Defeat at Arsenal was never going to be a season-defining result for a team on Nottingham Forest’s trajectory. Not least because this was the first time Nuno Espirito Santo’s side had lost an away game since they were beaten 2-0 in controversial fashion at Everton in April — and they are still in the top half of the table, just three points behind Arsenal in fourth despite Saturday’s heavy 3-0 defeat.
But with further challenging away games at Manchester City and Manchester United approaching, Saturday’s visit of struggling Ipswich Town now has extra emphasis.
As Nuno looks to inspire a return to the kind of form that saw Forest beat Liverpool at Anfield earlier this season and climb as high as third in the Premier League, he has three standout problems to address.
The No 10 role
Nuno is hopeful that Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White could both be available to face Ipswich, although Gibbs-White has a better chance of recovering from his ankle injury than Anderson does of overcoming his foot issue.
Arsenal saw two of their talismanic players — Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard — produce imperious performances at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Their slick, urgent passing football cut through Forest repeatedly and underlined the creative void in Forest’s midfield without Anderson and Gibbs-White.
Forest played more of a 4-3-3 on Saturday, rather than their usual 4-2-3-1, with Ryan Yates in the first half often the most advanced of the midfielders. The 27-year-old has many valuable attributes but is an entirely different player to Gibbs-White or Anderson.
While they were still frequently outclassed by a rampant Arsenal, who went ahead through Saka in the 15th minute and doubled their advantage thanks to Thomas Partey in the 52nd minute before Ethan Nwaneri completed the scoring, Forest did look brighter when they introduced the energetic Jota Silva at half-time.
Jota, who began on the right side but then slotted into that No 10 role, came as close to scoring as any Forest player, his rising shot blocked by the head of fellow substitute Chris Wood.
The Emirates, in fairness, is perhaps not the ideal environment to hand such an attacking free spirit a first Premier League start. A home game against Ipswich, a team second from bottom with just one league win this season, will present a different kind of challenge and if Anderson and Gibbs-White fail to recover from their injuries, Jota made a good case for being given a chance.
The winger has averaged 1.05 big chances created per 90 minutes this season, which is more than any other Forest player — although that does come from the small sample size of the 257 minutes he has played. Among the players who have started more than one game, Anderson has created the most big chances, with 0.57 per 90 minutes.
Jota, a £5.9m summer signing ($7.4m at current conversion rates) from Vitoria Guimaraes, has made 11 appearances for Forest, all as a substitute. With Anthony Elanga suffering a shoulder injury that forced him to be replaced at half-time, both Jota and fellow substitute Ramon Sosa will hope that Elanga’s misfortune could end up being an opportunity.
“Jota gives energy. I felt as though we gained something with his mobility and speed,” said Nuno in his post-match press conference. “That is why, even though important players were out, we have the players in the squad to provide solutions.”
Rediscovering their defensive strength
The most significant area of concern was the manner in which the gritty defensive resolve that had underpinned Forest’s tremendous start to the season went out of the window against Arsenal.
Before kick-off, the xG (expected goals) for opposition sides against Forest had been just 11.2 — only leaders Liverpool (9.3) had a lower total. Forest had conceded the second-fewest goals in the division (10), again behind Liverpool (six).
But in the space of two games, Forest have now conceded six goals. Against Newcastle, Forest were undone by opponents who beat them at their own game; fast, direct counter-attacking football.
What happened at Arsenal was more worrying. The goals scored by Saka and Partey involved a huge amount of individual brilliance, but both men were also given the freedom of north London.
“We cannot allow them that kind of space. We cannot allow Partey to shoot so freely on goal,” said Nuno. “That has to come from inside. There has to be an extra effort to close those gaps. We have to put that right.”
Next weekend’s opponents have had a tough start to life following promotion from the Championship, but in forwards Liam Delap (six goals) and Sammy Szmodics (three) they possess two players capable of punishing Forest if they are allowed space.
A blunt attack without Wood
As long as Chris Wood remains fit, Forest do not have an issue.
The New Zealand international has been in outstanding form this season. During the international break, he took his tally for club and country to 14 for the season, scoring five goals in big wins over Vanuatu and Samoa.
But after flying halfway around the globe, Nuno felt it was best to start the big striker on the bench.
His replacement, Taiwo Awoniyi, played with strength and purpose. He frequently did a good job of holding the ball up, but when he looked for support, too often there wasn’t any.
Forest’s biggest issue with Awoniyi is that Nuno — because of Wood’s outstanding form — is not in a position to put an arm around his shoulder and say to him ‘whatever happens, you are playing the next four games’. So, the Nigerian has not had an opportunity to build his sharpness after missing a chunk of pre-season because of a family issue.
A fully fit Awoniyi would not just be cover for Wood, he would be serious competition. But, for now, Forest look diminished without Wood in the side. Nuno started Wood and Awoniyi together in the 1-0 defeat by Fulham in September, in an old-school 4-4-2 formation, but it didn’t quite work.
The 63 minutes Awoniyi played at the Emirates, his second Premier League start of the campaign, will have helped the striker, but the challenge remains the same — finding a way to get Awoniyi up to speed for when he is needed.
(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
