da luck： The England international scored a wonderful goal from distance as the Gunners kicked off their title bid with three precious points

da dobrowin： Arsenal kicked off their 2023-24 Premier League campaign with a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest at the Emirates on Saturday afternoon – but the Gunners were left hanging on at the end of a game they had dominated for more than 80 minutes.

It was the visitors who had the best chance of the opening quarter, but Brennan Johnson didn't even hit the target after finding himself clean through on goal.

Arsenal took the lead soon after, with Eddie Nketiah firing home after a sensational piece of skill on the left wing from Gabriel Martinelli, and doubled their advantage courtesy of a stunning strike from distance from Bukayo Saka.

At that point, a rout appeared inevitable but Taiwo Awoniyi set up a grandstand finish when he turned in a cut-back from Anthony Elanga, who had led a blistering break from inside his own half.

Despite a few more nervy moments, though, Arsenal held on to kick off their title bid with three precious points. Below, GOAL rates the performance of Mikel Arteta's players…

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Aaron Ramsdale (5/10):

A man in the spotlight because of the imminent arrival of David Raya and he just doesn't inspire confidence. Had very little to do in the first half and even when his backline was breached, Johnson blazed the ball over the bar. After the break, though, he looked shaky at set-pieces, while he was nearly caught on the ball at one point. Still, there was nothing he could have done about the late goal Arsenal conceded.

Thomas Partey (5/10):

Surprisingly selected at right-back because of White's move into the centre and had no issues for 80 minutes, primarily because Arsenal dominated possession to such an extent that he was effectively able to play in his usual position in front of the defence. But he was nowhere to be seen when Elanga broke clear down the left flank to tee up Awoniyi to score.

Ben White (6/10):

Got a rare chance to play at centre-back because Gabriel was on the bench and while he was unsurprisingly impressive in possession, he was completely caught out by Awoniyi's movement on the Forest goal.

William Saliba (6/10):

Back in the team after missing the final few months of last season through injury and looked a little rusty, particularly when Johnson burst through on goal early on. Saliba, though, did pick up an assist for his pass to Saka.

Jurrien Timber (6/10):

Injured himself while fouling Johnson just before the end of the first half and although he re-emerged after the break, he lasted just four more minutes before being replaced by Takehiro Tomiyasu. A real shame for the Dutchman, who was performing just as impressively as he had in the Community Shield.

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Martin Odegaard (5/10):

Nowhere near his influential best. His passing wasn't near his usual standard – and yet he still picked out team-mates in dangerous positions in the box on several occasions.

Declan Rice (6/10):

By no means an outstanding performance from Arsenal's much-heralded summer signing, who lost the ball more than he would have liked. But he won plenty of tackles and was also unlucky not to score at least once, with one fine effort being pushed onto the post by Turner.

Kai Havertz (5/10):

Can't fault his endeavour – or his willingness to get on the ball. He also held it up well after being put up front in the closing stages. But, as is so often the case with the former Chelsea man, there was just no end product.

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Bukayo Saka (8/10):

A constant threat down the right flank and doubled Arsenal's lead with a fantastic strike, with Saka stepping inside before bending the ball beautifully into the top corner of the Forest net.

Eddie Nketiah (7/10):

Got the nod up front because of the unavailability of Gabriel Jesus and took his chance to impress, opening the scoring midway through the first half. He was aided by a little deflection off Joe Worrall but deserved his good fortune for the way in which he had created some space for himself to shoot.

Gabriel Martinelli (8/10):

Just like Saka, has picked up where he left off last season. Indeed, you felt the Brazilian was going to make something happen every time he got the ball and his backheel assist for Nketiah as part of a sumptuous pirouette which took him past two defenders was just incredible.

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Takehiro Tomiyasu (6/10):

Came on in the 50th minute for the injured Timber and did well, even forcing Turner into a save with a low strike from distance.

Leandro Trossard (5/10):

Replaced Nketiah with just under 20 minutes of normal time to go and made little impression.

Gabriel (N/A):

Only introduced for the final five minutes as Arsenal looked to shut up shop.

Mikel Arteta (7/10):

The Spaniard's decision to pick Nketiah to lead the line was fully vindicated but while Arsenal dominated for 80 minutes, Arteta will have been seriously concerned by just how nervy his players became in the closing stages. Plenty for the manager to ponder, given his defence looks just as vulnerable as last season…