Welcome back, Ange: Postecoglou taunted by Arsenal fans as Forest hammered

“It’s entirely understandable that they probably haven’t got clarity of thought at the moment.

“That’s my job to try and embed that over the next few weeks and I’m sure we will because there is a willing group of players to do that. You will see a difference at Swansea on Wednesday night.”

Postecoglou did spot some positives, especially with the performance of “brilliant” midfielder Elliot Anderson. The England international was clearly on a wave of confidence after two impressive displays under Thomas Tuchel in the World Cup qualifiers, and was Forest’s stand-out performer.

Martin Zubimendi of Arsenal scores his team’s first goal past Matz Sels of Nottingham Forest.Credit: Getty Images

High-pressing was clearly the order for Postecoglou’s new players, but Forest were forced to defend so deep for much of the afternoon that they could barely venture out of their own half.

Inspired by the brilliance of new signings Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze, plus midfielder Martin Zubimendi, Arsenal were irresistible at times. Madueke, in particular, was outstanding and it feels like a trick of the imagination that some Arsenal supporters seemed so averse to his arrival from Chelsea.

Arsenal will begin their latest Champions League journey this week away against Athletic Bilbao and this was a delicious response to the defeat at Liverpool before the international break.

Arteta clearly has more strength in depth than before, and do not overestimate the presence of a specialist centre-forward in Viktor Gyokeres.

The only disappointment was a recurrence of Martin Odegaard’s shoulder injury, with the captain joining a casualty list that includes Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and William Saliba.

Forest did cope well for half an hour, despite being penned back, but from the moment Zubimendi broke their resistance it was game over.

Time on the training ground over the next few weeks will be precious for Postecoglou.

It was Arsenal’s players who took centre-stage, and Zubimendi provided a moment of magic which enabled them to break down their opponents.

Chris Wood’s header from a Madueke corner arced into the path of the Spanish midfielder outside the penalty area and he crashed a dipping volley past Matz Sels.

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Zubimendi’s first Arsenal goal was a masterclass in technique, albeit taking a deflection off Forest centre-back Murillo.

Without key defender Ola Aina until the end of the year with a hamstring injury sustained on international duty this week, Murillo was withdrawn soon after the goal in clear discomfort.

Arsenal required only 46 seconds of the second-half to extend their lead with a goal of brutal simplicity. Eze and Gyokeres combined with the Swede providing the finish, following a lofted pass over the top from Riccardo Calafiori.

Postecoglou stood with his arms folded, shaking his head. As Arsenal threatened to overrun his new team, the inevitable chants of “sacked in the morning” echoed around the Emirates.

Zubimendi added the third goal 11 minutes from the end with a header from substitute Leandro Trossard’s cross and, in the end, it could have been even worse.

Welcome back, Ange.

Brentford’s Fabio Carvalho scores his team’s second goal.Credit: AP

Meantime, Newcastle United’s new signing Nick Woltemade enjoyed a dream debut, scoring in their 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers for their first victory of their campaign, while Bournemouth continued their strong start with a 2-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion, Tottenham Hotspur cruised to a 3-0 win over West Ham United, and a late Brentford goal denied Chelsea moving atop the table.

Fulham recorded their first win of the season by beating Leeds United 1-0 thanks to a late own goal, while Crystal Palace were held to a 0-0 draw by Sunderland and neither Everton nor Aston Villa could find the back of the net in a scoreless draw.

Villa have failed to score in their opening four league games of a season for the first time in their history.

Chelsea looked poised to leapfrog Arsenal to the top of the table after Cole Palmer scored an equaliser in his return from a groin injury to cancel Kevin Schade’s first-half goal, and Moises Caicedo celebrated what he thought was the winner in the 85th minute.

But Fabio Carvalho poked home the equaliser from six yards out in the 93rd after Schade’s long throw-in.

“Delighted with the approach of the group, the character we constantly show,” Brentford boss Keith Andrews told the BBC.

Micky van de Ven of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring.Credit: Getty Images

“The equaliser came very late but it’s what I felt we deserved from the game in terms of the application, the quality the players showed for large parts.”

Newcastle’s new club record signing Woltemade stole the show in Tyneside in their first game since their former hero Alexander Isak departed for Liverpool, scoring in the 29th minute when he arrived at the back post to send a header past Sam Johnstone.

“The fact we haven’t won a game puts more pressure on you in the latter stages,” Newcastle boss Eddie Howe told the BBC. “The win was all that mattered but we’d love to win in a better style and score more goals.

“It was great to see Nick score on his debut. Very strong, I was very pleased with him.”

Tottenham left West Ham languishing in the bottom three, with the Hammers suffering another blow as midfielder Tomas Soucek was sent off for a dangerous tackle.

Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall and Micky van de Ven all scored second-half goals in Spurs’ first game since executive chairman Daniel Levy’s exit from Tottenham.

“So happy that the goal came in the second half because you never know, the momentum can change after half-time but we kept going and scored a good goal after and then 3-0 done,” Spurs boss Thomas Frank said.

“So a very good clear win, a good performance and I think we all know the derby and the importance of the game for the fans.”

At Bournemouth, Alex Scott opened scoring with a brilliant strike from outside the box in the 18th minute.

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Brighton drew level in the 48th on a goal from Kaoru Mitoma but Antoine Semenyo sealed the victory for Bournemouth’s third win on the bounce with a penalty in the 61st after Evanilson was brought down.

“The mood in the camp is perfect. We can’t ask for any more, we just have to keep going,” Semenyo told the BBC.

Fulham appeared headed for another draw when Gudmundsson scored a horror own goal from a corner kick in the 94th minute, stooping to head in the ball with great force.

“An own goal in the last minute of the game so we have to feel a bit fortunate,” Fulham boss Marco Silva said.

“It was important for us to keep a clean sheet because we need to create this habit and it allowed us to go on and try to win the game.”

The London Telegraph, Reuters