LONDON: A Martin Zubimendi double took Arsenal top of the Premier League as Ange Postecoglou’s first game in charge of Nottingham Forest ended in a 3-0 defeat, while Nick Woltemade’s debut goal earned Newcastle’s first win of the season against Wolves on Saturday. Postecoglou made a swift return to north London after being sacked by Tottenham in June but did not enjoy a dream debut in the Forest dugout against a ruthless Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s men had two weeks over the international break to mull over losing 1-0 to title rivals Liverpool due to Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free-kick. But the Gunners made it three wins from four games thanks to an unlikely goalscoring hero. Zubimendi scored just 10 times in 236 games for Real Sociedad and commanded a £60 million ($81 million) fee in the transfer window due to his defensive abilities and distribution from the base of the midfield. However, the Spanish international smashed home a blistering volley from outside the box to break Forest’s resistence on 32 minutes. “Unbelievable from Zubimendi,” said Arteta. “Two very difficult goals in terms of execution. He’s come into the club and you feel a real presence, a real authority with everything he does on the pitch.” It took less than 60 seconds into the second half for Viktor Gyokeres to double Arsenal’s lead from Eberechi Eze’s cross before Zubimendi headed in his second of the game. A comfortable victory achieved without William Saliba and Bukayo Saka and, for much of the match, Martin Odegaard or Declan Rice underlined the depth of quality in Arsenal’s squad as they aim to go one better after three consecutive second-placed finishes. - Instant hero Woltemade -
