Arteta’s surprise and Saliba justifies claims as Arsenal thrash Forest

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta found a new weapon from the bench and witnessed another classy display from William Saliba on Sunday as Nottingham Forest were thrashed 5-0 at the Emirates. To everyone’s surprise, Reiss Nelson emerged from the sidelines to notch two goals and an assist while Saliba kept the Tricky Trees’ attack under wraps, justifying claims that he may well be the Premier League’s best defender at present. As the Gunners shoot back up to the top of the table, Express Sport takes you through five things we learned from a one-sided showdown…Nelson eases Arteta fearsArteta openly discussed Arsenal’s lack of squad depth during the midweek trip to PSV Eindhoven. A rotated side was beaten 2-0 in the Netherlands but, against Forest, Nelson proved that he’s an option the Spaniard can count on going forward. A quickfire brace put the Gunners in control after the break as Nelson began by sitting down two Forest defenders, seeing his shot saved by Dean Henderson and converting the rebound before he grabbed his second moments later by turning in a low cross. If Bukayo Saka is set for a spell on the sidelines, a confident Nelson could ensure that they maintain their cutting edge.  Mikel Arteta was given plenty of positives to chew on as Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest (Image: GETTY)Saliba shows classSaliba has arguably been the best defender in the Premier League this season and he oozed quality against Forest on Sunday. The away side attempted to hit Arsenal where it hurt by knocking balls over the top to Taiwo Awoniyi and Jesse Lingard, but the Frenchman was simply too quick for either of them to get by. Physically, Saliba is at the elite level of centre-backs and he showed that he has plenty to offer on the strength front, too. One of the biggest cheers of the afternoon was sparked by the 21-year-old putting Awoniyi, who is certainly no weakling, on the deck in a shoulder-to-shoulder battle.  Bukayo Saka was substituted after going down injured in the first half (Image: GETTY)Jesus missing killer instinctArteta can take encouragement from the fact that Jesus still gets heavily involved in games, even if he’s not scoring. But the Gunners boss may be slightly concerned that his Brazilian forward drew another blank on Sunday, given the amount of chances that fell his way. An early shot flew a whisker wide of the post and he failed to hit the target from just outside the box after an Odegaard lay-off. The most concerning of all came in the second half, however, as a simple one-on-one should really have nestled in the far corner but the finish was poked away by one of Henderson’s feet. Xhaka gives Arsenal crucial ingredientGranit Xhaka’s more adventurous midfield role proved tricky for Forest to deal with on Sunday. Early on, he was found over the top to put in a cross for Martinelli after hovering on the shoulder of the last defender – the kind of thing you’d never have seen from the Xhaka of old. It seems as though opponents still don’t quite know what to make of the new-look Xhaka, which gives Arsenal an element of unpredictability. The Swiss was loudly applauded off the field when he was substituted with 15 minutes to play and he returned the love by applauding up to the stands.