Nottingham Forest Look to Slow Surging Arsenal | OneFootball

After a bruising defeat at the hands of Wrexham in the FA Cup, Nottingham Forest will need to pick themselves up quickly if they hope to take anything from their clash with league leaders Arsenal on the weekend.

The Gunners travel to the City Ground on Saturday evening, a stadium that has seen them drop points at crucial moments in recent seasons. Forest manager Sean Dyche will hope to be the banana skin that Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta slips up on once again.

Can Forest Frustrate Arsenal? Again?

When these two sides last met in Nottingham, Forest were riding high in the Premier League, just one place behind Arsenal, who were already 13 points behind leaders Liverpool. They have fallen far since then, and although they are seven points outside the relegation zone, 17th is a far cry from the giddying highs of the top four.

Their fall is best encapsulated by their most recent result: a shock defeat in the FA Cup Third Round. Dyche did not mince his words after his side’s poor performance against Wrexham and was vocal about the “unacceptable” first half showing that saw them go 3-1 down against the Championship side.

Now ahead of their Premier League tie, Dyche reiterated that “you’ve got to play well to get what you want” as Forest look to try and regain momentum in the league, following a 2-1 win over relegation strugglers West Ham earlier this month.

Although Dyche dismissed questions about his own managerial record against Arsenal, having only lost one in the last five meetings against the London team, Arteta’s record at the City Ground is certainly not consistent.

Since Forest’s return to the top flight three seasons ago, Arsenal have only won one game there, losing 2-1 during the run-in in 2023 and drawing their most recent fixture last season 0-0. A compact defence was key to shutting out the visitors in the last stalemate, as Forest held firm against Arsenal’s possession dominance.

Their back line was well-drilled under then-manager Nuno Espirito Santo, and Dyche will be counting on another standout performance from Murillo, who led the Forest defence last season as they celebrated the point as if it was a win.

Can Arsenal Continue their Momentum?

As Arsenal are still fighting this season on four fronts, the momentum they have been building cannot be underestimated. Since their loss to Aston Villa at the start of December, only their second of the season, Arteta’s side have ground out important wins, only dropping points in a goalless stalemate against Liverpool earlier this month.

Now that they’ve passed the halfway mark of the campaign, the test will be to see if they can succeed where they have failed before and carry their momentum through until the end of the season.

“We are building very good momentum. And the belief comes from performances and the level of consistency we have shown already this season,” Arteta acknowledged. “But the reality is that you have to show it in every game. We are very happy that we are still alive in all four competitions.”

The manager also recognised the challenge they face at the City Ground, against a side that might not be overperforming like they did last season but have taken points from big teams – including a 3-0 thumping of Liverpool back in November.

“Winning away from home in the Premier League is extremely tough. They are a team that have done a lot of things right over the last few years to build a really good team,” he said.

“You can see [Dyche’s] fingerprints in the team, the way they play and the results they have got against some big teams. The things they are constantly [making you do]. It’s another tough match,” he added.

Pressure Never Goes Away

There is still a long way to go this season, and every game still matters for both teams at either end of the table.

With a Manchester derby kicking off before Arsenal’s fixture, the Gunners could see their lead at the top cut down to three points if City beat United. They will need to produce a more convincing performance in Nottingham than they’ve been able to in recent seasons to keep their hopes of a title firmly on track.

Forest need to kick start their 2026 positively at home, as they ended 2025 with back-to-back losses at City Ground. The stats might not be in their favour, but they need to keep producing results if they want to ensure their top-flight survival is on their own terms.

Hooligan Podcast Take

My colleagues Gary Striker, The Qooligan and special guest Devin Crittenden of the Soccer Sharps discuss Arsenal