without levering it away. The ball dropped in and though it was undoubtedly a fine strike, it was a misjudgment on the part of the Serbia international.
To give him his due, Stojkovic had already saved his team in the 12th minute when Chuba Akpom found space in the penalty area to take aim against the club that had him on loan two seasons ago, paying little attention to the fact this was the point of the night when the home supporters were marking the 12th anniversary of Brian Clough’s death.
Lucas had been disappointingly peripheral in the first half but the £17m signing was given his chance just before the hour. The referee, Paul Tierney, ruled Michael Mancienne had bundled over Akpom and Lucas was not put off by Stojkovic’s attempts to disrupt his concentration. The goalkeeper had left a larger gap to his right, signalling that was where the Spaniard would put it. Lucas duly obliged but with enough precision that Stojkovic could not reach the shot.
Arsenal had complete control and for the rest of the night the home supporters were reminded about the team’s defensive shortcomings. Montanier has a habit of changing his defence for every game and if the Frenchman is to prosper at a club with a remarkably quick turnover of managers, it might be that his back four need a more settled look.
Lucas outmuscled Mancienne before the second goal in a straight chase for the ball. Play was waved on and the striker, cutting in from the left, took the ball away from Stojkovic before slipping his shot into an exposed net. “I liked that goal,” Wenger said. “As well as technique, it showed great determination to win the fight.”
After that, the game was little more than an exercise in damage-limitation for Forest and the away end could even serenade Bendtner. The Dane was substituted after the third goal and on his way he must have felt that he, and his new club, had slipped a long way down football’s order of merit.
