Bukayo Saka lights up the Emirates but Arsenal have to cling on against Forest

Arsenal survived a late scare to get their season off to a winning start with a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

First-half goals from Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka looked to have set the hosts on their way to an easy win but Taiwo Awoniyi struck late on to ensure a nervy conclusion.

Arsenal's first half dominance led to two goals straight from the club's academy. First Nketiah twisted and turned in the box before firing low across Matt Turner in the Forest goal, and then Saka lit up the occasion with a sublime second, curled into the top corner from the edge of the box.

It wasn't all good news for Arsenal though with new signing Jurrien Timber going off with a knee injury around 50 minutes into his full Premier League debut.

Nketiah had been a surprise pick for the hosts in a team that featured holding midfielder Thomas Partey deployed as a right full-back.

But manager Mikel Arteta said: "Eddie was very disappointed he did not start [the Community Shield] against Manchester City but came on and had a huge impact, trained like a beast this week, telling me 'I have to play'. So I had to play him. A great example."

On Timber's injury, he said: "The physio and doctors looked at him and were happy to continue. Straight away in the second he made a movement and it felt funny. We will have to assess him.

"It's always difficult to win the first game of the season," added Arteta. "We deserved to be in front but we didn't kill the game. And 2-0 in the Premier League is a dangerous scoreline and we had a lack of concentration, conceded a goal, and so it is game on.