Arsenal receive new Bukayo Saka penalty verdict vs Nottingham Forest as brutal point made

Arsenal rode out 3-0 winners over Nottingham Forest this past Saturday but Bukayo Saka may have felt as though the margin of victory could have been higher. Despite doubts over his fitness after having missed England duty, the 23-year-old was in the starting XI and made a very quick impact.

Inside just 15 minutes, Saka finished off an incisive run with a fierce effort that flew into the back of the net. At the start of the second half, he then turned provider with a pass to the edge of the box swept home by Thomas Partey before Ethan Nwaneri put the gloss on the win.

Given their recent form, Arteta was understandably pleased with the victory. "A really happy day. I think I sensed a great energy in the last 48 hours," he said. "The way everybody came back, I sensed a great togetherness and desire to change the situation in what has been a different period for us with all the situations we had to come across.

"And the team is there straight away from the beginning. It was a flow, it was a dominance, there was an enthusiasm about it. That is why I demanded. We scored a goal, it should have been two, or three in the first half." For the first time in a number of months, Arsenal endured an afternoon free of referee or VAR controversy.

Despite that, Saka did feel as though he should have been awarded a penalty following a collision with Alex Moreno in the 68th minute. Simon Hooper waved away the appeals with a quick VAR check confirming the on-field decision was no penalty.

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has now offered his verdict on the incident, via Sky Sports Ref Watch, with it clear to him that it was not a spot-kick and that Saka was likely the only person Saka that believed it was a penalty.

Ultimately, it did not matter towards the end result with the three-goal margin enough to beat Forest as Arsenal kept their first Premier League clean sheet in over two months.

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