Nottingham Forest’s Premier League start has not gone as well as they had hoped.
The opening day win against Brentford could only be followed by a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace and then a 3-0 loss to West Ham.
Given what is ahead of Nottingham Forest, a matchup with title contenders Arsenal is not ideal after such a heavy defeat, but that is what is up next for Nuno Espirito Santo.
The Garibaldi head into the game after a poor performance, but the form of their players on international break will be a positive.
Nikola Milenkovic has impressed for Serbia, meanwhile Elliot Anderson has been receiving praise from the football world.
However, the Tricky Trees have received a major boost ahead of Saturday’s clash at the Emirates.
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
William Saliba expected to be out for three to four weeks, missing Nottingham Forest fixture
William Saliba is one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League, if not the world. The Frenchman is a colossus for the Gunners, and any striker would wish to avoid playing against him.
The Arsenal defender went off injured just a couple of minutes into their last match against Liverpool, and the timeline for the injury has been unknown since.
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However, after reports that have emerged from France, Chris Wood could be looking ahead at the fixture with wide eyes.
French outlet L’Equipe reports that Saliba ‘is expected to be out for three to four weeks’ which would mean that he is ruled out for the game against Nottingham Forest.
The last time Arsenal and Nottingham Forest played, the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Additionally, Forest failed to score against Arsenal on both meetings last season.
Although William Saliba will be missing the game, Arsenal still possess immense depth at the back. Cristhian Mosquera came off the bench against Liverpool and seemingly filled the void.
Meanwhile, Piero Hincapie could come in to make his debut for the club.
No matter which way you look at it, though, either option would be a downgrade for Arsenal, and Chris Wood will be eyeing to break his duck against them.
Chris Wood’s record against Arsenal is poor
Chris Wood is a top finisher, but Arsenal appear to be a bogey side for him.
In 14 appearances against the Gunners, the New Zealander has only managed to score once.
He has faced them four times for the Garibaldi, and has failed to score on each occasion. Although it is worth mentioning he only played 43% of the available minutes against them.
With no William Saliba, Wood has a great chance to end his terrible record, and his physicality against Mosquera or Hincapie, who are new to the league, could be a major threat.
Forest will be hoping to establish themselves as regular European contenders, and getting a result at the Emirates would be a massive step in doing so.
And they’ll need to do so to prove the Opta supercomputer wrong about where Forest will finish.