JAKARTA - Arsenal threw away the opportunity to leave Manchester City after being held to a 0-0 draw by Nottingham Forest in an English Premier League match, Sunday, January 18, 2026 WIB. The failure to win was also because Arsenal was not given a penalty which made manager Mikel Arteta disappointed.
Arsenal again failed to meet the three-point target. At least Arsenal has twice been unable to maximize the opportunity to get away from the pursuit of Man City and Aston Villa.
Arsenal could actually be nine points ahead after Man City was unexpectedly defeated by Manchester United 2-0 in the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford, Saturday, January 17, 2026 WIB. However, the hope of reaching that target was not fulfilled because Arsenal also lost points after being held by Forest.
Previously, Arsenal also had a good chance to consolidate the points advantage after Man City was held by Brighton and Hove Albion 1-1. This means, The Cityzens have lost five points from the last two matches.
But Arsenal is always disappointed. When rival teams fail to score points, Bukayo Saka et al. also can't win the game. They were only able to play a goalless draw when hosting Liverpool.
The match against Forest at the City Ground Stadium, Nottingham, indeed opened the opportunity for Arsenal to return to the winning track. Moreover, the North London club has good capital when visiting Forest after beating Championship team Portsmouth 4-1 in the FA Cup and then winning 3-2 over Chelsea in the first semi-final of the English League Cup.
Not only that, Arsenal faced an opponent who was at the bottom of the table and was threatened with relegation. However, they struggled to break Forest's goal until finally defender Ola Aina was judged to touch the ball in the penalty box in the 79th minute.
Referee Michael Oliver did review the incident via VAR. However, Oliver stated that there was no foul because Aina's arm moved naturally and accidentally touched the ball so there was no penalty.
"Of course it's very disappointing because we want full points. But there were no shots that went to our goal. On the other hand, we created four very good opportunities. The highlight is obviously a penalty but we didn't get it," said Arteta who was very sure that Arsenal should have got a penalty. This made him angry and disappointed when the referee judged there was no foul even though it was in VAR.
"It's true that he (Aina) received the ball with his shoulder. But what he did made his arm touch the ball in the penalty box. So, it's definitely a penalty," he said again.
However, former Premier League referee Mark Halsey said there was nothing wrong with Oliver's decision. According to him, there was no violation of what Aina did.
"In the 79th minute of the game at the City Ground between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal, there was an incident where Ola Aina potentially handball," Halsey said as quoted by The Sun.
"But the ball then hit his arm. In my opinion, his arm was in a natural position. His arm went up. And when his arm went down, the ball went down so that his arm touched the ball. But it was not intentional. So I think it's not a penalty," Halsey explained.
Arteta himself did not want to prolong the incident. He also hopes Arsenal will play better so that they will not depend on incidents that have sparked debate to win the game.
"This incident could happen in any league and in every match. We should be able to get better and improve ourselves. When we have four chances, we should be able to use them. We have tried to score but can't find a way to win the game," he said.
The draw against Forest brings Arsenal, who are top of the table, to 50 points. Seven points ahead of second-placed Man City.
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