Mueez Ajao
– Arsenal lost to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round for the second time in four years thanks to Lewis Grabban’s late strike.
– The visitors seemed to have turned a corner of late but were deservedly beaten at a noisy City Ground.
– Mikel Arteta made numerous changes to his line-up but there was still a strong core to his team.
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– Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and the in-form Gabriel Martinelli were among those in the side.
– Forest, who beat the Gunners 4-2 at the same stage in 2018 and who have not lost a home tie in six years, were physical from the start.
– Debutant Kienan Davis, leading the line after completing a loan move from Aston Villa, caused problems for the visiting defence during a first half in which Arsenal failed to assert themselves.
– Arteta’s frustration was illustrated when he substituted left-back Nuno Tavares for Kieran Tierney after 34 minutes, with the Portuguese defender throwing his gloves away and refusing to acknowledge his manager on the sidelines.
– Visiting keeper Bernd Leno denied Philip Zinckernegal when he connected with Brennan Johnson’s cross then kept out Joe Garner’s free kick.
– But with eight minutes left, substitute Grabban met another Johnson cross, and this time it found the net to condemn Arsenal to another third-round exit in the East Midlands.
