Aston Villa are big winners as insensitive Arsenal lack ‘killer instinct’ in Nottingham Forest stalemate – Martin Keown

Keown believes Villa were the biggest beneficiary on a day when the league’s favorites dropped points.

“It was a good day for Aston Villa,” Keown told TNT Sport. “This is one point more than Man City, but Arsenal have had two chances to extend their lead at the top of the table, including the draw at home to Liverpool.

“Forest are fighting for their lives so they won’t panic. This is similar to the Forest team we saw last season so we have to respect them. Without a doubt, Arsenal had a lot of chances to win this game today.”

“What is he doing?” – Aina overcomes VAR penalty check for handball

Video credit: TNT Sports

The Gunners created a number of chances but were unable to convert them, with Gabriel Martinelli missing a clear chance when his shot from close range went wide with the inside of his heel.

Declan Rice and Mikel Merino also missed golden chances, while Forest goalkeeper Mats Sells made an incredible fingertip save to deny substitute Bukayo Saka.

“Arsenal had some great chances but they didn’t take advantage of them,” Keown continued.

“That was the result today. They created those chances and the Forest goalkeeper looked inspired. Indeed, Saka’s saves were top-level. He reminded me of Peter Shilton at the time on this ground.”

“I think it was Saka’s chance. When a goalkeeper makes a save like that, you know the situation is against them. There were plenty of chances. Forest dealt with Arsenal’s set-pieces very well, but they lacked that killer instinct.”

Steven Gerrard echoed similar sentiments, stressing that Martinelli’s mistake was crucial.

“Martinelli’s chances were huge,” Gerrard said. “It should have been a side-foot kick into the corner but it came off my heel. That should have been a goal and Forrest should have come out.”

‘Maybe we should cancel football’ – Dyche clashes with Keown over handball incident

Video credit: TNT Sports

“Now, I think the Champions League (against Inter Milan in midweek) will be a good break for them, because it’s another big competition and they’re expected to do well. They’ll be really confident of beating Manchester United at home, but I think they’ll go in with a little more confidence and belief[after the win against City].”

Gerrard also praised Forest’s resilience and said the draw was an important result for the hosts.

“This is a huge result for Nottingham Forest and I’m sure Sean Dyche will be delighted to see the hard work his players have put in all over the pitch.

“Arsenal played wastefully in the first half and couldn’t find any decisive instincts after that, so they deserved something from this match. Who knows whether this point will be very important for Arsenal? Dysh will use this defensive performance as a base to launch an attack.”

Arteta: “We created four big chances”

Arsenal return to Premier League action next Sunday in a home league game against Manchester United, but they know that missing out could be costly in a title race that shows no signs of slowing down.

Despite the frustration, Arteta insisted Arsenal remain well placed in the title race.

“Every week is an opportunity,” he said. “We want to win every game. We came here to win and for various reasons we haven’t been able to do that.

Arteta recognizes Aina VAR incident as ‘clear penalty’

Video credit: TNT Sports

“(Forest) deserves credit because they are really well organized and really good at breaking up the flow when they have the upper hand in the game.

“In reality, we created four big chances: (Gabriel) Martinelli’s opening goal, Declan Rice’s tap-in, Mikel (Merino) and Bukayo’s (Saka) header.

“It’s a shame that we can’t win the game if we don’t allow shots on target again. We have to do that (I think it’s a good point).”

“We have to work, learn and improve. The league shows how difficult it is because no one is winning every game. It’s very tough and especially when you’re in a situation like today, you have to put them away and you have to give credit to your opponents in other areas as well.”