It was a rough inauguration for Ange Postecoglou as the Nottingham Forest manager, as he watched his new side comprehensively beaten 3-0 by a scintillating Arsenal.
The Gunners controlled the game and made the much-debated Ange Ball somewhat null and void, as the Tricky Trees spent most of the game camped in their own half due to the quality of their opposition.
Ange’s team actually mirrored the former manager, NunoEspírito Santo****’s style, just without the electric counterattack that comes at the end.
Alas, this was only the first game of the new regime, and the Australian’s system is one that requires much time on the training pitches to truly understand, something that Forest do not have a lot of, as they prepare for the gruelling Thursday-Sunday schedule that comes with playing in the UEFA Europa League.
So, not exactly the opening game Forest fans would have hoped for under their new man, but what did we learn from it?
First of all, there is no need for anyone to press the panic alarm or use this result as a stick to beat Postecoglou with.
This was an away game against a side that is likely the second-best in the country, as the team were coming off barely two training sessions with a new head coach. Context is key.
While the east Midlands outfit certainly did not impress at the Emirates Stadium, very few sides do. They were not the first victims (see Leeds United) of an outstanding Arsenal team. There was not much that could have been done to stop **Martín Zubimendi**and the sensational Noni Madueke.
Naturally, given the saga surrounding the club these past few weeks, this will be held up as a reason the club should not have got rid of Nuno, with some pointing out the Portuguese's more pragmatic approach would have served them better in a fixture such as this. Well, Forest’s last trip to this particular part of north London under Espírito Santo’s watchful eye saw them lose, you guessed it, 3-0.
So this should not be viewed as anything more than a free hit for Ange’s men, a free hit they missed, but a free hit nonetheless.
When Forest made the move to bring in Douglas Luiz over the summer, it was one that made complete sense. A disciplined defensive midfielder who also has the ability to contribute offensively. Not only that, but he’s something of a set-piece specialist.
He was tailor-made for Nuno’s Forest.
Despite that, the Brazilian did not see a single minute of football since joining the Tricky Trees in the summer. It perhaps had something to do with the fact that Luiz was an Edu acquisition rather than an Espírito Santo one.
But with Postecoglou coming into the City Ground, it made all the sense in the world that the former Aston Villa man would come in and replace Ibrahim Sangaré, who has flattered to deceive so far this campaign.
Instead, for the third game in a row, Luiz watched from the sidelines for the game’s entirety.
This was a game where Forest were overrun in the midfield and struggled to match Arsenal’s physicality. And while Luiz may not have changed the result, he certainly would have put up more of a fight.
Luiz was even stripped off and ready to come on at one point, before being shooed away and sitting back down.
It has to be acknowledged that both Nuno and Postecoglou have left the Juventus loanee out of their starting XIs. So there may be more to this than meets the eye.
Either way, one would hope that with Forest’s cluster of games over the coming weeks, Luiz would be blooded into the side and become a fixture within it.
Ange Ball not quite in full effect
It’s November 2023, Tottenham Hotspur are down to nine men against Chelsea. Despite this, Postecoglou does not sacrifice his principles. Spurs continue to attack, while simultaneously maintaining a high defensive line. His side would go on to lose 4-1.
When asked after the game why he persisted in playing in such a manner, he replied with the immortal words, “It’s just who we are, mate.”
But it would appear that it is not who Nottingham Forest are, not yet, at least. As Forest desperately struggled to bring that gung-ho style that their manager is so closely associated with. They, instead, were quite conservative and never were able to grab any semblance of control of the game.
That is partly down to the quality of their title-chasing opponents, but also has something to do with the fact that there has been next to no training for the side.
Ange had this to say of his team’s performance: "I can't fault the players' endeavour and effort. I thought we hung in there. We never really had control of the game at any point, but we worked really hard in the first half, and there were small seeds towards the end of the first half of us maybe being able to cause them some problems, but the second goal straight after half-time killed the game.”
But it’s clear that he does not want this kind of performance to become the norm: "So by Wednesday night, we will start seeing some real principles being embedded. It won't take long, and I am not going to let it take long.
“I'll make sure we turn it around because we have got an unbelievable opportunity this year to make an impact, and I'm not going to let that slip,” he added.
The Tricky Trees travel to Wales during the week to take on Swansea City in the third round of the EFL Cup. Forest fans can expect Postecoglou and his new side to show everyone who they are then.
Forest need Murillo fit
More concerning than the 3-0 defeat was when Murillo limped off in the first half. The 23-year-old was one of Forest’s standout players last season, and has picked up where he left off, especially in the club’s first three Premier League games.
The Brazilian went off the pitch in the 32nd minute, just after Arsenal scored their first goal. He came back on and hobbled around, clearly in discomfort, before being brought off for summer signing Nicolo Savona.
The former **Corinthians**centre back was tremendous for Forest last season, and with his somewhat surprising pace, is seen as one of the players who can slot seamlessly into Postecoglou’s high defensive line.
‘Looks like just a knock, so hopefully with some rest he’ll be okay,” the Nottingham Forest manager said after the game. Hopefully, he is right, because the Brazil international is going to be integral to Ange's implementation of his brand of football.