The theme before kick-off was blanks. Or, more precisely, whether either team could stop firing them at the City Ground. It was a detail to make Oliver Glasner extremely uncomfortable that his Nottingham Forest team had still to score at their own stadium this season. Arsenal, meanwhile, had drawn 0-0 on their previous two visits to this part of the East Midlands. They had only one win in five here.

Forest's frustrations under their new manager go on. It was another spirited performance from them, bits to like, especially a full-throttle performance from Liam Delap in the No 9 position. But, for the fifth time under Glasner, there was not a goal to celebrate in front of the home support.

It was a game that came to feel increasingly set up for the famous terrace chant. One-nil to the Ars-en-nal. Or, as the travelling hordes would have it, one-nil to the champions. Arsenal did not play well. They created little, finishing with just one shot on target. How Noni Madueke made it count.

On as a half-time substitute, the winger took a pass from Declan Rice in the 80th minute and had only one thing on his mind. To cut inside from the left and unload. The connection was pure and that was when he caught a break, which he has worked to earn after a difficult start to the season. The ball deflected off Jair Cunha and flew past the Forest goalkeeper, Matz Sels.

Forest refused to accept the inevitable. Chris Wood, on as a substitute, delayed too long and saw Rice block. Murillo, of all players, danced inside from the left and curled off target. Delap was denied at the death by a thunderous Ezri Konsa block tackle. But it did feel inevitable. Forest, who missed the injured Morgan Gibbs-White, might have played all night and not scored. Arsenal had not forgotten their previous away fixture – the 3-0 defeat at Brighton. It remains the only blot on their season.

Arsenal had kicked off six points behind Manchester City, who have been perfect on the field in the league this season. Will it matter when the sanctions for their rule breaches are meted out? All Arsenal can do is play the situation as it stands and this was an occasion when the result was everything.

Mikel Arteta's team dominated the ball. As they were always likely to do. They were determined to be patient. And yet they were flat and predictable until the closing stages. The lack of incisive movement was glaring. That said, Forest were compact out of possession in a 5-4-1 formation and hard to break down. They were resolved not to give up any easy yards.

Arsenal played their patterns. They tried to suck the life out of the home crowd, working on the principle that it is difficult for fans to get animated if their team do not have the ball. The first half drifted by in a lazy Sunday afternoon haze, no shots on target for either side.

Delap carried the physical fight; the Forest centre-forward was a willing and direct runner and he won a free-kick off Rice just outside the Arsenal box on 44 minutes. Neco Williams thumped it at Bruno Guimarães, who went down stayed down. The Forest support were unhappy at what they perceived as Arsenal's use of the dark arts. "Are you City in disguise?" they chanted.

Could a set piece provide the breakthrough? It felt the likeliest route. Murillo headed wide from a Forest corner in the 20th minute and was bloodied into the bargain; there was a whistle for a foul in the mass of bodies inside the six-yard box. At the other end, Kai Havertz headed over from a Rice free-kick on 37 minutes. He had a good look at the ball and was well-placed. It was a decent chance.

Arsenal have been a little barren in the first half this season. This was the seventh time in 10 matches since the Community Shield that they had failed to score in one. It has not been a problem. They needed to raise their levels for the second half.

Arteta's first change was Madueke for Eberechi Eze on the left-wing; an admission that the latter had failed to exert an influence. There was also a triple substitution on 66 minutes, the manager sending on Jurriën Timber, Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyökeres for Ben White, Guimarães and Havertz. He needed to shake things up because nothing was happening for his team. It was Forest who pushed after the restart, with Delap continuing to put himself about. He asked questions of Gabriel Magalhães, albeit the Arsenal defender tended to have the answers.

The minutes ticked down, the contest narrowing to a fine point and we waited to see whether there could be a moment, one big chance. Martin Ødegaard almost provided it in the 72nd minute when he released Timber with a lovely pass up the inside right. When he pulled back, Rice lifted wastefully high.

Glasner's decision to introduce Ibrahim Sangaré for Dan Ndoye shortly afterwards was telling. Sangaré's mission was to bolster the Forest midfield and yet he was slow to react to a half-cleared ball. When Rice played the pass, Madueke took over.

"We showed a champion spirit," Madueke said. "Maybe last season, this game might not have gone for us. We have the extra belief and mentality."