Madueke's deflected late strike rescues Arsenal at Nottingham Forest to keep title race alive

Noni Madueke scored a deflected second-half winner to give Arsenal a 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest on Sunday, keeping the Gunners three points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City.

Madueke was introduced at half-time by Mikel Arteta in place of Eberechi Eze, with Arsenal having struggled for fluency throughout a cagey afternoon at the City Ground. The former Chelsea winger fired home with 10 minutes remaining to end what had looked increasingly likely to be another frustrating stalemate against the East Midlands side.

“This place is so hard to come to, everybody knows it,” Madueke said. “They make it so difficult for you. It was a tough game, a really tough game to even come into but we’re really happy. We did it all together. We showed grit and determination, and I think we showed a champion’s spirit here tonight.”

Madueke pointed to a shift in mentality at the club since winning the title, crediting that belief as the difference in tight moments. “I think at times, maybe last year, this game might have not gone as it did for us in the end but I think we’ve got that extra belief, that extra mentality now and we know we’re the champions and we know we can pull it out of the bag wherever we go.”

On his instructions from Arteta before coming on, Madueke revealed the manager kept his message simple. “He said ‘hang in there, stick to the game plan’. And then to me, he always just says ‘go out there, try and attack the opposition and be dangerous and just be yourself and be good defensively as well’. And I think I did that today.”

Madueke noted the ground’s historic difficulty for visiting sides, pointing out that the fixture had ended 0-0 in each of the previous three seasons. The win moves Arsenal to second in the table ahead of a midweek Champions League tie against Bayern Munich, followed by a Premier League fixture against Everton.