Arsenal welcome Nottingham Forest to the Emirates Stadium in an untelevised Premier League clash.
Victory would see Arsenal return to the Premier League summit, whilst Forest can avoid spending another week at foot of the table with a win.
Team News
Marquinhos could return for Arsenal after he was left out of Thursday’s Europa League defeat at PSV Eindhoven due to a fever.
Matt Turner (groin) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (muscle) are doubtful but Emile Smith Rowe (groin) and Mohamed Elneny (hamstring) remain absent.
Forest could welcome Lewis O’Brien back into contention after he missed their last three matches due to illness.
Jack Colback (back), Harry Toffolo (hamstring), Moussa Niakhate (thigh) and Omar Richards (leg) remain absent.
Stat Attack
- Arsenal have lost just one of 10 previous Premier League meetings against Nottingham Forest (W6, D3, L1).
- Forest lost their only previous visit to Arsenal’s latest home – Emirates Stadium, having suffered a 5-0 defeat in September 2019 in Third Round of 2019-20 League Cup.
- Arsenal are unbeaten at home against Forest (W3, D2), albeit at the Gunners’ ex home stadium – Highbury.
- Gabriel Jesus has been involved in eight league goals for Arsenal this season, having delivered five goals and three assists.
- Two of Taiwo Awoniyi’s three league goals for Forest this season have been scored on his right foot.
Prediction
Having ridden their luck in recent weeks with scrappy wins amidst poor end product and defensive errors, Arsenal’s luck certainly ran out at PSV Eindhoven with a fairly lacklustre performance despite still largely dominating so I do expect a furious reaction here.
Forest meanwhile will again be underdogs which they seemed to relish against Liverpool last weekend with a resilient defensive performance amidst poor marking at corners, whilst their attack was ultimately clinical of which will need to be replicated here if they’re to stand any chance of another win.
I though am struggling to see how Arsenal can lose this on home turf but if Forest can frustrate the Gunners on a defensive level and take their chances, this could be closer than many expect as the Gunners continue to manage a hectic fixture list.
Prediction: Arsenal 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Result: Arsenal 5-0 Nottingham Forest