Nottingham Forest 0-0 Arsenal: Title-chasers miss chances, held – as it happened

Arsenal traveled to the City Ground and faced a stubborn Nottingham Forest who held them to a 0-0 draw as they failed to convert a chance to go nine points clear at the top of the Premier League following Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester United earlier in the day.

What makes it more difficult for Arsenal fans is that if Aston Villa beat Everton on Sunday, that lead will be reduced to four points.

After the match, Arteta said: “We knew the game wasn’t going to be easy, it was going to be difficult. We had four big, big chances and a clear penalty…

“You see what happened in the league, we have to improve. When we create four big chances, we have to put them away.” Summing up, he said: “Unfortunately, we did not achieve victory.”

Gabriel Martinelli was guilty of the biggest miss of the day, going wide from a tight angle and from close range; while Bukayo Sako’s brilliant header was met by an even better save from Forest keeper Matz Sels. Arsenal’s stubborn defense did not concede a shot on target, drawing praise from their manager.

Ola Aina, who was at the center of this penalty controversy, naturally said: “If they gave a penalty I would be a bit shocked. I got a little boost, it kind of hit me… it’s the right decision.” Sean Dyche, for his part, said it would have been an incredibly tough decision and praised the commitment of his players and the discipline of his team against what he called a “better team”.

You can follow and relive it all, right here with the ESPN live blog: