Nwaneri scores his first league goal as Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest | first division

It was the first day of the rest of their season. After an uneven start to the campaign, plagued by red cards and brain losses, double saves and points dropped unnecessarily, what Arsenal What he needed most was an easy victory.

It is in the usual Saturday matches at 3 p.m., as much as in the live televised confrontations, and in the victories counted almost without incident, much more than in the great expenses of emotion, where the championships are decided.

Arsenal may or may not be challenging for the title in May, but this, at last, was a performance and a result that allowed them to believe they could recover from a run of two points in their previous four games.

“I felt a different energy 48 hours before the game,” Mikel Arteta said. “Something was different. I felt a great unity and a change of situation after going through a difficult period for us. From the beginning there was enthusiasm for us.”

Although Bukayo Saka scored the first goal and was a constant threat down the right, and Ethan Nwaneri secured the points with his first league goal, Martin Ødegaard's presence in midfield was key.

There had been a greater fluidity in his return in the draw against Chelsea before the international break – before Arsenal's recent ability to be careless cost them victory – and that feeling that the Norwegian brings coherence, that he is the great lubricator of its midfield and its forward. line, was reaffirmed.

Not that it was a return to what could be considered a first team (to the extent any team has such a thing these days), with Kai Havertz missing a league game for the first time since January, Ben White absent due to a knee injury and Declan Rice restricted to the bench with a toe problem. Teams are also vital to winning titles.

“The team needed it,” Arteta said, “that's why everyone feels important and has something to give.”

Ødegaard is a diligent captain, always pointing and guiding. Run the press. He has a glorious left foot. But above all, he has the awareness and technical ability to make the kind of deft passes and precise one-twos that allow Arsenal to flow; Their injury problems have surely been the main reason why the xG created by Arsenal this season has been almost 25% lower than before. Saka, in particular, was energized by his partnership on the right, even without White's overlaps.

It was that connection that sparked the first goal, a clever exchange that created space for Saka to slip past Alex Moreno and James Ward-Prowse before firing his shot past Matz Sels. “He is one of the best at managing the pace of the game,” Arteta said, “when to accelerate and when to slow down.”

Forest's plan, presumably, was to do much of what they had done at Anfield, smother the game in the first half before opening up on the counter in the second. But although his offside trap caused Arsenal problems, the home team could easily have been two or three up at half-time. As it was, they had to wait until seven minutes after the break for the second, Thomas Partey curling in an angled shot from 25 yards.

“It wasn't a good performance,” Nuno Espírito Santo said. “We did a lot of bad things. We have conceded six goals in the last two games and I am worried. We have to fix it immediately this week. We allow space; “We cannot allow this.”

The result was as smooth a victory as Arteta could have dreamed of. No drama, no complications, just three comfortable points. So can Arsenal win the title? Ideally, they wouldn't give the lead to anyone, but although they started the weekend nine points behind leaders Liverpool and four points behind Manchester City, Opta data suggested they had had the fifth toughest start of any club (Forest, who started the day's level in points, on the other hand, had had the easiest fifth place). They have played away against five of the other six teams that finished in the top seven last season. They will have to make a run to get back into the title race, but the fixture schedule means that is at least conceivable.