It was a still and sultry night in Qatar’s capital: the grass a little greasy to the touch, the stadium bouncing and jiving, the football from a brighter and less troubled world.
Cristian Stellini was on the pitch, screaming at Harry Kane to release the through ball and, for a brief moment, it looked as though the Tottenham assistant manager, in charge of the team as the suspended Antonio Conte watched from the stands, was going to play it himself.
Barcelona’s players sat beneath the stand at the Camp Nou and watched their Champions League campaign come to an end, then ran out on to the pitch and demonstrated some of the reasons why.
Barcelona stepped back from the edge but still stare into the abyss. A late goal from Robert Lewandowski, his second of a dramatic night, keeps them in the Champions League
Arsenal reclaimed top spot in the Premier League after sweeping aside Nottingham Forest with Reiss Nelson the unlikely support act in the rout. Nelson proved a more than handy replacement for the injured Bukayo Saka with the winger, who spent last season on loan at Feyenoord, scoring two goals in three minutes at the start of the second half to propel Arsenal to their biggest win of the season.
Despite lasting only 27 minutes, Saka still created the opening goal with Gabriel Martinelli heading home to cast aside any notion of travel fatigue from Mikel Arteta’s pacesetters. Nelson took full advantage of his rare opportunity with a quickfire double before Thomas Partey electrified the Emirates with a thumping fourth. Martin Ødegaard added the fifth goal for the rampant hosts to complete a ghastly afternoon for Forest. In truth Steve Cooper’s spooked team never threatened Arsenal and the chasm was predictably wide between the league’s top- and bottom-placed clubs.
Arteta reverted to the team which started in the draw at Southampton last weekend following a midweek Europa League defeat by PSV Eindhoven. Forest’s only change from the side which stunned Liverpool last week was Renan Lodi promoted to the defence in place of Neco Williams.
The suggestion that Arsenal’s heavy workload of Thursday night football was starting to take its toll was swiftly dispelled by their sharp start. It was an impressive response to their poor showing in the Netherlands and this one-sided romp enhanced their hopes of taking the Christmas No 1 spot. Trips to Chelsea and Wolves before the World Cup break will test Arsenal’s resolve but Manchester City are being kept honest by a team that have won 10 of their opening 12 league matches.
Arsenal opened the scoring from their first attack of the game with Forest’s gameplan going out of the window within five minutes. Saka curled in a deft cross from the right and Martinelli planted his header past Dean Henderson. Martinelli raced away to the corner flag and held up a shirt with Pablo Marí’s name on it in a heartfelt tribute to the Arsenal defender, after his stabbing during a knife attack in a Milan supermarket on Thursday night.
Saka appeared to be struggling with a knock, having fallen awkwardly under a challenge by Lodi, but the England attacker carried on after treatment.
Martinelli was denied a second goal after Granit Xhaka teed him up, with the Brazilian’s low shot blocked on the line by Lodi. Saka blasted the rebound over the bar but the winger still looked aggravated by his injury. It was not long before he went down again and Nelson replaced him midway through the half.
Forest’s struggle to make any attacking inroads was summed up by Jesse Lingard’s wild strike which careered hopelessly away from the target. Ødegaard set up Jesus for another attempt but his fierce strike rose harmlessly over Henderson’s crossbar.
Arsenal ran into trouble of their own making before the break, via Gabriel Magalhães’s wayward pass straight into the path of Lingard, but his shot was charged down. Xhaka required treatment after a late challenge from Morgan Gibbs-White which resulted in a booking for the Forest attacker but the Switzerland midfielder was able to play on.
The home side made an explosive start to the second half with Xhaka releasing Jesus who played in Nelson. His first attempt was parried by Henderson but the rebound fell perfectly for him to tuck the ball home.
Nelson’s remarkable impact off the bench, in his first Premier League appearance since the opening day of last season, was rubber-stamped within a couple of minutes, the 22-year-old volleying home his second goal from close range after Jesus’s low delivery.
Arsenal were in complete control and Forest had no answer to the wave of attacks. Partey was next in on the act, firing a stunning strike from the edge of the area past the flailing arms of Henderson after the excellent Nelson turned provider.
It should have been 5-0 shortly afterwards but Jesus missed the target after bearing down on goal. Jesus, who was a constant threat, was handed another opportunity to score but Henderson sprinted off his line to block the effort.
Arsenal did not have to wait long for a fifth goal, though, with Jesus teeing up Ødegaard and the captain rifling a shot into the roof of the net.
There have been some horror shows already this season from Forest – conceding six goals at Manchester City and losing 4-0 at struggling Leicester – with this another to add to the list. Their recent defensive improvements disintegrated in the face of Arsenal’s swaggering display.
This was target practice for the Gunners and Ben White’s header from a corner almost enabled Jesus to score the goal his all-round play merited; but the striker was unable to get a touch on the ball at the far post. His wait for a first goal since the start of October against Tottenham goes on
For Forest it was a chastening experience and Arsenal will have few easier afternoons as they extended their unblemished record at the Emirates this season.
If it is true that teams embody their manager’s personality, then perhaps it is no surprise that Chelsea exuded calm when their hopes of cruising into the last 16 of the Champions League were placed in doubt by a thrilling surge from RB Salzburg.
Graham Potter’s understated revolution at Chelsea is starting to make some serious noise. There is no hint of Thomas Tuchel’s replacement struggling to cope with the big Champions League
The Champions League has brought familiar comfort in a season of maddening inconsistency for Jürgen Klopp. Liverpool secured their place in the knockout stage with a game to spare, their troubled away form and injury problems forgotten as Ajax were ultimately eased aside in Amsterdam.
Manchester United went close to rueing a failure to claim three points before Scott McTominay’s stoppage-time strike retained their hope of winning Group E and avoiding a knockout tie against a Champions League-eliminated opponent.
The Football Association is weighing up whether to launch an investigation after an incident involving players from both sides towards the end of Arsenal’s 3-2 win over Liverpool.
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