Here was another desperate indictment against Arsenal's inability to sign a striker in January.
After the bare society of Mikel Arteta could not score in four games for the third time, it seems that the Gunners have difficulty finishing second in a race with one horse.
A point away against Nuno Espirito's Champions League -Chasing Nottingham Forest – who have been unbeaten at home since September – is not a terrible result for itself.
But with Mikel Merino from midfield who struggled like a false nine, there was little prospect of Arsenal score on the banks of the Trent.
Since their 5-1 paste from Manchester City, the Gunners have only succeeded in scoring against the lashes of Leicester City.
And in defense of Merino it was not as if the Arteta team create opportunities for him to miss.
For a match between the second and third best teams in England, this was extremely bad.
Riccardo Calafiori shot early in the inside of a post, but this was a gloomy affair to a late flurry of target malt.
Arsenal should try to find some inspiration before their Champions League campaign restarts against PSV Eindhoven in Holland on Tuesday, because this was depressed flat.
Arteta's men look tired and tired, their smooth injuries to attack players, seriously take his toll.
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While Bosfans sang 45 years ago about champions of Europe, and Arsenal sang about being champions of England 20 years ago, there was little to scream in the here and now.
While three immediately bruised the hope of Forest on Champions League, they were red-hot in the city area-here the last time with Brighton with 7-0.
Arsenal's home defeat by West Ham had passed their weak title heap – and Mikel Merino continued as an improvised center -forward.
Even without silverware to play for, there are always records that need to be broken.
And when Arsenal Full-back Riccardo Calafiori and Forest's Nikola Milenkovic were booked in the first three and a half minutes, this was the earliest copy of two yellow cards in a Premier League match since 2012.
Early it was just like predicted – Arsenal with much of the ball, forest that endangered on the counter.
Calafiori was in the spotlight – almost a penalty admitted when he was defeated for pace by Callum Hudson -odoi, the winger on his way down, then turned Nicolas Dominguez into the forest cabinet and drilled a shot against the inside of the pole.
That effort was greeted with strangled cries of the gooners on the other side of the ground.
Although many full-backs have doubled as central midfielders, it is rare to see a left back appear in Centrum-Forward.
But that seemed to be the new double role of Calafiori – and in the absence of an authentic No. 9, the need was the mother of the invention for Arteta.
Or maybe the Italian would not always bomb forward – because Arteta withdrew the only interesting player in the first half during the break, in favor of Kieran Tierney.
It didn't have much going on for a meeting of the second and third best teams in England.
It was filthy and incoherent, with an excessive amount of misplaced steps that completely disappeared from the field.
Even Arsenal's control of set pieces has lately been declining, although Tierney came closer with a header from an Odegaardhoek.
While the Tumbleweed wiped over the field, Forest finally launched their first attack of the second half, the roof almost came from the Trent End when Nuno's men won a corner.
Soon Gibbs -White walked through a pass to Chris Wood, whose shot was pushed away by David Raya – and 69 minutes inside we had our first meaningful salvation of the game.
Wood soon had a pinch with the goal, but was cleaned up by a William Saliba Slide -Tackle – but the linesman marked offside, in case someone had ideas to become enthusiastic.
Ryan Yates, like a submarine, won a free kick on the edge of the box when he was clattered by Merino.
It was desperate enough for Arteta to name Raheem Sterling from the bank, instead of Ethan Nwaneri, who was well chained by Forest Linksback Neco Williams.
The former winger in England has hopelessly devoid of inspiration since he was hired last summer on loan from Chelsea.
Martin Odegaard seemed to have the best chance of the night, but his shot was acrobatically deleted by Murillo – again, it was offside.
Forest ended the stronger side, bombarded the arsenal box with crosses in the dying minutes, but of all the 0-0 trekkings you could see, few could be just as 0-0 as this one.
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