Forest manager explains the reason for key tactical decision against toothless Arsenal
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo admitted there was no need to field an extra defender against a toothless Arsenal side last night.
The Gunners slipped even further behind runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool following a goalless draw at the City Ground during which they registered just two shots on target.
Without the likes of Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli, midfielder Mikel Merino was again asked to plough a lone furrow up front.
The Spain international battled manfully but struggled to unsettle the home side’s backline which coped comfortably with everything Mikel Arteta’s side could muster.
Forest, who remain third six points adrift of Arsenal, have played with a back five on occasions this season, utliising that system to great effect in a recent 7-0 thrashing of Brighton.
Faced with strikerless Arsenal, however, Nuno felt there was no need to take any extra precaution against a side who are without so many of their most dangerous attacking players.
‘As Arsenal doesn’t have a striker with Merino playing in that position there’s no need for an extra body, said Nuno.
‘So the overload will be in midfield so it’s about containing the midfield.’
For Arteta, the problem of finding a solution to his side’s lack of potency has become a major headache with the decision not to make a signing in January looking a costly one.
Saka and Martinelli could be back after the international break but with Havertz and Jesus out for the rest of the season Arsenal will have to soldier on without a recognised centre forward.
‘We need to keep pushing, we need to keep going,’ said veteran midfielder Jorginho after another frustrating result.
‘We need to find the solutions to score, to create more chances in the box, more shots. Everyone needs to step up and do a bit more for the team.
‘The willingness of the team is huge and you can see how hard everyone tries and for sure we are going to carry on that way.’
Arteta, meanwhile, insisted he was pleased with the response of his side to last weekend’s wretched performance and defeat against West Ham but was frustrated his team were unable to turn their dominance into goals.
‘Very disappointing not to win it,’ he said. ‘Today, the standards were very different to the previous game; the energy, the willingness to make things happened.
‘We certainly tried many different ways, we dominated the game apart from one spell in the second half after one or two direct free-kicks where they had something in the box and one or two giveaways that allowed them to run, apart from that nothing.
‘With the amount of situations we generated, with the moments we opened them up, we lacked the final pass, the quality on that delivery and certainly more shots on target to actually win it and be more efficient.’
He added: ‘We tried and adapting the quality that we have, how we can help the team to create different things, to have threats from different qualities.
‘Probably they are not about arriving in the box and creating some magic moments, they are other kind of players. Try to adapt to that and do the best that we can.’
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