Arsenal and Nottingham Forest will lock horns in the Premier League on match day 12 at Emirates in London. The North London side have been superb all through the past three seasons and they are one of the sides challenging for the Premier League titles. As for Forest, the side are aiming to avoid their usual relegation battle and it seems they are on course to do that.
As of the time of writing, Arsenal are third on the Premier League log with 17 points, while the Reds have 10 points from seven games and they are placed 10th on the log. Mikel Arteta’s side are strong at home and they will be keen to keep that form going against one of the sides they have beaten at home in the past four previous meetings.
One thing Arteta’s side have done this present season is their ability to adapt in difficult situations. The team showed character to take all three points at Tottenham and were denied by a late goal at Manchester City. They also have wins against the likes of Aston Villa, Southampton, Leicester City, and Wolves in their opening seven games of the campaign. It has been a great start even in the absence of talisman Martin Odegaard. Arteta did well to praise his team for the adaptation back in late September.
“If you put me in this scenario before I started this season with the calendar that we were given, the fixtures that we had, the three away games that we had and the amount of injuries that we had to deal with and how we got out of that, I would be very, very pleased,” Arteta said in his pre-Leicester press conference back then.
“It’s not just Martin, obviously he’s one of our best players and a player that has more impact on the team in many ways, but there were many others as well and the team has coped extremely well because we have an exceptional group.
“We have to adapt,” he added. “The influence that Martin had in our attacking phase is enormous, we cannot question that. When you look at every metric, the way we plan the games to try to do things to get him in the spaces where he can be very dangerous for the opponent is key. It’s always about him.
“We don’t have it so we have to adapt our way of playing and find other ways to do it that are very efficient. It won’t be the same. It will be different, but hopefully very efficient as well,” Arteta concluded.
The shocking result for Arsenal this season though was their 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth, which no one could have predicted at all. To go with, there is a general feeling that the Gunners lack a certain bite in attack, compared to previous seasons. That is one key area they must address if they are to genuinely be in contention for the league once again.
As for Forest, they are beginning to adapt to life under Espirito Santo in his first full season with the club. The Reds have been decent in getting wins under their belt this term and they will approach this game with so much confidence on the back of their results at Liverpool and Chelsea. As of the time of writing, Forest has had two wins, four draws, and just one defeat which goes to show their strong form in the early stages of the season.
The Gunners will be wary of the threat the visitors possess, but their strong home form against them will give them some confidence as well. Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka have been solid at the Emirates this term and if the Reds will take anything away from here, they will need to stop both players by all means.
Arsenal v Nottingham Forest’s head-to-head record shows that in the 14 meetings they’ve had since 1995, Arsenal have won 9 times and Forest have won 4 times. Just one of those fixtures has ended in a draw.
Match tickets
This match at The Emirates in London kicks off on Saturday 23rd November 2024, at 15:00 GMT.
The 60,704-capacity stadium is the place for this clash between the title challenges and the side battling for survival.
Getting Arsenal v Nottingham Forest tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Line-ups
Mikel Arteta and his team are quite strong at home and the manager has a good number of his stars available. Utility Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey, and Dutch defender Jurrien Timber could feature in this game. This match might come too soon for skipper Martin Odegaard, while Bukayo Saka should again retain his spot on the wing and Kai Havertz leading the line.
Arsenal XI: David Raya; Jurien Timber, Gabriel, William Saliba, Riccardo Calafiori; Kai Havertz, Declan Rice, Thomas Partey; Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Bukayo Saka.
Forest are already known for their strong performances on the road this term. After the win at Liverpool and the draw at Chelsea, Espirito Santo will be keen to make this trip count as well. He has the in-form Chris Wood, Morgan Gibbs-White, and the likes to call for this game.
Forest XI: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Ward-Prowse, Yates; Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Elanga; Wood.
Prediction
Arsenal have set high standards for themselves in the past couple of seasons and they know that there is no time for slip-ups. At the Emirates, they are difficult to play against and this Forest side should be beaten at the end of 90 minutes.
Forest have done a thing on Liverpool and Chelsea already this term, so Arsenal will be wary of them.
With the amount of firepower in Arsenal’s attack, this should be an easy win.
Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest
