Noni Madueke comes off the bench to give Arsenal a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest

Arsenal did not play well on Sunday. They still left Nottingham with three points.

Noni Madueke came on at halftime and scored the only goal 10 minutes from the end as the Premier League champions beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City Ground. It was Arsenal's only shot on target all afternoon.

A slow start

The first half gave the crowd almost nothing. Neither team managed a shot on target before the break. Forest had the best early moment when Dan Ndoye broke away after a Riccardo Calafiori mistake but his shot was deflected behind for a corner. Kai Havertz later headed a Declan Rice free kick over the bar.

Mikel Arteta wanted more energy. He took off Eberechi Eze at halftime and sent on Madueke, who had been left out of the latest England squad.

Forest push first

Forest came out stronger after the break. Liam Delap found space and drilled a shot that clipped the side netting off a deflection. Ndoye slipped past Gabriel into the box but could not get his shot away.

Arteta added Viktor Gyökeres and Mikel Merino midway through the half. Arsenal's best chance came in the 72nd minute when Jurriën Timber reached the byline and cut the ball back to Rice, who blasted it over from 12 yards.

The winner

In the 80th minute Rice worked the ball out to Madueke on the left. He cut inside and fired a shot that took a deflection off Jair Cunha and curled into the far corner.

Forest had two big chances to level late. Chris Wood broke clear in the 89th minute but waited too long to shoot. Deep in stoppage time Murillo danced into the area and fired over the bar.

Where it leaves both teams

The win lifted Arsenal back to second place, three points behind leaders Manchester City.

Forest have lost three straight league games and sit in the relegation zone after seven matches under Oliver Glasner. It was their third 1-0 home loss of the season and they have not scored in five straight home games in all competitions.

Madueke's goal gave a flat Arsenal side exactly what it needed on a tough afternoon on the road.