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That said, Arsenal still have plenty of ways to win a scrappy one, the box-crashing of Calafiori and Rice hard to track and, given their physicality, hard to match. And, if things don’t go as planned, there are options on the bench to change things/
Forest will want – and probably need – to make this game a mess. If it’s open and played through midfield, Arsenal will open them up because, with the guile they’ve added by buying Guimaraes, along with an in-form Odegaard, they have the ability to exploit space. For that reason, Forest need bodies everywhere, especially in the middle of the pitch, forcing them wide, where Saka might just’ve lost the spring in his acceleration following last season’s achilles injury while, on the other side, Eze isn’t going to go on the outside.
Elsewhere, 10-man Sunderland trail Bournemouth 2-0 with seconds remaining, while Brighton have splattered Palace 5-0 to move second above Arsenal, their goal difference +18. Ridiculous behaviour.
It’s finished 1-1 at Elland Road.
Arsenal, meanwhile, will look for Odegaard to make their play, directing attacks with the direction of his passes. Saka will reckon he can get at Murillo, and hit the by-line, with Havertz pulling off for cut-backs, while Eze wanders infield to look for little passes in behind.
So where is the game? Forest will look to play into and off Delap; he’ll be looking to pin a centre-back and lay off for McAtee and Ndoye to run at the Arsenal defence. Otherwise, they’ll want Munoz to target White and Williams to attack the space Calafiori vacates when going off on adventures and look to hit Delat the near post. Otherwise, expect to see Delap initiating contact in exchange for some cheap cheers celebrating his pashun.
Arsenal, meanwhile, make six changes to the side that handled Lille in midweek, Arteta reaping the benefits of having a full squad built to his specifications.
At the back, Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori replace Jurrien Timber and Myles Lewis-Skelly; in midfield, it’s Burno Guimaraes, not Mikel Merino; and in front of him, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz replace Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyökeres.
Back to those teams, Forest make two changes the side undressed at Crystal Palace last weekend, Ola Aina and the injured Morgan Gibbs-White dropping out, with Jair Cunha and Nicolás Domínguez coming in. Nikola Milenkovic, absent since the week of September, returns to the bench.
Nottingham Forest (3-4-2-1): Sels ;Jair Cunha, Diomande, Murillo; Muñoz, Schlager, Domínguez, Williams; McAtee, Ndoye; Delap. Subs: John Victor, Sangaré, Hudson-Odoi, Wood, Kalimuendo, Yates, Netz, Milenkovic, Aina.
Arsenal (4-3-3-): Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Guimarães, Rice, Ødegaard; Saka, Eze, Havertz. Subs: Meslier, Mosquera, Timber, Gyökeres, Madueke, Merino, Zubimendi, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman.
Arsenal spent the summer trying to by forwards and rightly so: they lack elite attacking quality, and well though they’ve done over the last few seasons, it has unarguably cost them.
The best summer acquisition though, was not a player, but the Premier League trophy or, more pertinently, the status of champions, also known as freedom. It meant they didn’t need to fritter money on someone they knew at the time wasn’t of the standard they were seeking in the hope they might contribute a key moment or two which pushed them over the edge. Instead, they could attack the season with confidence and without the desperate pressure of flailing failure, developing a style that could made the eyes bleed into a knowing, aggressive flow.
Of course they’re still a magician and matchwinner short but, in the meantime, they’re still much better than they were. These days, a tousing at Brighton can happen to anyone, so what’s of greater significance is the response: a comeback win against a confident and physical Leeds, then a Champions League win with a rotated team. Or put another way, Mikel Smugteta is an even better manager than Mikel Angsteta, and just as freakishly intense.
Forest, meantime, have made a confusing start to the season, decent performances at Liverpool and Villa undermined by home defeats to Leeds and Coventry, the latter then followed last week by a gubbing at Palace. They are surely far too good to become embroiled in a relegation struggle, but the possibility will linger as long as the identity of those who are not remains unclear, while only Spurs have mustered fewer than their five league goals.
All of which makes for some pure, uncut and concentrated “this league” action; let’s get involved.
