Champions so risk-averse Forest were lured into thinking they had a chance, until bench was used to see them off
Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Sideways. Square. Backwards. Pass. Pass. Recycle. Pass. It wasn’t much of a spectacle. But in the end, for the second week running, thanks in no small part of their bench, Arsenal won. Fireworks in the autumn are for Bonfire Night; titles require relentless accumulation. Since the international break, Arsenal have won three games out of three despite not being in the lead at half-time in any of them.
Hammered at Brighton and having endured a drab first hour at home to Leeds last week, there has been a rare sense, for the first time really since Manchester City dropped points at Everton at the beginning of May, of Arsenal not being quite at their best, needing to reassert their quality. This was not a performance that would terrify any opponent, but it did highlight Arsenal’s consistency and it did demonstrate just how deep their squad now runs.
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