Nottingham Forest 0-0 Arsenal: Attendance 30,729

It was honours even at the City Ground on Saturday evening after Nottingham Forest and Arsenal played out a hard-fought goalless draw to leave the Gunners seven points clear at the top of the Premier League.

In a game of few chances on the banks of the River Trent, Gabriel Martinelli should have put the visitors ahead with a first half effort, but there ball flew wide, in front of 30,729 fans.

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Arsenal made three changes from the team that beat Chelsea 3-2 in midweek.

Noni Madueke and Gabi Martinelli were drafted in on the flanks while Bukayo Saka and Leo Trossard moved to the bench. With David Raya returned in goal for cup keeper Kepa, while Cristhian Mosquera is back from injury to take up a spot on the bench.

Dyche made nine changes from the side that lost to Wrexham in the FA Cup last week with only keeper Matz Sels and Igor Jesus keeping their places in the team - meaning only one change from the team that beat West Ham in their last Premier League game.

Former Arsenal academy attacker Omari Hutchison dropped to the bench, as Ibrahim Sangare returned to the side.

Following results earlier in the day that saw Pep Guardiaola’s side unexpectedly lose the Manchester derby at Old Trafford, Arsenal had the chance to move a whopping nine points clear of Manchester City.

While for relegation-threatened Forest, West Ham’s victory over Arsenal’s bitter rivals Spurs - in geography if nothing else right now for the miserably underperforming Thomas Frank - saw former City Ground boss Nuno Santo’s Irons move to within four points of Forest, perching precariously on the edge of the dreaded trapdoor from the promised land.

It was a huge game at both ends of the table, as the raucous atmosphere testified.

Forest started the brighter, powered by the vocal home support that had rousingly sung their unofficial club anthem Mist Rolling In at kickoff, a take on Paul McCartney’s Mull of Kintyre.

In a frenetic start that saw both sides battle for supremacy, Ben White, making his 150th appearance in Arsenal colours fired over on 20 minutes.

Three minutes later David Raya showed impeccable timing by racing out to deny an Callum Hudson-Odoi bearing down on goal, after a through ball from Murillo that beat the Gunners high line.

In an enthralling match, Martinelli could and should have scored on 28 minutes, but steered his chance wide when well-placed following a Rice corner.

Just after the half hour mark, Martin Zubimendi fired across the Forest goal, after an intelligent ball from Madueke, but the ball flew low past Sels far post.

Timber was booked by referee Micheal Oliver for making contact with Hudson-Odoi just outside the box. The subsequent free kick to Forest on the edge of the area came to nothing, after Ola Aina wastefully fired wide to end a spell of dominance for the home side.

Arsenal swept up the other end, with the rambunctious Viktor Gyokeres attempted and failed to barge his way through an obdurate Murillo in the Forest backline.

Arteta swapped Martinelli for Trossard at the start of the second half, as the visitors attempted to make inroads into the Forest defence.

Ten minutes after the interval with the score still resolutely goalless Arteta made three more substations, with Madueke, Odegaard and Gyokeres off, to be replaced by Saka, Jesus and Mikel Merino in a bid to break the deadlock.

Moments after Saka’s entrance, the 24-year-old made an immediate impact by feeding Rice, who tested Sels, as the ball was parried to safety.

On 64 minutes Sels once again denied Arsenal after a superb, full-length diving fingertip save to prevent Saka’s looping header from entering the far corner.

Merino’s header flies wide from Rice’s free kick - but would a header from Gabriel been a better option with the Brazil defender right behind Merino as the ball flew into the box?

As the clock ticked down Arteta made one last throw of the dice when replacing Zubimendi for Eze.

Shortly afterwards Aina made contact with his hand on the ball but whether that was enough for a penalty was soon decreed by VAR not to be. Forest swept up the other end for Gibbs-White to shoot wide, after a pullback from Hudson-Odoi, but despite the relentless endeavours from both teams, the score remained goalless.