Overview
Nottingham Forest just lost 3-4 to Newcastle in an extremely dramatic match. This was also the second consecutive defeat for coach Nuno Espirito Santo's team and the third of three defeats in the most recent Premier League round.
Before that, the home team at City Ground was defeated by Bournemouth and Fulham. Nottingham's decline will probably not be able to stop in the near future.
As for Arsenal, they also just had a minimal loss to West Ham in round 26. This defeat has blocked the 3-way winning streak of coach Mikel Arteta's team in the Premier League. Worse, Liverpool have extended their lead to 11 points (Arsenal have played 1 match less).
A victory against Nottingham is a must for Arsenal to quickly return to the rotation. They need to be best prepared before the match against PSV in the Champions League.
The Gunners' away form this season has been quite impressive. The London side have won four (against Crystal Palace, Brentford, Wolves, Leicester) and drawn one (against Brighton) in their last five games. They have also scored 12 goals and only conceded 3 in that time.
In addition, Arsenal are currently the best defensive club in the league as of round 27 with 23 goals conceded.
Not only holding impressive away form, Arsenal is also better than Nottingham in terms of head-to-head record. In the last 3 encounters, the "Gunners" have won all. It is likely that they will once again make Nottingham regret.
Personnel situation
Nottingham will not have the service of Carlos Miguel in this match due to injury. This is also the only unfortunate absence of the home team.
On the other side of the front line, Arsenal are without Lewis-Skelly due to suspension. In addition, they cannot play Martinelli, Saka, Havertz, Tomiyasu and Gabriel Jesus for various reasons.
Expected lineup:
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Morato, Milenkovic, Murillo, Aina, Gibbs-White, Danilo, Anderson, Williams, Elanga, Wood.
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Gabriel, Saliba, Zinchenko, Odegaard, Partey, Rice, Nwaneri, Merino, Trossard.
The match between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal takes place at 2:30 am on February 27 (Vietnam time).
