After two cup games in succession, attention now turns to the Premier League as Arsenal look to get back to winning ways, following a disappointing draw at home to Liverpool. With Manchester City having an upturn in results since the last match week, it’s absolutely imperative that Arsenal take all three points at the City Ground, in what will be a hotly contested fixture under the lights in Nottingham.
Forest’s form has been patchy of late and although they had a morale boosting win over West Ham United in their last league game, they’ve since been knocked out of the FA Cup by Wrexham, so it’s hard to say which Forest will turn up this evening.
Regardless of who turns up, this is a side managed by Sean Dyche so Arsenal are going to have to dig in and scrap for this one, if they want to add another three points to their tally.
Areas of encouragement
Viktor Gyokeres looked a lot better against Chelsea, so hopefully this is the start of a purple patch for the Swede, who also notched against Forest in the return fixture at The Emirates. Arsenal’s midfield was absolutely purring against Chelsea in the week and if our star players, such as Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi, turn up and boss this one, Arsenal will be in a great position to take all three points.
Areas of concern
The Arsenal defence has looked a bit leaky of late, which is bizarre to say, given how we started the season. They conceded two relatively cheap goals against Chelsea in the week and have only kept one clean sheet since before Christmas, so hopefully we are going to see a return to the early season form this evening.
Left back continues to be a position of real concern for the Gunners with the ongoing absence of Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori, so with some of Forest’s best players operating in the wide areas, whoever steps into that left back birth is going to need to be on the top of their game. There’s no time like the present to deliver the top class performance that we know you have in you, Myles.
What I’d love to see
We’re at that stage now where we need to be clicking into gear and showing some real form in the league so I’d love to see a professional, dominant and clinical performance this evening. I’d also love to see Gyokeres build on that Chelsea performance.
What I’d hate to see
We put a lot into that game against Chelsea so I’d hate to see a really leggy performance, where Forest out run us. They nearly all add had a rest against Portsmouth a week earlier so I really don’t think there’s any excuse for a flat performance from Arsenal, even if they don’t rotate much.
I remember being really excited about Omari Hutchinson when he was coming through our youth team and despite the pain of seeing him defect to Chelsea in the way he did, I always like to see our ex-academy players go on and do well for themselves. Given how excited I was about what he could do for Arsenal in his careers, it would be pretty painful to see him show us what we’re missing today, so hopefully he has an off day!
Lineup and Team News
Arsenal went really strong against Chelsea in the week and they can’t afford to take their foot off the gas against Forest these evening, so the lineup is likely to be very similar. One change that will almost certainly be made is David Raya will come back inbetween the sticks. The one real conundrum is who will play left back. The Jurrien Timber at left back experiment had mixed success, with Estevao giving Timber his toughest test so far this season, although in his defence, the Dutchman was slightly out of position. There’s also the risk of overplaying Ben White, as the last time he played a number of games in quick succession, his hamstring gave in, so Arsenal need to manage this one carefully. Therefore I think Mikel Arteta will move Timber back to right back and welcome in Myles Lewis-Skelly from the cold. Arteta hinted at a mystery player possibly returning from injury and I think it’s Riccardo Calafiori. That said, he’s not played for a few weeks so despite how desperate we are for his return, Arteta will likely play it save and have him start on the bench.
In midfield, again, I don’t think much will change but Martin Odegaard may sit this one out in favour of Eberechi Eze, as the Norwegian did look a bit leggy against Chelsea. Declan Rice’s legs will be needed up against the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliott Anderson, so he has to start and so does the hero from midweek, the exceptional Martin Zubimendi.
Upfront, Viktor Gyokeres should have done enough to keep his place with that goal and assist. Would feel unfair to drop him at this stage, even if this does feel like a game where Gabriel Jesus may be quite well suited. Likewise I think Gabriel Martinelli’s hattrick against Portsmouth last weekend and Leandro Trossard’s mediocre performance against Chelsea should be enough for the Brazilian to start this one, with Bukayo Saka starting on the opposite flank.
Predicted lineup:
Raya
Timber
Saliba
Gabriel
Lewis-Skelly
Zubimendi
Rice
Eze
Saka
Gyokeres
Martinelli
Substitutes:
Arrizabalaga
White
Calafiori
Merino
Odegaard
Havertz
Trossard
Madueke
Jesus
PREDICTION
It’s always a tough game at the City Ground, but it feels like this Arsenal team is about to find its groove so I’m going for 2-0 to The Arsenal.