Morning all.
250 Premier League fixtures up for Mikel Arteta today which is amazing really in this day and age when managers come and go at the first sign of trouble. Mikel Arteta has been through a lot since taking over from Unai Emery nearly five years ago, the biggest challenge being overhauling the squad which thankfully, looks very different to the one he inherited. Yet it was the squad he inherited which secured our only piece of silverware under his management.
This fixture has been kind to Arsenal over the years, in the league anyway if not always in the domestic cups. 1995 was the last time we dropped points against them when playing at home but of course, Highbury was our home back then.
Last seasons fixture against Forest on the opening day of the season saw Mikel Arteta’s side win 2-1. Having gone 2-0 up through Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka in the first half, a Forest goal late on set the nerves alight. It was an awful day for new summer signing Jurrien Timber who suffered what proved to be, a season ending injury. He’s since more than proved just what we missed.
Jurrien Timber, Leandro Trossard, Riccardo Calafiori, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka are likely to be in the squad today but Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney and Ben White are ruled out.
As always, Adrian Clarke has been writing about what we we can expect from today’s opponent in the official matchday programme:
Forest’s class of 2024 contains a bunch of talented individuals who look after the ball very well, but in essence they are a low-possession outfit, averaging just 42% of the ball so far this term, ranking them 18th in the division.
Set up in a 4-2-3-1, they are content sitting back in a 4-5-1 off the ball, making themselves tough to break down. It’s a ploy that works as they boast the second-best defensive record, conceding just 10 times. Centre-backs Murillo and Milenkovic have been the cornerstone of the early season success, and their differing skillsets complement one another perfectly. From that resolute base, they enjoy turning the ball over, playing through the thirds quickly, and launching counters. The attacking midfield trio of Morgan Gibbs-White flanked by pacy wingers Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga has a lovely balance, and only Liverpool and Chelsea have fashioned more shots from fast breaks.
Set pieces have also become a key part of Forest’s armoury, scoring a joint-high five goals from dead ball situations across their first 11 games. But while they have athleticism and industry aplenty, at times Nuno’s side lack creativity. No Premier League team executes fewer through balls, and their passing accuracy is among the weakest of all 20 teams.
November saw Forest batter West Ham before suffering a hefty 3-1 defeat against Newcastle Utd. Both matches were at The City Ground. We had a drab November, losing to Newcastle and Inter Milan away from home before drawing 1-1 with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge just before the international break.
Arsenal need to improve their performances and results, and fast. Already nine points behind the leaders Liverpool, hope of a third time lucky challenge for the league title might not be over, but with every point dropped, that hope will fade.
This is the start of a new period of the season as we run straight through to and through the festive period. It’ll be busy with a game pretty much every three days. We need to kick it off with three big points. Mikel Arteta has a near on fully fit squad to select from and somehow, he needs to find a better balance between attacking and defensive football. After all, if one works really well but the other doesn’t, it makes winning games difficult. We need creativity, speed in our attacking play, crisp and positive passing and most of all, we need goals!
We as fans know that when this group of players click, they can beat any team they come up against but so far this season, we’re yet to see them really click. Injuries and playing with ten men hasn’t helped at all however, with only Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu missing from last season’s main crop of first team players along with the addition of Mikel Merino, Riccardo Calafiori in the summer and a fit Jurrien Timber and Thomas Partey, Mikel Arteta’s options are aplenty.
Storm Bert might be hitting the country bringing snow, high winds and rain, but it’s Storm Arsenal who need to be on show at The Emirates from 3pm today. Don’t let Forest settle into the game and don’t fall for their “we don’t press high” tactics. Oh, and don’t give the ball away cheaply up front because Forest are quick on the break.
Simple eh….. lol
Catch up in the comments.
Hi Rico, I’ll just test.
Yep, still need to refresh the page.
Hopefully, with Martin Odegaard back some of the pressure on Declan Rice will ease and he can drop a bit deeper to provide a bit of cover for the defence.
We have a run of games now mostly at home and even the away games are mostly in London so less travelling. What is more the upcoming games are largely against the second tier teams.
We have a great opportunity to close the gap and by Christmas could be closer to the heels of City and Liverpool.
Same for me Cicero, can’t figure out why though..
Morning to you and all.
Agreed, this is the time we need to start playing as a team. The only journey away from London is in the CL against Sporting Lisbon.
If we don’t get our act together now, we can forget about the PL imo.
Going to be interesting to see how we go today, hopefully a nice win to give the players a lift and a bit more confidents going forward.
I’m like the others, I have to hit refresh to see what I have written, but like the new look.
Exactly Geoff, start this period well and build on it…
New look on here,very nice.
Today is a very important game,I like Nuno as a manager( should never have gone to Spurs though) He has got the better of us before,plus Chris Wood must be one of the most in form strikers around.
What a boost to have Odegaard back,come on lads.
Agree re Odegaard and he’s had two weeks of rest or light training since the Chelsea game..