Arsenal returned to winning ways in the Premier League on Saturday, beating Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

The headline team news was Declan Rice being rested in midfield, and Mikel Arteta fielding a front three of summer signings, in the form of Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and – making his first start for the club, Eberechi Eze.

Madueke was the pick of the trio in the first half, both in open play and from set-pieces – and it was after another of his excellent deliveries that Martin Zubimendi opened the scoring, volleying in superbly from the edge of the penalty box.

Just 42 seconds into the second half and the home side were two up, with Eze and Gyokeres combining on this occasion, the winger crossing perfectly first time to his centre-forward after being set free by a long pass from Riccardo Calafiori. It felt like a very new sort of Arsenal goal, something that will no doubt please the fans and Arteta in equal measure.

Zubimendi – who only scored two league goals for Real Sociedad in the whole of 2024-25 – then made it 3-0, heading home later on after a well-worked free-kick move.

Art de Roché breaks down the key moments from the game.

Was this the perfect reset for Arsenal?

Arsenal needed a reset after the Liverpool defeat last month. That came naturally with the international break, but this victory was a nice palate cleanser ahead of a busy few weeks.

Coincidentally, this has not been the first time the first international break in the season has been necessary for Arteta to rejig things. The biggest example was in the 2021-22 season, when Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Gabriel and Kieran Tierney became his new-look back five to help recover from a poor start to the season.

This time around, new signings were given the opportunity to flourish.

Zubimendi matched his Real Sociedad goal tally from last season with his two goals this afternoon, showing that he may not only be a threat in midfield. For his second goal, it was interesting that Arsenal’s set-piece routines have extended to free kicks as well as corners. Gyokeres thrived in situations that suited his attributes too, which was promising.

Arteta also had the chance to rest Rice, before he came on in the second half to see the game out. While it may have been a surprise to see Rice on the bench, he had started both of England’s September internationals, and with Athletic Club and Manchester City on the horizon, it is essential not to overuse him.

In the summer, the midfielder spoke of wanting to be a consistent performer throughout the whole season and how the number of minutes he played for West Ham United, Arsenal and England before last season hindered him at the start of 2024-25.

It was telling that Madueke’s name was being chanted by Arsenal fans inside the Emirates Stadium moments before they went ahead.

The winger was Arsenal’s brightest spark in the first half, and had just left Dan Ndoye in his wake with one of many dribbles into the Forest penalty area. On that occasion, Madueke tried to find Jurrien Timber with a lay off but it was put behind for the corner Arsenal took the lead from.

Before that, it was just how direct the 23-year-old was that caught the eye. He wasn’t reliant on his stronger left foot at all, almost more willing to drive around the outside of his opposite number to clip right-footed crosses to the back post that were unlucky not to be finished.

In the absence of Bukayo Saka and the injured Martin Odegaard, he was on corner duty too, which was interesting in relation to Zubimendi’s opener. Madueke’s first few crosses were to the near post, but later in the half he aimed two to the far post.

Both were headed down to the edge of the box, and both were volleyed back in. Ethan Nwaneri hit the first, which was blocked, and then Zubimendi flashed in the second. Similar to the way Madueke drove at his man without hesitation, those first-time strikes were very welcome after last season, when many actions in and around the penalty area felt a bit too laborious.

He may not have scored or assisted, but Madueke was just as dangerous in the second half, and showed some variation to his game too. Rather than going at his man at every opportunity, there was an instance when he was more patient, on one occasion allowing Timber to overlap him which almost ended in an easy finish for Rice.

Thankfully for Arteta, with Saka still out, there is no doubt that Madueke has carried the momentum from his England outings back into his Arsenal performances.

Eze grew nicely into his full Arsenal debut –superbly assisting Gyokeres early in the second half.

In the opening exchanges, he showed flashes of why it was imperative that Arsenal signed him: he was different. His first action in the game was a shoulder drop that saw his boot taken off by a Forest defender who just couldn’t get close enough to him.

Minutes later, the Emirates collectively gasped as he dummied a pass through to Gyokeres that allowed an Arsenal attack to flow freely.

Madueke was livelier in the first half, but Eze kept issuing reminders that he was around. Just before the break, rather than cutting inside, he drove to the by-line before sneaking a cutback through legs to Gyokeres who just couldn’t direct his shot on target.

That didn’t matter though as within minutes of the second half, Arsenal had a situation they would have dreamed of when Gyokeres and Eze arrived in the summer. Postecoglou’s Forest had finally set their defensive line high, and it was time to exploit it.

Calafiori hit the ball long and Eze knew all he had to do was keep things simple. A nice cushioned pass across goal with his left foot set Gyokeres up perfectly this time and Arsenal had the comfort of a two-goal lead.

He may not have been as constant a threat as Madueke, but Eze’s quality shone through when needed.

• A Tell Media report / Adapted from The Athletic