Premier League: Arsenal and Forest Desperate for Points

Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal

Both clubs are desperate to garner points on a consistent basis at this point in the Premier League season. Arteta and Arsenal are back from their mini-winter break getaway and are striving to get back to the summit of the league, while Nottingham Forest are treading their heads above water just to avoid relegation and further financial struggles.

The Tricky Trees are coming into this match fresh from a labouring loss to Brentford, which would’ve boosted themselves past multiple teams in the standings, and more importantly, it would’ve propelled them further from the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, the Gunners ended their three-game skid with a demolition job against Crystal Palace. A revitalised Arsenal now aim to get another round of points against a struggling squad before they face Liverpool and West Ham in February.

This matchup between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal at City Ground holds more importance than it seems, and the football world should definitely take notice.

Talking Points

Arsenal are back on track after dismantling Palace

The Gunners found themselves in a hole coming into their Matchday 21 contest. Arteta and his boys were steady in the title race, but they ended 2023 on a bad note, losing back-to-back matches against West Ham and Fulham.

Failing to bag any points in two straight Premier League match days could be detrimental for title-aspiring clubs like Arsenal, especially with how tight the top-five spots in the league standings are right now.

It seemed like their FA Cup loss to a Mo Salah-less Liverpool last week was the last straw for the boys up in North London, and they were determined to win their next match, their first Premier League bout in 2024.

Arsenal’s emphatic victory over Crystal Palace ended their three consecutive defeats across all competitions, which garnered them 43 points, putting them level with the thriving Aston Villa and the defending champions Manchester City.

The Gunners looked mighty before their fumble in recent weeks. They topped the Premier League before Christmas and are now once again clawing their way up to the summit. This is just proof of how competitive the English top flight is.

Arteta hopes his side can stay revitalised as they host another struggling team, Nottingham Forest. A win against the Sticky Trees could see them pass Manchester City and reclaim the second seed in the league table. Arsenal fans can just wait and see if their Gunners still have enough ammo to mount a comeback at this stage of the season.

The Premier League 2024 odds still have the Gunners as the third-favourites to win the season, but expect the needle to move in the upcoming weeks.

Nottingham Forest are in a tricky situation

Forest head honcho, Nuno, is fighting tooth and nail to avoid relegation this term. Forest managed to put up back-to-back wins before the 2023 slate ended, which mightily helped their cause, but were quickly pulled down to earth with a 3-2 loss against Brentford.

But Forest’s goal to avoid relegation is more detrimental than we thought. If Nuno’s squad fails to produce favourable Premier League 2024 results and is sent back to the Championship, the club will face further financial problems due to the fact that a significant number of their players do not have relegation clauses in their contracts.

The Tricky Trees were able to squeeze in relegation clauses in some of their players’ contacts during their lavish £200 million spending spree, causing them to be charged with breaking the Profit and Sustainability Rules by the EPL earlier this month. But the dilemma is that a handful of players simply refused.

In which case, the club will face tremendous amounts of liability if they do go down to the Championship by the end of the season, which could force them to sell their highest-earning players in the summer.

The resilient Forest are currently four points clear of the relegation zone, but a possible points reduction could be in the works as a result of the charges imposed by the Premier League.

It will be a gloomy season for Forest fans if Nuno and his boys can’t produce winning results for the rest of the season, but as of now, they’re still in the clear.

To tally any amount of points against Arsenal would go a long way for the Tricky Trees, and with their backs against the wall, expect a fiery Nottingham Forest moving forward.

History

Forest have been a staple in the Championship since time immemorial and have just been uprooted to the Premier League in the 2022–23 season. Which is why these clubs have only faced each other 13 times since 1995, and it’s not as one-sided as you’d think.

Among those 13 head-to-heads, Forest have won almost a third of those matches with four victories, while the Gunners won eight and were able to tally a draw just once.

Neither side could set themselves apart from another, as they went back and forth in their last six matches, alternating wins since 2018.

During their most recent match, Arsenal won 2-1 thanks to two first-half goals by Edward Nketiah and Bukayo Saka. The Tricky Trees got one goal back in the dying minutes of the game courtesy of Taiwo Awoniyi in minute 82, but ran out of time to mount a convincing comeback.

Betting Tip 

Arsenal reminded everyone just how potent their offence can be when they thrashed Crystal Palace during their last matchday bout with a 5-0 score line. And facing up against Nottingham Forest, an outfit that has conceded more goals this season than the Eagles, a total goal tally of over 2.75 won’t be such a tall order for the Gunners and the Tricky Trees.

As for their money line, it would be no surprise if most punters would go for Arteta’s side to win with a price of 1.37, which would only hold little value and excitement given where these clubs are in the league standings at the moment.Forest, the home side, is priced at 6.80 and 4.41 to draw, which are spot-on prices by SBOTOP, in my humble opinion.

 

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