Published: 20:06, 17 January 2026 | Updated: 20:06, 17 January 2026

Teatime in Nottingham with an opportunity not to be missed rolling in from the Trent.

It belonged to Arsenal in the shape of a chance to ease nine points clear at the top of the Premier League, tighten their grip on this title race and crush the spirit of those in pursuit.

But its presence was fleeting before it slipped away into the night. Opportunity lost in the muscular grind of a stalemate with Nottingham Forest, for whom the signs of West Ham coming to life earlier in the day had retrained focus on their own peril.

Forest celebrated their hard-fought point, and satisfied home fans taunted the visitors with a chorus of ‘Champions of Europe’.

Arsenal were never at their sharpest. They can bemoan Sean Dyche’s efficient plan to frustrate and a decision that did not go their way when Ola Aina appeared to handle inside the penalty area during a fraught closing phase.

And yet they are seven points clear. It is not sweet like nine points, but Mikel Arteta and...