Mikel Arteta will have questions to answer after his Arsenal side put in a woeful performance in a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, which eliminated the Gunners from the FA Cup.
2021/2022 FA Cup
1-0
Match Report
Arsenal were hoping to avoid falling into the trap of taking lower-league opponents lightly, but their level of performance on the day was poor.
There was a starting spot for the club's young prodigy Charlie Patino, although he was unable to have the impact on the match that many expected.
Nottingham Forest outplayed the Premier League side for much of the match, mainly due to the passing accuracy of James Garner, who made a serious claim to a Manchester United recall with his display.
He actually had the best chance of the match with a long-range free-kick in the second half, which was excellently saved by Bernd Leno at full stretch.
Bukayo Saka threatened occasionally with probing runs into the penalty area, but he and Gabriel Martinelli were marshalled excellently by Djed Spence at right-back, who was another standout performer.
The winning goal eventually came around 10 minutes from time, when extra-time was looking inevitable, as Forest broke on the counter-attack.
Ryan Yates delivered a sumptuous cross across the face of goal to substitute Lewis Grabban, who tapped the ball beyond Leno and sent the home fans into delirium.
Arsenal couldn't find a way to unlock the door in the remaining time and will now face a season where their only realistic chance of a trophy is the Carabao Cup.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
1' KICK-OFF! Who can win this match?
6' White's shot wide out
31' Lokonga's long shot wide out
52' SAVE! Leno parries Zinckernagel's shot
57' Nketiah's header wide out
67' Nketiah's shot over the bar
73' Yellow Card! Martinelli booked
82' GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-0 Arsenal (Grabban)
Line-ups
Nottingham Forest XI: Colback, Steve Cook, B. Samba, P. Zinckernagel, S. McKenna, J. Worrall, Davis, R. Yates, D. Spence, Garner, B. Johnson
Subs: Bong, L. Grabban, L. Taylor, Tobias Figueiredo, Cafú, Horvath, Xande Silva, João Carvalho, B. Ojeda
Arsenal XI: Leno, Cedric, Martin Odegaard, Holding, B. White, Nketiah, A. Lokonga, Martinelli, Nuno Tavares, Saka, C. Patino
Subs: Lacazette, Mari, Kolasinac, Chambers, Tierney, Ramsdale, Salah Oulad M'Hand, M. Bieveth, O. Hutchinson