Two of the top three in the Premier League meet on Wednesday (7.30pm UK), as we look to get back to winning ways at Nottingham Forest.
Six points separate the sides heading into this fixture, meaning we have the opportunity to steal a march between ourselves and the chasing pack in the hotly-contested race for Champions League qualification, and hope that we can chip away at Liverpool’s healthy lead at the summit in the process.
We could also clinch consecutive away league wins at Forest for the first time since 1990, but no team has left the City Ground with three points since October as Nuno Espirito Santo’s team continue to impress as they aim to finish the campaign in the same way they've started.
Forest still flying
This season’s surprise package continue to push for European football, although recent results have seen that quest stutter. Forest began the season by going five games unbeaten, but it was a run of 10 wins from 13 between October and the start of January that propelled them into the top three and continental contention.
However 10 points from a possible 21 have been added to the board since the turn of the year, which includes away losses at Bournemouth, Fulham and Sunday’s 4-3 defeat at Newcastle United which saw them 4-1 down at half-time despite taking the lead.
But their form at the City Ground has been outstanding. They’re unbeaten in six on their own patch stretching back to November, and their last home outing saw them thrash Brighton 7-0 at the start of the month, with Chris Wood adding three more to his total of 18 Premier League strikes.
What the managers say
Arteta: “The reality is there are so many games to play, and you have to get back to it. You have to have the levels and the consistency and the hunger to go again, and that’s what we are going to do on Wednesday.
“The difficulty is [of winning the league] It’s higher than it was three days ago. If you’re going to win the Premier League with the circumstances we have, you’re probably going to have to do something nobody else has done.”
Nuno: "Our ambition is to perform and try and be better than we were in the previous games, and give us a platform to help us achieve until the end of the season. This is what we want to get from the game. We want to finish the game and say we had a good game against Arsenal and we were stronger than them.
"This is the reality of the game, you have to realise it is part of our journey, ups and downs, not always possible to perform well. Sometimes your opponent is better than you in periods. You have to realise and move forwards. It's about reacting now."
Team news
Ethan Nwaneri limped off late on against West Ham on Saturday but Mikel Arteta it was just a touch of cramp and he should be fit to feature against Forest, but fellow teen Myles Lewis-Skelly will be suspended following his red card.
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli remain out, while Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu are out for the rest of the season.
Nuno has virtually a fully fit and available squad at his disposal, with just backup goalkeeper Carlos Miguel out of action with a hamstring injury sustained in an FA Cup win at Exeter City.
Taiwo Awoniyi returned to the bench on Sunday after suffering a broken nose and concussion in that game. The striker has scored all three of Forest’s Premier League goals against us since their return to the top-flight.
Talking tactics
Adrian Clarke: I would expect us to control possession as Forest average under 40%. On the back of conceding four at the weekend, Nuno will focus on his team staying compact, whether he opts for a back four or back five. In recent weeks he has alternated shapes, but knowing we do not always find it easy breaking down low blocks, I expect them to set up cautiously.
Their great strength is their speed and efficiency on the break. Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi are direct with and without the ball, and are often set free by talented No.10 Morgan Gibbs-White. Liverpool and Chelsea are the only teams to have had more shots from fast breaks, so when they come at us from transitions we will have to defend well.
Forest hit 11 set-piece goals for the season against Newcastle, and no Premier League defender has attempted more headed shots than Nikola Milenkovic, so we must ensure he is picked up inside the danger zone. Wood has also netted six headers, the most of anyone in the top-flight. His conversion rate of 38.3% must be respected – it’s the best of anyone who has scored at least three times this season.
Our concentration levels must be sharp right from kick-off. At home they have opened the scoring in 10 of 12 matches, and their first-half goal difference in front of their own supporters is 12-1. How we perform early on is going to be vital.
Facts and stats
Nottingham Forest have lost seven of their last eight Premier League games against us, with the exception being a 1-0 home win in May 2023.
We have won 12 of our last 13 evening kick-offs in the Premier League, including our last nine in a row since a 2-0 home loss to West Ham in December 2023.
We have lost just two of our last 22 Premier League away games (W15 D5), going unbeaten in each of their last eight.
Nottingham Forest have won five of their last six Premier League home games, as many as they had in their previous 20 (D4 L11).
Our 15-game unbeaten run in the Premier League ended against West Ham last time out. We’ve not lost consecutive league games since December 2023, the first of which was a home loss to West Ham.
Nuno Espirito Santo has lost his last three Premier League meetings with us. In his managerial career, the only sides against which he has suffered 4+ consecutive league defeats are Benfica (4 from 2012 to 2014) and Liverpool (7 from 2018 to 2024).
Ethan Nwaneri scored his first-ever Premier League goal in our 3-0 win over Forest in the reverse fixture. The only player to score home and away goals against an opponent before turning 18 in a single Premier League campaign is Wayne Rooney against us in 2002/03.
Chris Wood has been involved in six goals in his last three Premier League home games (5 goals, 1 assist), netting a hat-trick against Brighton last time out. The New Zealand international has scored just one goal in 12 league games against us.
Match officials
Andy Madley has been handed his third Gunners game this campaign, but his first in the Premier League as he oversaw our League Cup triumph against Crystal Palace before our FA Cup exit to Manchester United, when he handed us a penalty and sent off Diego Dalot.
Despite reffing us since 2017, this will be just the seventh time he has been in charge of one of our games, and we have won three of the previous six. He hasn’t officiated Forest since February 2023, and they’ve won just five of 18 under his watch. He averages four yellow cards in his 13 top-flight games, issuing two penalties and one red card in that time.
Referee: Andy Madley
Assistants: Eddie Smart, Craig Taylor
Fourth official: Anthony Taylor
VAR: Michael Salisbury
Assistant VAR: Lee Betts
Recent visits to the City Ground
Our trips to the banks of the Trent haven’t been too fruitful as Forest have won three of their last four home games against us, although they did lose this exact fixture 2-1 last season when Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka were on target.
The previous May saw us fall to a 1-0 loss when Awoniyi netted the only goal to virtually end our title challenge, and the season before brought about the same scoreline in the FA Cup third round when Lewis Grabban got the only goal.
The same fate befell us in 2018 when a 4-2 defeat at the same stage of the competition ended our interest, but we did manage to record a victory back in September 2016 in the League Cup, when a brace from Lucas Perez plus strikes from Granit Xhaka and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain claimed a 4-0 win.
Live coverage
Tune into Live From N5 just before kick-off to hear live commentary of the game provided by Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke, who will guide you through all the action if you’re out and about.
You can also find out which broadcasters are showing the action live wherever you are in the world.
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