Lewis Grabban fires winner as Nottingham Forest stun Arsenal in third-round shock

Lewis Grabban's goal seven minutes from time saw Nottingham Forest dump Arsenal out of the FA Cup in the third-round for the second time in four years.

There was little goalmouth action in the tie and Mikel Arteta is sure to be angry at his side's lacklustre display.

Still, Arsenal would have been in front at this point if Eddie Nketiah had headed home Bukayo Saka's cross just before the hour mark rather than float his free header at ninety degrees to the goal.

The winner came after a fantastic run down the right flank from Ryan Yates and his cross was steered home first time with the outside of his boot by substitute Grabban.

Forest, who beat Arsenal at the City Ground at this stage 4-2 in 2018, will now play Leicester City at home in the fourth round.

A strange cup upset - Usually when a lower-league team beats one of the giants of English football it is on the back of a pulsating effort and electric atmosphere - especially as this is one of the most memorable recent results at the City Ground, probably since they last beat Arsenal. This was not really the case in this instance and as bad as Arsenal were in the first half, Forest also deserved criticism for lacking intensity in their play leading to a tepid atmosphere in this famous venue. In fairness, they did look very organised in defence and gave no easy chances to the triumvirate of Martinelli, Saka and Martin Odegaard, so credit could be given to Steve Cooper if this was a plan to stifle the Gunners before attacking late on. The complexion of the game changed a little in the second half with Forest showing more adventure on the counter-attack, particularly through Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson, and then Lewis Grabban's introduction gave Forest a livewire presence in attack which Arsenal struggled to deal with and ultimately sent them out of the competition.

Djed Spence (Nottingham Forest) - It was a match of little quality but the on-loan Middlesbrough wing back certainly showed quality every time he ran forward in possession. He also never looked like being intimidated by the tough task of facing Martinelli and Kieran Tierney on the Arsenal left flank either putting in a number of crucial clearances. With full backs being such a key player in the modern game, it would not be surprising if Premier League clubs made enquiries about him in this transfer window or in the summer. He certainly did himself no harm putting in this kind of display in front of terrestrial cameras.

Nottingham Forest: Samba 7, Spence 8*, Worrall 7, McKenna 7, Cook 7, Colback 6; Garner 7, Yates 7; Johnson 7, Davis 6, Zinckernagel 6.

Subs: Grabban 8, Cafu 6.

Arsenal: Leno 6, Cedric 6, White 7, Holding 6, Nuno Tavares 5, Lokonga 5, Patino 6, Odegaard 6, Saka 7, Martinelli 6, Nketiah 5.

Subs: Tiernay 6, Lacazette 6, Kolasinac 6.

54' The best chance of the match so far A fine run down the right by Johnson and his cross is hit first time by Zinckernagel but Leno parries away diving to his left.

59' What a chance! Saka hung a fantastic cross to the back post for Nketiah but he totally mistimes his header and it goes back across the goal.

62 ' A fine effort from Garner! A free kick from almost 30 yards out but it was curled over the wall and towards the top left hand corner but Leno parries away.

83' GOAL FOR FOREST! Grabban finishes first time to put the Championship side in front. A fine cross from Yates after Lokonga gave the ball away in midfield and the substitute's finish was superb.