Nottingham Forest preview: Grind it out

Morning all.

After a disappointing defeat to West Ham, Mikel Arteta’s problem this night is to do higher in opposition to a greater facet as we go to Nottingham Forest afterward. Their place within the desk is perhaps one thing of a shock within the grand scheme of issues, however it’s by no means undeserved. They’ve been excellent this season, regardless of just a few ups and downs, and I suppose we have now to hope they’ve one of many latter performances this night.

However, I feel they’ll be licking their lips on the prospect of taking part in this iteration of Arsenal. We struggled in opposition to Leicester till Mikel Merino got here up with the products, however when West Ham sat deep and mentioned ‘Come break us down’, we couldn’t try this. When you think about Forest’s game-plan is about permitting groups to have possession then hitting them on the break – slugging them on the break is perhaps even higher – we’re going to need to be at our greatest defensively tonight.

Then it turns into a query of how we enhance when we have now the ball, and that’s the tough one. Does he proceed with Mikel Merino as a false 9/centre-forward? Choices are so, so restricted, and from the whole lot we’ve seen he appears reluctant to select Raheem Sterling it in any respect doable. If he did select him on the left, may Merino because the left 8 play that Kai Havertz supporting function to Leandro Trossard up entrance? That might imply considered one of Declan Rice or Jorginho on the base of midfield – and in a sport like this Rice would the apparent alternative. It has labored to first rate impact earlier than, so it could possibly be value a attempt if he feels Sterling will be efficient on the left (though I feel that’s unlikely).

Past that, maybe Merino continues up entrance, he goes with a Jorginho, Rice, Odegaard midfield trio, simply so as to add that little bit of passing vary from deep? Is Ben White match to begin a sport to provide us a bit extra overlapping thrust on the best? Might we do one thing a bit left-field and begin Kieran Tierney as effectively, a extra conventional left-back overlapping on the left would assist us make the pitch larger relatively than extra slender which tends to occur once we face sides who sit off? However then does that give Forest extra room to interrupt into?

The fact is none of those choices are perfect, however I don’t assume we will decide the identical group we did in opposition to West Ham and simply anticipate it to be higher. I did say after that sport that the gamers had should have been able to extra, however at this level I actually consider he has to make a tweak or two – and be certain that we have now one thing efficient on the bench if it is a sport we have to change late on. That’s simpler mentioned that executed, though in his press convention yesterday he mentioned he relishes the challenges this season has introduced:

It’s been extremely satisfying to work day-after-day with the gamers, the coaches and the employees to attempt to overcome sure conditions. If any person tells you at the beginning of the season that by this time you’ll have performed 5 instances with a purple card, over half an hour in every of them, and you’ve got misplaced this quantity of gamers, what’s the wager you might be in the course of the desk no less than, and you might be out of the Champions League?

However that’s not the state of affairs, in order that tells you the resilience, the sources and the ambition the group and that each particular person has, and that point has most likely been considered one of my proudest moments to work, in that sense.

If these are qualities he’s pleased with, and I can perceive why he is perhaps, he must elicit them in an enormous manner from his gamers this night. If we’re going to win, I feel we’ll win ugly. I could possibly be unsuitable, I usually am, however I don’t see us placing collectively the sort of attacking efficiency that may blow a group like Forest away. It is perhaps a conflict of attrition to some extent, and we have now to make sure that we don’t give away a crap purpose just like the one we did in opposition to West Ham. After that, if we will nick one, and grind it out, I’d take that proper now.

This appears like a interval of the season, earlier than we hit the Interlull in March, the place the necessity to dig deep and present resilience – and a bit {of professional} pleasure after shedding on Saturday – will probably be badly wanted. We now have an enormous Champions League sport subsequent, so going into that one on the again of a win could be very helpful. It’s value declaring that Saturday was our first defeat in 16 Premier League video games, the slate is clear now, so let’s go once more.

For extra on this one, we’ve acquired a preview podcast for you over on Patreon, and as ever you may be part of us later for dwell weblog protection, plus all of the post-game stuff on Arseblog Information.

Till then, fingers crossed!