Noni Madueke scored in the 80th minute as Arsenal won 1-0 at Nottingham Forest.
The club's official report described a tight game decided by the half-time substitute's deflected shot. Arsenal then survived three late Forest opportunities to record their sixth win in seven Premier League matches.
Possession without many openings
Arsenal controlled much of the early possession but struggled to work the ball into dangerous positions. Forest defended in numbers and looked for counterattacks.
Kai Havertz headed over and later hit the side-netting, while Gabriel had an improvised effort blocked following a corner.
Mikel Arteta introduced Madueke for Eberechi Eze at half-time. Mikel Merino, Viktor Gyokeres and Jurrien Timber also came on, with Timber making his 100th Arsenal appearance.
Timber helped create a clear opening when he overlapped to receive Martin Odegaard's pass and cut the ball back for Declan Rice, who shot over.
Late goal, then crucial defending
Rice subsequently found Madueke on the left. The winger cut inside and shot, with a deflection off Jair Cunha helping the ball beat Matz Sels.
Forest threatened repeatedly in the closing minutes. Rice blocked Chris Wood's attempt, Murillo curled over after advancing into the area, and Ezri Konsa made a sliding intervention to deny Liam Delap in the final action.
Those defensive contributions preserved the narrow lead.
Arsenal's next commitments include a Champions League trip to Bayern Munich and a home league meeting with Everton. The City Ground result supplied three points before that sequence, even though the visitors had found clear chances difficult to create.