The Premier League season kicks off on Saturday as we host Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium, as we aim to get off to a flying start in front of our own supporters.
We’ve had some memorable moments during home matches against the Reds down the years, and to get you in the mood for their visit, we’ve dug into the archives to find five of the best.
Jog your memory with these classic matches:
March 7, 1990
Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest
We had gone five games without scoring heading into this encounter against a Forest side unbeaten in nine, but when Perry Groves was left unmarked in the box to head in the opener, there was no stopping us.
On the hour mark Tony Adams hurtled through a crowd of players to bullet home a dominant header to double the lead, and then 20-year-old Kevin Campbell netted his first Gunners goal when he latched onto an Alan Smith flick to end our dismal run. Late on Nigel Clough missed twice from the penalty spot when he was ordered to retake his initial saved kick.
March 8, 1997
Arsenal 2-0 Nottingham Forest
As he so often did, Dennis Bergkamp proved to be the difference between the sides as he netted a brace to move us to within three points of top spot, as Arsene Wenger’s revolution began to really take shape.
The Dutchman raced onto a Patrick Vieira pass to slot the ball past Mark Crossley five minutes after the break, and then sent the shot-stopper from the wrong way from 12 yards after we were awarded a penalty for a foul on Bergkamp by Alf-Inge Haaland to clinch the win at Highbury.
August 17, 1998
Arsenal 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Wenger's reigning Double winners kicked off the campaign against newly-promoted Forest, and nearly took the lead into the break when Nicolas Anelka hit the post after some brilliant skill in the box.
It would take 58 minutes for us to score when Adams headed a Bergkamp free-kick against the bar and Emmanuel Petit was on hand to nod in the rebound. Geoff Thomas managed to equalise, but we responded within three minutes when Marc Overmars burst through the backline and forced Dave Beasant into a save, before acrobatically looping in the rebound to get the season off to the perfect start.
September 24, 2019
Arsenal 5-0 Nottingham Forest
An 18-year-old Gabriel Martinelli marked his first competitive start for us by netting twice to help us into the fourth round of the League Cup. He got off the mark on 31 minutes when he headed in a Callum Chambers cross, which was the first of a hat-trick of assists from the full-back.
That was how the scoreline stayed until Rob Holding netted with 20 minutes to go, but then the floodgates opened as Hale End graduates Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson finished off neat moves, before Martinelli completed his double in stoppage-time with a superb long-range strike.
October 30, 2022
Arsenal 5-0 Nottingham Forest
We recorded our biggest-ever top-flight victory over Nottingham Forest, and moved back to the top of the Premier League table in style. An early stooping header from Martinelli got the rout going, before substitute Nelson netted twice within three minutes at the start of the second half to all-but seal the points.
A thunderous strike from Thomas Partey made it 4-0 just before the hour mark, and then skipper Martin Odegaard wriggled through the defence to crash in a fifth on 77 minutes to cap off a fine performance from Mikel Arteta’s team.
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