Arsenal lost Bukayo Saka to injury in the first half of their Premier League game against Nottingham Forest, but responded brilliantly to cruise to three points
An injury to star man Bukayo Saka didn’t stop Arsenal returning to the top of the Premier League, and they may need Gabriel Martinelli to continue stepping up if they want to stay there.
England star Saka was on the end of some heavy challenges early on in the victory over Nottingham Forest, and appeared to be in discomfort after racing onto a ball down the Arsenal right early in the first half. The 21-year-old carried on for a little while after receiving treatment on the pitch, but made way just before the half-hour mark.
Saka’s replacement Reiss Nelson made an ideal impact from the bench, hitting two quickfire goals at the start of the second half to put the game out of Forest’s reach before Thomas Partey added a fourth from distance and captain Martin Odegaard made it five.
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Martinelli was the man who put Arsenal in front inside the opening 10 minutes, stooping to meet a Saka cross and head into the bottom corner. He was also on the end of the hosts’ next-best early chance, coming in off the left flank to turn a Granit Xhaka cross goalwards only to see Renan Lodi clear the effort off the line.
Saka’s injury was obviously a concern to his teammates, with some attending to the number seven and others waiting in hope that he would be able to continue.
Martinelli’s relationship with Saka means he would no doubt have been just as concerned, but his mind also turned to how Arsenal might cope without the star.
While some stood around, Martinelli went straight to manager Mikel Arteta. A lengthy discussion ensued, with the boss gesturing towards the area of the right flank where gaps had been opening up for Saka, as the pair looked for ways to exploit their opponents’ weakness with or without Saka on the pitch.
Gabriel Martinelli headed Arsenal into an early lead against Nottingham Forest .
In the end, Arsenal opted for a straight swap, with Nelson operating down the right on his first Premier League outing of the season.
The academy graduate took a bit of time to get into the game, but was joined by all of the Gunners’ outfielders after finding the corner at the second time of asking to double his team’s lead.
