A 1-0 defeat against champions Liverpool in their last match before the international break had punctured the optimism at Arsenal after successive wins against Leeds and Manchester United to start the season.<\/p>\n
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But this was the kind of confident display, highlighted by Noni Madueke\u2019s virtuoso performance, that Gunners boss Mikel Arteta believes will keep his side in contention to win the title.<\/p>\n
The only dark cloud for Arteta was an injury to Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, who was forced off in the first half with what looked like a shoulder problem.<\/p>\n
Odegaard joins a lengthy injury list that already includes Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and William Saliba.<\/p>\n
It was a frustrating return to north London for Postecoglou, just three months after he was unceremoniously sacked by Tottenham despite winning the Europa League last season to end the club\u2019s 17-year trophy drought.<\/p>\n
Postecoglou was hired by Forest this week following Nuno Espirito Santo\u2019s dismissal after his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis collapsed.<\/p>\n
Marinakis immediately piled pressure on Postecoglou, who presided over Tottenham\u2019s worst top-flight finish since 1976-77 last season, by claiming Forest were in a position to challenge for major trophies.<\/p>\n
However, the Australian didn\u2019t win a north London derby as Tottenham boss and was unable to guide Forest to their first victory on Arsenal turf since 1989.<\/p>\n
Martin Zubimendi (R) celebrates scoring. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS \/ AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n
Arsenal\u2019s Eberechi Eze made his first start since signing from Crystal Palace in August, while the winger\u2019s England team-mate Declan Rice was left on the bench.<\/p>\n
Arteta was criticised for using three \u2018defensive\u2019 midfielders in the loss at Liverpool, but Mikel Merino scored a hat-trick for Spain during the international break and he should have put Arsenal ahead in the opening stages.<\/p>\n
Merino pounced on the loose ball when a free-kick dropped to him, but Forest keeper Matz Sels repelled his close-range effort.<\/p>\n
Odegaard tried to play on after an awkward fall but the Norway midfielder was eventually by Ethan Nwaneri with just 18 minutes gone.<\/p>\n
Arsenal\u2019s set-piece excellence had tormented Postecoglou during his time at Tottenham and it nearly paid off again when Jurrien Timber\u2019s glancing header flashed just wide from Noni Madueke\u2019s corner.<\/p>\n
It was no surprise when Arsenal took the lead from another dead-ball delivery in the 32nd minute, but Zubimendi\u2019s strike was far from routine.<\/p>\n
Meeting the ball on the volley, he blasted a brilliant strike from the edge of the area that took a slight deflection off Forest defender Murillo as it flashed past Sels.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s an absolutely ridiculous strike,\u201d former Wales defender Danny Gabbidon said on BBC Radio 5 Live of the \u00a351 million ($A104m) midfielder\u2019s first goal for Arsenal.<\/p>\n
Gyokeres put Arsenal in complete control just 46 seconds after the interval. It was a goal that showcased Arteta\u2019s summer recruitment as Eze whipped in a low cross for Gyokeres to slot home with ease for third goal since arriving from Sporting Lisbon.<\/p>\n
Forest almost hauled one back immediately as Wood\u2019s flick cannoned off the bar. Gyokeres nearly wrapped up the points with a drive against the post after Eze and Madueke combined to carve through the creaky Forest defence.<\/p>\n
Zubimendi administered the knockout blow in the 79th minute, rising to meet Leandro Trossard\u2019s cross with a clinical header as the home fans brutally chanted \u201care you Tottenham in disguise?\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arsenal ruined Ange Postecoglou\u2019s first game in charge of Nottingham Forest as Martin Zubimendi\u2019s double sealed a 3-0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140368,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,85,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-140367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-sports","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}