Arsenal will aim to bounce back as they travel for their final away game of the season to relegation battlers Nottingham Forest.
Steve Cooper will hope to give the home crowd something to cheer about for what has been a mixed-bag of season. It has been a busy few weeks for Nottingham Forest, who got good results to keep them out of the bottom three ahead of the game against Arsenal.
Since their defeat to Liverpool, Forest have lost only once in their four games. In that period, they managed a surprise win over Brighton & Hove Albion and narrowly defeated fellow relegation battlers Southampton to give themselves some much-needed momentum.
Last weekend, they battled Chelsea and came away with a point from Stamford Bridge, which was tremendous given their away form. In their penultimate game of the season, Forest take on a wounded Arsenal side, aiming to stay relevant in their chase for the title.
As for title talk, Arsenal only had a lingering hope of chasing Manchester City. But Brighton put an emphatic exclamation point to those. Goals from Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan put the Gunners to the sword in what was described as an error-prone display.
Bukayo and Martin have both been nominated for the @PFA Fans' Player of the Year award 🏆
🗳️ Get voting for our Gunners 👇
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 16, 2023
There has been much use of the term ‘bottlers’ since that game regarding Arsenal losing the title race. But the Gunners’ supporters should feel proud of their achievements this season. Mikel Arteta will await his team’s response ahead of the Nottingham Forest trip.
They did lose here during their last visit, which was in the 2021/22 FA Cup. As for the title race, Arsenal will have to win this clash and hope Manchester City will fail to win their remaining three games.
Team News & Tactics
Nottingham Forest
Steve Cooper will see no reason to change his tactics after the Chelsea game. The manager set up a 3-5-2 formation that got what he wanted, but he had to leave Brennan Johnson out of the team sheet. There’s a chance for the attacker to come in, but the Forest boss will rather think about retaining that setup against Arsenal.
MGW on MD-2 🔋 pic.twitter.com/d81ccZacat
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) May 18, 2023
Forest do have a host of players missing from action, with as many as eight players out of contention to face the Gunners. Only Gustavo Scarpa could return to the squad and be on the bench.
As things stand, the predicted eleven could see Cooper retaining the 3-5-2 shape or a 3-4-2-1 in possession. Midfielder Danilo, who has scored in three of his last four games, will continue to operate in the advanced role alongside Morgan Gibbs-White.
Taiwo Awoniyi will lead the line after scoring a brace in each of his last two games. Ryan Yates and Orel Mangala will retain their places in central midfield, while Renan Lodi and Serge Aurier could provide the width from the wing-back positions.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Navas; Worrall, Filipe, Niakhate; Aurier, Mangala, Yates, Lodi; Gibbs-White, Danilo; Awoniyi
Arsenal
Mikel Arteta finally confirmed the widely known news by ruling out Oleksandr Zinchenko and William Saliba for the remainder of the season. Arsenal also suffered a fresh blow with the ankle injury to Gabriel Martinelli, who will miss out on the last two games.
💬 "Aaron fully deserves that new contract, that extension, and obviously we want to keep our talent at the club and build on that."
The boss is delighted that our number one has signed a new deal 👇
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 19, 2023
Leandro Trossard could come in the Brazilian’s place on the left side of the attack. At the back, Arteta will retain his back four of Ben White, Jakub Kiwior, Gabriel Magalhaes and Kieran Tierney. Fresh from signing a new contract, Aaron Ramsdale will aim to become only the fourth Gunners goalkeeper to play in all Premier League games in a season.
Arteta might retain his midfield setup and keep Jorginho to sit at the base. Martin Odegaard will assume the defacto creator in this team, while Granit Xhaka, linked with a move away from Arsenal, will remain in his left-eight role.
With Trossard coming into the left side of the attack, Arsenal will have Gabriel Jesus leading the line and Bukayo Saka on the right. The game might see Arteta giving decent minutes to Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson, with the duo linked with moves away after the season ends.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Ramsdale; Ben White, Kiwior, Gabriel, Tierney; Odegaard, Jorginho, Xhaka; Saka, Jesus, Trossard
Key Stats
- Nottingham Forest have conceded at least two goals in seven of their last eight matches in the Premier League.
- Nottingham Forest have lost only three times on home soil in 2023.
- Taiwo Awoniyi has scored braces in each of his last two Premier League appearances for Nottingham Forest.
- Arsenal have only ever lost one Premier League match against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
- Arsenal have lost three of their last five visits to the City Ground in all competitions.
Player to Watch
Granit Xhaka
No Borussia Dortmund or any other club in the race for Granit Xhaka at this stage. It’s only Bayer Leverkusen — and deal is very, very advanced. 🚨⚪️ #AFC
The agreement between Arsenal and Leverkusen is at final stages for €15m fee — waiting on next steps to get it done. pic.twitter.com/TSWy9sWH9p
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 18, 2023
For the Arsenal away fans, this might be the last time they see Xhaka, as the midfielder reportedly closes in on a move to Bayer Leverkusen. The Swiss international has been tremendous for the Gunners and remains a valued player in Mikel Arteta’s system.
He will be a big loss for the side aiming to become stronger this season. But it is time for fans to enjoy his presence, possibly for the last few games. It will certainly play on Xhaka’s mind, and the Swiss midfielder will likely want to make a big impact in a game that may carry some importance for his team.
Prediction
Nottingham Forest 1-3 Arsenal
The Gunners are not a team for someone to underestimate; they are wounded coming to the City Ground. Nottingham Forest remain under considerable pressure to get something from this game and remain as far away as possible from the bottom three.
The pressure will certainly fall on Forest to get something from the team with the best away record in the division. Arsenal could come away with all three points and score plenty at the City Ground to keep the hopes they left in the title race alive.
