Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest: Premier League Title Chance Lost

In the absence of three additional points, Arsenal leaves with a point from their trip to Nottingham. For the 22nd day of the 2025-2026 Premier League, Mikel Arteta’s men did not find the fault in the defense of Nottingham Forest (0-0). Too sterile in his possession of the ball to succeed in winning at the City Ground, the current leader of the English championship still took advantage of Manchester City’s defeat to have a seven-point lead over their main competitor for the title. That said, this second match without a win in the Premier League for Arsenal leaves us wondering about the Londoners’ ability to be crowned champions at the end of the season…

In fact, this match could probably have lasted forever without seeing a single goal scored. For the second time in a row in the Premier League, Arsenal failed to score. And after Liverpool last weekend, Nottingham shares the points with the Gunners without an offensive edge. Certainly, the individual performance of Matz Sels strengthened the defense of Tricky Trees to obtain a clean sheet in the Premier League for the fourth time this season. However, Arsenal could have pressed more to score and, perhaps definitively, get ahead of Manchester City in the standings.

The Salts wall

Far from offering a breathtaking spectacle, the first period ended without a single shot on target from either team. Still involved in all competitions this season, Arsenal came up against a local team well established by Sean Dyche. Nicolas Dominguez (17th) then Morgan Gibbs-White (87th) tried to open the scoring during this closed double-round game, but the visiting team, aware of Manchester City’s defeat during the Mancunian derby earlier in the day, had undoubtedly come not to lose.

For their part, Arsenal created the best chances of the game without experiencing any greater success. The fault lies with an enormous Sels, author of two capital parades in front of Declan Rice (59th) and Bukayo Saka (65th). Without the Belgian international goalkeeper, Arsenal would probably be nine points ahead of City. We will have to settle for a seven-point gap at the end of this weekend. And only the future will tell if this advance will be enough…