One Shot on Target: How Madueke Saved Arsenal’s Title Push
Eighty minutes. That’s how long Arsenal waited for a single shot on target at the City Ground. They had the ball, they had the territory, and they had zero answers. Then one deflection changed it all. Arsenal won 1-0, cut Manchester City’s lead to three points, and left everyone arguing about the same question. Is this what champions look like, or is it a warning? Let’s get into it.
Start with the history, because Arsenal had plenty of reasons to dislike this ground. Their last two Premier League visits here ended 0-0. The January one was especially painful. Ola Aina handled the ball in the box late on, no penalty was given, and Arsenal missed the chance to go nine points clear after City lost at Old Trafford that same day. Back in May 2023, a defeat at Forest also helped hand City the title. And going back further, an FA Cup loss here in 2022 sparked Arteta’s famous dressing-room rant in All or Nothing.
Now the context. City had opened a six-point gap before kick-off, and the Telegraph’s reading is that this title race feels unsettled while City’s legal case drags on, possibly into next year. I couldn’t verify the legal details myself, so I’ll leave that to the experts. What’s clear on the pitch is that Arsenal needed points, and Forest were a team in trouble: only two home league wins in 11 months, and no home league goal under Oliver Glasner. Everything pointed to a grind.
Arteta brought Saka, Ødegaard, Havertz and Calafiori back after resting them in midweek. Eberechi Eze and Bruno Guimarães started, and Ben White came in at right-back. For Forest, Morgan Gibbs-White was out injured, so James McAtee played behind record signing Liam Delap, with Dan Ndoye alongside him.
Remember Delap, because he’s about to be a problem.
FIRST HALF: ALL BALL, NO BITE
The first half had the pace of a pre-season friendly. Arsenal passed in front of a deep Forest block that jumped out at exactly the right moments. Havertz skewed a header wide from a Rice cross, and the set-piece delivery was poor all afternoon.
Forest’s best chance came from an Arsenal mistake. Calafiori scuffed a simple pass, Ndoye ended up with the ball, and it was a warning sign. At half-time Arsenal had no shot on target, which means they have now failed to score in the first half of their last six Premier League and Champions League games.
THE HALF-TIME CHANGE
Arteta’s answer was simple. Off went Eze, on came Noni Madueke, a more natural wide player on his stronger foot. Madueke picked up a booking soon after for a foul on Nico Dominguez, so he clearly arrived ready for a fight.
Forest, meanwhile, grew in confidence. Delap kept winning duels against Gabriel and Konsa, the crowd got louder, and Arsenal’s performance did not improve. At the hour mark, Arsenal had around 73% possession and still no shot on target.
THE SUBSTITUTIONS
In the 66th minute Arteta made three more changes. Jurriën Timber, Viktor Gyökeres and Mikel Merino all came on. Almost immediately, Arsenal looked more dangerous. Saka, Ødegaard and Timber combined in a triangle to break in behind, Timber pulled the ball back, and Rice, leaning back, sent it over the bar.
That was Arsenal’s best moment so far, and it still wasn’t a shot on target.
THE GOAL
Then, in the 80th minute, Madueke picked up the ball on the left. Forest’s defence invited him to cut inside, and he accepted. A right-footed drive, a flick off Jair Cunha, and the ball flew past Matz Sels. Arsenal’s first and only shot on target.
Madueke’s own reaction was honest. He said, “Thank god it went in.” Glasner’s reaction was fair too. He felt the result was unfair, and the Telegraph’s verdict was that a draw would have been the fairest outcome.
THE FINAL TEN MINUTES
It wasn’t over. In stoppage time Murillo skipped past Konsa and Saka and curled a shot at the top corner with his weaker right foot. It was just wide. Then Delap broke in behind and Konsa made a last-ditch challenge to preserve the lead.
Forest dropped into the bottom three, their third straight defeat, and as the Telegraph put it, relegation form at home.
THE OPTA ANGLE
Here’s where the numbers get interesting. OptaJoe pointed out that since Arteta took over in December 2019, Arsenal have 32 Premier League 1-0 wins, joint-most in the league with Everton. Winning ugly is part of the identity.
And then there’s Madueke himself. When he signed, Opta Analyst noted that in 2024-25 he played 84% of his Premier League minutes on the right, and topped the league for carries ending in a shot. They also noted he was one of the league’s most two-footed shooters, which fits a goal scored cutting in from the left. Against Forest last September, he had 12 penalty-box touches, more than the entire Forest team’s 11, per ESPN’s data. Same player, very different kind of impact.
ARTETA’S VERDICT
Arteta’s take was that the margins were always going to be tiny, that his team had to stay patient and clinical, and that three more chances should have been goals. He pointed out Arsenal have won 10 of 11 competitive games. And on depth, Madueke himself called the quality of the starting XI and bench “absurd”.
WHAT IT MEANS
So what do we make of it? Arsenal are second, three behind City and two clear of Brighton. The bench is a genuine weapon. But the slow starts are a pattern, and set pieces still haven’t produced a non-penalty goal this season.
And next up is a test. On Wednesday, Arsenal travel to Bayern Munich and Harry Kane. Arsenal beat them 3-1 at the Emirates last November, in a game where Madueke scored his first Arsenal goal as a substitute. A first half like this one in Munich will not work.
Champion’s grit or a warning sign? Tell me in the comments. If you want a Bayern preview, subscribe and I’ll see you in the next one.