Martin Zubimendi scored his first Premier League goals and the first ever brace of his top-flight club career in a dominant 3-0 win for Arsenal, as Ange Postecoglou's first game in charge of Nottingham Forest ended in defeat.
Zubimendi opened the scoring with a wonderful volley from the edge of the box in the 32nd minute, before Viktor Gyokeres was teed up by Eberechi Eze – who was making his first start for Arsenal – 47 seconds into the second half.
Chris Wood and Gyokeres struck the woodwork at either end, but Zubimendi made certain of the result with 11 minutes to play, heading in from Leandro Trossard's cross.
Back to winning ways after their 1-0 defeat to Liverpool, Arsenal lead the table ahead of Saturday's other games, with nine points from four matches. Forest are five points back in 11th.
How the match unfolded
Arsenal dominated the first half, with a series of set-pieces causing Forest problems. The Gunners' first big chance came when a Martin Odegaard free-kick was nodded down to Mikel Merino, who was denied by the onrushing Matz Sels.
After Odegaard limped off injured, Arsenal went ahead from another dead-ball. Wood only half-cleared Noni Madueke's corner, allowing Zubimendi to send a brilliant volley past Sels.
Forest's first shot did not arrive until Morgan Gibbs-White fired wide in first-half stoppage time, and they went 2-0 down almost immediately in the second half.
Eze stayed onside to beat Nicolo Savona and cross from the left, handing Gyokeres a simple finish.
Forest almost halved the arrears when Wood diverted Dan Ndoye's cross goalwards with his chest, only for the ball to hit the crossbar.
Gyokeres then rattled the near post with a ferocious effort at the other end, and Arsenal made the points safe when Zubimendi rose to meet an inviting delivery from substitute Trossard.
Arsenal new boys turn on the style
Arsenal needed a response after spending the international break stewing on a frustrating 1-0 defeat to title rivals Liverpool.
But having already lost Bukayo Saka and William Saliba to injury in the early weeks of 2025/26, they suffered a further blow when Odegaard was forced off after failing to recover from a heavy fall.
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However, Arsenal have invested heavily to bolster their attack, and their new boys led from the front.
Madueke was electric on the right wing, tormenting makeshift left-back Morato early on and forcing Forest into some desperate defending with a series of inswinging corners, one of which resulted in Zubimendi's stunning first goal.
On the opposite flank, Eze was handed his first start after a brief cameo at Anfield, and he took advantage of some static Forest defending to assist Gyokeres, who drew level with Erling Haaland at the top of the early 2025/26 scoring charts with three goals.
Cristhian Mosquera also made his first start in the absence of Saliba and was a candidate for Player of the Match, making one brilliant goal-saving challenge on Callum Hudson-Odoi.
With their new players adapting quickly, Arsenal will hope to maintain their momentum in their opening UEFA Champions League fixture at Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday before hosting Manchester City next weekend in the league.
Postecoglou left with plenty to ponder
Forest made headlines during the international break when Nuno departed, with a 3-0 defeat to West Ham United in Matchweek 3 proving to be his final game in charge.
Though Postecoglou only had three days to prepare for this match, there was plenty of intrigue about how the UEFA Europa League winner would set Forest up.
With Ola Aina injured and loanee Oleksandr Zinchenko ineligible to face his parent club Arsenal, Postecoglou fielded Morato at left-back, and he struggled to contain Madueke.
One enterprising first-half dribble from Madueke would have resulted in a goal for Jurrien Timber if not for a heroic challenge from Murillo. However, the centre-back was hurt in that incident and had to be replaced shortly after Arsenal's first goal.
Having barely threatened, Forest might have been relieved to reach half-time 1-0 down, but the game was effectively beyond them when Savona was caught ball-watching for Arsenal's second goal less than a minute after the restart.
Forest enjoyed a few bright moments afterwards, with Wood going close and Deadline-Day addition Dilane Bakwa looking lively off the bench.
Postecoglou will try to take the positives and get to work on the training ground, with an EFL Cup tie at Swansea City and a Premier League trip to Burnley to come next week.
Club reports
Arsenal report | Nott'm Forest report
What the managers said
Mikel Arteta: "Very good after the international break. When the players have been away, it's always a question mark how they're going to react and connect again.
"To win 3-0, another clean sheet is very important. Some of the players were starting for the first time so, overall, very good."
Ange Postecoglou: "Obviously a disappointing outcome for us. They're a good side and at home, they're a tough proposition.
"Can't fault the lads' effort but we struggled to get a grip of the game and the second goal after half-time just allowed them to get away from us. Disappointing but can't fault the effort."
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Key facts
Arsenal have lost just one of their last 10 Premier League matches against Forest (eight wins, one draw), avoiding defeat in each of the last five since a 1-0 loss in May 2023. Additionally, they are unbeaten in all nine home games in the competition against Forest (seven wins, two draws).
Arsenal have won three successive home games in the Premier League without conceding for the first time since a run of four between November – December 2021.
Gyokeres is just the third Arsenal player to score in both of his first two Premier League home games, after Marouane Chamakh (September 2010) and Alexandre Lacazette (December 2017).
Eze is the first English player to score or assist on his first Premier League start for Arsenal since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain against Manchester United in January 2012.