Leandro Trossard and Mikel Arteta lament Arsenal striking woes after drawing blank against Nottingham Forest
Published 26/02/2025 at 22:49 GMT
React to this story
Leandro Trossard and Mikel Arteta lamented Arsenal’s toothless attack as the north Londoners were held to a 0-0 draw against high-flying Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Wednesday night. Arsenal have no fit recognised striker in their squad, with Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus all injured for significant periods.
'I don't have an answer' - Trossard stumped at how to fix Arsenal form
Video credit: TNT Sports
Leandro Trossard and Mikel Arteta lamented Arsenal’s attacking woes as the Gunners were held to a 0-0 draw against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Wednesday.
The draw saw the Gunners, who have been without a recognised striker since Kai Havertz sustained a hamstring injury earlier this month, fall some 13 points behind league leaders Liverpool.
Indeed, it was another encounter that exposed Arteta’s side’s lack of firepower, with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus also sidelined through injury.
"I think we played well today, we were dominant throughout", Arsenal attacker Trossard told TNT Sports. "We defended well, but up top we did not create enough.
"The effort is there, we try and try and try. We need it to click again, and then the goals will come.
"I don’t have an answer on why we could not score. I think we could have scored a lot of goals recently. We need to find a solution. That is down to the players and the staff, but I don’t think it is down to effort. We played well tonight.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2025/02/26/4102474-83187133-2560-1440.jpg)
Watch spiky Arteta interview after Arsenal drop points at Forest
Video credit: TNT Sports
"We are a good group, we need to keep pushing as we are doing. There is not any magic ingredient, we just need to keep going.
"You always have to believe, but I don’t think we need to look ahead at the moment. We need to focus on the next game right now."
Arteta refuses to discuss offensive issues
As per Opta, the result means Arsenal have failed to score in back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since May 2023, when they drew blanks against Brighton and Forest.
With any lingering title hopes all but dashed, Arteta reiterated his side’s striker woes in a spiky interview.
The Spaniard told TNT Sports: "We’re disappointed not to get the three points even though we dominated the game from start to finish without giving much away, apart from one or two situations.
- 'Over my dead body' - Arteta insists Arsenal won't give up in title race
- Tuchel speaks to White over England return, De Bruyne accepts new role – Paper Round
"We were there. We certainly tried. The spirit, the energy, the willingness to do it - unquestionable. But we lacked that final ball, that spark to generate something, to open them up and have more shots on target."
"I don't want to discuss our issues in attack, I have been over that. We've got time to reflect. We have a few days now to reflect before the PSV game, so I'm going to do it."
On the gap between Arsenal and league leaders Liverpool, Arteta added: "It's about us. It's about winning. Our games are the only thing we can control.
"The players are very disappointed not to win the game. We are here and put in everything we possibly could. We want to win. We are here to win.
"They are a joy to work with. We are just looking forward. Individually, all of us, how can we add something to create that game and add more spark?"
Watch Premier League, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League football on TNT Sports and discovery+
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement