Nottinghamshire

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Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina highlighted the collective effort behind the performance against Arsenal, and the belief that Forest must carry that level of intensity into every fixture as they look to move clear of relegation.

Speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham after the 0-0 draw, Aina spoke about the importance of getting the basics right as Forest showed organisation, commitment and togetherness, limiting Arsenal's chances.

The hard-fought point at the City Ground moves Forest onto 22 points after 22 games and keeps them 17th in the table.

"It was hard work, but it was very fulfilling, you know. We stuck together, and played, and we tried to cause problems and opportunities. It was a good performance from the boys, and hopefully we can build on that," Aina said.

"The basics are the most important, and I feel that myself and the team did that very well today, and we need to build on that. When you work hard, other things follow. That's what we did today, all of us are very tired at the end.

"It's good to perform like that against a great side like Arsenal. But I feel that every week we need to put in performances like that and not just against Arsenal. Hopefully, we will build on it next week and the weeks after, we will really push on and start smashing teams."

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal.

Here are some of your comments:

Forest fans

Ben: Single points don't come much bigger than that considering Forest's form. They rode their luck at times but outside those moments, this was Sean Dyche's Forest at their best: organised, resolute and committed. Perform like that every week and there's no reason why Forest shouldn't start rapidly climbing the table.

Rose: The spirit of last season and the feel of it kept us in that game. We could have nicked it from them - needed the arrogance of some players to translate into goals. COYR.

Al: An obdurate performance by Forest and a point well earned against a team who should be there or thereabouts at the end of season. Next for Forest is to actually build on this point and hopefully it's not another false dawn. Ibrahim Sangare was immense.

Luke: Very pleased with the way the players applied themselves. It goes to show how far the 'best XI' is ahead of the rest of our squad. I'd still like to see us pose opponents more problems, but this is a good point and something for us to hopefully build upon.

Arsenal fans

Rachel: Yet again, Arsenal were frustrated by a team at the bottom end of the table. These are matches that we surely should be winning? I don't feel we are improving as the season progresses and we certainly don't look convincing. We don't have a secret weapon coming off the bench. My honest opinion is that Arsenal have been lucky so far - but luck can run out.

Neil: Absolutely awful and not a good watch. How many chances do other teams give us and we just don't take the opportunity? With Manchester City losing and drawing previous matches we have not taken full advantage. We are very good at keeping possession and passing the ball sideways and back, but going forward we lack speed and ideas. We need to take the games by the scruff of the neck like we did against Aston Villa. If we don't pull our socks up we will self-destruct and it'll be another season without silverware.

Chris: They looked tired.

Paul: This is another missed opportunity to show everybody that we are worthy champions. We looked predictable, lifeless and lacking imagination. Will we be the most boring champions ever?

Nottingham Forest are in talks with Napoli over a January loan deal for 25-year-old Italy striker Lorenzo Lucca, who could join permanently in the summer. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson is on Manchester United's list of targets for the summer. (Football Insider), external

Arsenal and Ukraine defender Oleksandr Zinchenko, who is on loan at Forest, is scheduled to have a medical on Tuesday before a loan move to Ajax. (De Telegraaf - in Dutch), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Alex Howell
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The Ola Aina handball incident happened with about 10 minutes of the match remaining.

The Forest right-back attempted to control a bouncing ball in his own penalty area while being challenged by Gabriel Jesus and bumped by his own team-mate Elliot Anderson.

The ball hit Aina's shoulder before striking his arm as the defender tried to turn, prompting Mikel Arteta and Arsenal to vehemently appeal for a spot-kick - to no avail.

The Premier League Match Centre on X said: "The referee's call of no penalty to Arsenal was checked and confirmed by VAR - with it deemed that the ball was played off Aina's shoulder first, while his arm was also in a natural position."

While Arteta was adamant his side had been denied a "clear penalty", Forest boss Sean Dyche, unsurprisingly, did not agree.

"I think if these start to get given we've all got to leave it. I think that's ridiculous. We've got to be careful with those," Dyche said.

"You may as well cancel football if you're going to give that [as handball]. The rules have to be careful. You know what they should be looking at? People feigning injury. That's the new diving."

Retired Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann told BBC Sport he thought the officials had come to the correct decision, saying: "The arm is close to the body and is in a justifiable position."

The decision split the watching pundits, with ex-Chelsea winger Pat Nevin telling BBC Radio 5 Live he thought Aina's arm "moved towards the ball", but former Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard insisting it would have been "soft" to award a spot-kick for the incident.

Read more analysis on the penalty appeal here

Pundits Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney join host Mark Chapman to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Chelsea 2-0 Brentford

• Tottenham 1-2 West Ham

• Nottingham Forest 0-0 Arsenal

Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche, speaking to BBC Match of the Day after their goalless draw with Arsenal: "It's not easy playing these sides, the commitment is different. There's the commitment to score a goal of course, but what about the commitment to the shape, the basics, the hard yards of the game? And I thought we did that fantastically well as a group.

"They still had a couple of chances but listen they're a top side and they're flying. But to get a clean sheet against them is amazing. We had a couple of chances ourselves but it's hard to open them up, as they've shown all season.

"There's a lot of noise on their set-pieces and I thought Sels did well, the whole group did. But that's a great save, I think it comes over Merino's head, he sees it late, that was a good spring and he gets his fingertips to it. That was a big moment of course, but we had a big moment ourselves.

"Touch and go penalty, he gets pulled, he's falling into the box, I think that was a tight one. I know you're going to mention theirs. I think in football, look, we've got to be careful with that if people think that's a penalty. I don't know why it wasn't given, I'm pleased it wasn't, because this handball thing is a weird one at the minute, as we all know. That would've been incredibly harsh for me if that gets given.

"You can see he's got a nudge in the back, from our own player, but you can't get a nudge and control everything. I just think we've got to be really careful. I know there's a massive debate around handball at the minute, but if those get given we've got to go 'hang on a minute'.

"I though Elliot Anderson was a Rolls Royce today, him and Callum Hudson-Odoi. I thought Nicolas Dominguez off the ball, the stuff us manager's love, from his shape and his diligence. Amongst others, but Ibrahim Sangare gives us that little bit of solid feel, he knows what position to be in and allows Elliot to be a little bit freer and looser.

"There's a lot of good things here. We've just taken four points against some top sides in that run. We've played Manchester City, Villa away, these are tough games. So I'm pleased we've come away with another point."

Did you know?

• Nottingham Forest had their first 0-0 draw in the Premier League since February 2025, which was also at home against Arsenal.

Hear more from Dyche on BBC Sounds

Listen to reaction from Ola Aina