Sometimes, the ball simply won't go in. Against Nottingham Forest, Arsenal encountered a brick wall in Matz Sels, who saved Declan Rice's volley on 59 minutes and then flew across to tip a Bukayo Saka header around the post four minutes later. Gabriel Martinelli will be wondering how he volleyed wide from inside the six-yard box around the half hour, and Viktor Gyökeres was through on goal on 40 before Murillo threw himself in the way.
The post-match talk centered on a second-half incident where Ola Aina appeared to handle the ball in the box, with Gabriel Jesus protesting to Michael Oliver. VAR Darren England took a long look and stayed with the on-field decision: the ball came off Aina's shoulder first, and the arm was in a natural position.
Arteta’s Fury
The boss didn't hide his disappointment in his post-match comments:
"The clear penalty that we cannot forget. That is a clear penalty in the box that's not been given."
He was not swayed by the shoulder-first explanation either: "The order is OK, but the timing and the intention of the play is very clear. If not, I wouldn't be sitting here, and in my opinion, it's a very clear penalty."
The draw stretches the lead at the top to seven, though it comes back to four if Aston Villa win on Sunday. Forest were dogged and deserved their point. This still feels like two dropped on a day that was there for the taking.