Manchester City’s defeat to Manchester United, as well as West Ham United’s win against Tottenham Hotspur, earlier on Saturday gave both sides extra incentive for this clash, albeit to aid their respective situations at opposite ends of the table.
Sean Dyche’s men were looking to increase the gap between themselves and the bottom three, and created an early chance when Nicolas Dominguez’s close-range deflected strike went wide after the Argentine was spotted by Neco Williams.
League-leaders Arsenal, meanwhile, were struggling to find their groove in the opening exchanges, but Gabriel Martinelli would have been bitterly disappointed not to break the deadlock when his angled close-range finish crept past the far post.
Arteta’s side gradually moved through the gears, as Martin Zubimendi miscued his effort after a lovely through ball from Noni Madueke.
Forest, though, were showing admirable resilience and ended the half strongly following a spell of sustained pressure, although they were unable to create any clear-cut opportunities.
Arteta reshuffled his pack just shy of the hour mark with a triple substitution that included the introduction of Bukayo Saka. He looked to make an immediate impact when picking out Declan Rice, whose awkward shot took a bounce before Matz Sels parried it away to safety.
Rice then turned provider for the England winger, but the latter’s header was superbly tipped behind by the Forest shot-stopper.
Arsenal were looking more likely to find the opener, with Mikel Merino agonisingly close to connecting with Rice’s enticing set-piece from the left.
Nevertheless, Dyche’s men continued to battle hard and could have netted a winner themselves when Morgan Gibbs-White fired wide from Callum Hudson-Odoi’s cross.
Ultimately, neither side could snatch the victory as the spoils were shared. As a result, Arsenal are now seven points clear at the top of the table and remain firm favourites to finish at the summit and claim a first PL title in 22 years.
They also extend their unbeaten run to 11 games, while Forest can take plenty of confidence from a well-deserved point which leaves them five clear of the bottom three.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest)