Forest suffer injury blow ahead of Arsenal | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest will head to north London with selection problems after suffering a fresh injury setback ahead of Saturday’s early kick-off.

Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Nottingham Forest will travel to the Emirates without Ola Aina, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury sustained on international duty with Nigeria.

The full-back lasted only 10 minutes of his country’s 1-1 draw with South Africa before being replaced, and his absence represents a significant setback for new manager Ange Postecoglou ahead of his first game in charge.

Aina played 37 times last season and is regarded as one of Forest’s most reliable defenders. His withdrawal leaves Postecoglou short of options at full-back, particularly as Oleksandr Zinchenko is ineligible to face his parent club due to Premier League loan restrictions.

Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images

Nicolò Savona could return from a knock to feature in his place but if he isn’t fit, Neco Williams could move across from left-back.

The midfield will also be weakened by the absence of Nicolas Domínguez, who is recovering from a meniscus injury and will not return until October.

Arsenal are, of course, not without problems of their own, with Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz all unavailable, while Ben White and Christian Nørgaard remain doubtful.

Mikel Arteta’s side are looking to recover from defeat at Liverpool, while Forest, will be hoping for an immediate lift under their new head coach.