Arsenal will go back to the top of the Premier League table with three points at home to Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon.
The Gunners’ impressive start to the 2022-23 campaign has taken a hit over the past week – held 1-1 by Southampton last weekend before losing 2-0 at PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Europa League midweek.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest recorded only their second Premier League win of the millennium last weekend by beating Liverpool 1-0 at the City Ground. They weren’t in action midweek so will be well rested and have had much more time to prepare.
The two teams for this afternoon’s game in North London are as follows:
Arsenal
Aaron Ramsdale; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Takehiro Tomiyasu; Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka; Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli; Gabriel Jesus
Substitutes: Karl Hein, Kieran Tierney, Rob Holding, Cedric Soares, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson, Marquinhos, Eddie Nketiah
Takehiro Tomiyasu starts at left-back but otherwise no real surprises from Mikel Arteta, who names his strongest XI again today. A couple of these played in the Netherlands midweek but the majority are rested.
br>
Bukayo Saka should cause the visitors real problems down Arsenal’s right, whilst Martin Odegaard’s intricate passing has unlocked a number of defences this season. Gabriel Jesus is without a goal in his last three Premier League starts since scoring in the 3-1 North London derby victory at the start of the month.
Nottingham Forest
Dean Henderson; Serge Aurier, Steve Cook, Scott McKenna, Renan Lodi; Cheikhou Kouyaté, Ryan Yates, Remo Freuler; Morgan Gibbs-White, Taiwo Awoniyi, Jesse Lingard
Substitutes: Wayne Hennessey, Joe Worrall, Willy Boly, Neco Williams, Lewis O’Brien, Oriel Mangala, Sam Surridge, Brennan Johnson, Emmanuel Dennis
Steve Cooper will go with a 4-5-1 formation that switches to a 4-3-3 when in attack. How many attacks Nottingham Forest actually have in this game this afternoon remains to be seen.
Jesse Lingard has yet to impress after signing a £100-a-week contract in the summer, whilst Serge Aurier will know all too well what it’s like to lose at the Emirates during his time as a Tottenham Hotspur defender. He actually played well in the victory over Liverpool last week, but what are the chances of him having successive good games?
Promoted to editor in 2016, James has met famous footballing faces from Robbie Savage to John Barnes. Very passionate football fan and writer and has a degree in journalism,