Premier League: Arsenal win at Forest; Brighton rout Palace, Man United held by Leeds

Arsenal defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City Ground in a Premier League match on October 18, 2026, with Noni Madueke scoring the only goal in the 80th minute. On the same day Brighton & Hove Albion beat Crystal Palace 5-0, Manchester United drew 1-1 with Leeds United at Elland Road, and Bournemouth recorded a 2-0 win at Sunderland.

Arsenal's victory keeps them three points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City. Brighton moved to third place with 16 points, five behind Manchester City. Manchester United have one win from seven games and occupy 13th position while Leeds sit seventh. Nottingham Forest remain in the relegation zone in 18th with five points and have yet to win or even score at the City Ground this season; Bournemouth climbed to 15th with their first league victory and Sunderland remained 19th.

At the City Ground Arsenal required a late intervention to break the deadlock, their only shot on target arriving in the 80th minute. Ibrahim Sangare hesitated when he could have cleared the ball, leaving Forest manager Oliver Glasner visibly angry, and second-half substitute Madueke then danced past Daniel Munoz before hammering a shot that deflected off Jair Cunha and wrong-footed Matz Sels. "We're really happy, we did it all together. We showed ​grit, determination, and maybe we showed a champion ‌spirit here for that, really pleased," Madueke told Sky Sports. Forest's Murillo came close in injury time when he beat three players before an effort sailed narrowly wide.

At the Amex Stadium Brighton opened the scoring in the fourth minute through a Jaydee Canvot own goal and Diego Gomez followed up three minutes later with a strike from inside his own half after robbing Adam Wharton near the halfway line, taking a touch and firing the ball over goalkeeper Walter Benitez. "When I got the ball I knew the goalkeeper was a little bit ahead," Gomez told Sky Sports. "When I scored I didn't know where to run or what to do. I was very happy with ‌the goal." Yasin Ayari added a third three minutes after Gomez's strike, Charalampos Kostoulas scored just after halftime when Ayari's shot deflected into his path, and Jack Hinshelwood wrapped up the 5-0 win in the 84th when Luka Vuskovic's header was scooped off the line by Benitez and Hinshelwood fired home the rebound.

The match at Elland Road finished 1-1 after Manchester United looked on course for a much-needed victory when Bryan Mbeumo scored in the 35th minute following earlier missed chances, holding off James Justin before tapping in a Youri Tielemans cross from six yards out. Leeds' Dominic Calvert-Lewin equalised in the 51st minute, chesting down the ball from a corner before poking home. "We are slightly disappointed it is just a point," Leeds boss Daniel Farke told Sky. "Second half, we got the equaliser, we should have kept up the dominance, too many strikes went over the crossbar but it was overall a solid performance. "We took it ‌as a compliment that we have done many things right over the last month if we were seen as favourites against ⁠Manchester United."

The draw came at the end of a turbulent week for Manchester United in which defender Lisandro Martinez had publicly challenged the club's hierarchy. Martinez retained his place in Michael Carrick's starting lineup despite criticising United's hierarchy following Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League defeat at Atletico Madrid, questioning the club’s summer investment and singling out director of football ‌Jason Wilcox before later apologising.

Bournemouth punished a shaky Sunderland start to take the lead after six minutes when Lewis Cook lofted a long ball forward that Evanilson ran on to and squared for Marcus Tavernier to head home from close range. Evanilson doubled the lead in the 48th minute when the Brazilian rounded goalkeeper Robin Roefs before slotting home left-footed, securing Bournemouth's first league victory of the season and lifting them to 15th place while Sunderland remained 19th.

Arsenal's win at Nottingham Forest moves them back above Brighton into second place in the Premier League and keeps them three points behind leaders Manchester City.