Falling to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Arsenal, here are four talking points as Nottingham Forest’s unbeaten away record was finally ended at the Emirates. George Edwards was at the match
As shown by Forest’s win at Anfield in September, to beat the top teams you have to get everything right.
You must rely on the opposition to have a bad day, maybe a few injuries or suspensions, while banking on 9/10 performances from the entirety of your XI. The odd bit of luck must go in your favour, and there must be belief from all that the unthinkable was within reach.
Unfortunately for Nottingham Forest, none of that happened yesterday. They were intimidated by Arsenal’s threat while also being without two key creative assets, all of which led to the Reds becoming undone and seeing their away unbeaten record washed away.
Bukayo Saka scored against Forest at the Emirates again, with second-half substitutes Thomas Partey and Ethan Nwaneri sealing the deal, as Arsenal ran out 3-0 victors. Here are four talking points from a Forest perspective following that defeat.
James Ward-Prowse’s time limited?
Despite Forest’s relatively high spending this summer, James Ward-Prowse’s scurried-through deadline-day signing looked like it could be the final piece in Forest’s midfield puzzle, with Premier League know-how and wicked set-piece delivery. Yet there had to be doubts that a side on a similar level to Forest was willing to let him go so nonchalantly.
His debut, at Anfield, was almost faultless, adding composure and efficiency on a day where the Reds compact midfield squeezed every creative juice out of Liverpool’s eleven.
Fast forward two months and Ward-Prowse finds himself well down the pecking order after Nico Dominguez’s impressive performances, and only given a route back into the team against Arsenal as injuries struck.
A game with the potential to mirror Anfield looked to be the perfect fit for him to perform, but his output throughout was minimal and his presence largely lightweight. Whenever Arsenal applied any sort of pressure he looked vulnerable and, for a man of his reputation and ability, his set-piece delivery was rather displeasing.
However, it was a poor collective display at the Emirates, and singling Ward-Prowse out as the culprit would be unjust.
But with Danilo and Ibrahim Sangaré’s returns on the horizon and Dominguez forming a neat partnership with Ryan Yates, Ward-Prowse’s existence around the first team may become rather minimal. That fact, despite the defeat, shows the amount of positive progress taken by the side this season, that a player of his quality could be deemed surplus to requirements.
Creativity at a minimum
As mentioned, Ward-Prowse got his chance due to injuries. Injuries to Forest’s most creative and confident players, at the moment, in Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson.
That meant the Reds had nothing in the middle of the park from a creative standpoint, with Taiwo Awoniyi making a decent fist of the countless long balls flung his way, on his only second Premier League start of the season.
He didn’t do much wrong; both Wood and Awoniyi aren’t the most creative strikers, and the in-form New Zealander would likely have struggled in similar fashion had he begun the game up top.
Despite Arsenal being a possession-based team, they were quite content to allow Forest to have the ball at times, aware of the lack of threat posed by their unimaginative football, with only a few first-half Elanga sprints and a five-minute second-half spell resembling any kind of attacking threat.
Forest’s reliance on their numbers 8 and 10 is perhaps the most worrying factor to emerge from the defeat, with the midfield trio of Ward-Prowse, Dominguez and Yates looking out of sorts and lacking a driving force forward.
Three goals conceded again
Two games ago the second most sturdy defence in the league, Forest have now conceded six goals in two games, and that formidable partnership of Murillo and Milenkovic no longer looks impenetrable.
On the face of it, very bleak, but should Forest be worried long term?
The short answer is possibly. Their defensive structure looked impeccable pre-Newcastle, and they proved time and again that their record was no fluke.
Conceding three goals at Arsenal can happen to anyone; it’s the three against Newcastle that probably sting the most. Those goals displayed defensive ill judgement and poor marking, whereas the goals conceded yesterday come down largely to Arsenal’s midfield dominance rather than mistakes from the men in the back line.
Forest should be able to overpower Ipswich’s midfield next week, with that being the real test as to whether Forest’s defence has the character and ability to sustain its early steadfastness for the entirety of the season.
Outclassed
Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and admit that the better side won.
It was always going to be tough and, despite the fact Forest had that fierce unbeaten away record, visiting a sold-out Emirates with a largely fully fit home squad would be a struggle for any side.
Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka ran the show, with Ødegaard in particular finding space all over the park and dictating the pace of his side’s onslaught. They were always one step ahead of Forest, with the Reds constantly reacting to their opponents moves rather than anticipating them.
Saka himself had free rein at Álex Moreno, with very little support from his winger Hudson-Odoi. Little blame can be aimed at Moreno, who stopped Saka on multiple occasions, but even the best full-back in world football would struggle to keep the winger quiet all game, with no support.
Arsenal had Forest exactly where they wanted them all game, with Forest’s dismal attack only looking threatening once they were 2-0 down and deciding to find Hudson-Odoi with every second pass.
All in all, a disappointing afternoon and one that makes next week’s home tie against Ipswich look vital, given the run of games to follow.
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