Nottingham Forest lost 3-0 to Arsenal as the Gunners eased home in front of their own supporters.
Ange Postecoglou was taking charge of Forest for the first time since arriving at the club after the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo, following a dust-up with Edu.
A big worry other than the scoreline for Forest was the fact that Murillo limped out of the action, and the hope will be that he can return sooner rather than later, with some big games to come.
Elliot Anderson shared what Postecoglou said to his players after another 3-0 defeat, and the hope will be that the Australian boss can start to implement his ideas sharpish at the football club.
Ange Postecoglou on the sidelines as Nottingham Forest manager
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Ange Postecoglou impressed with three Forest players vs Arsenal
Postecoglou saw Forest settle in the first half after a rocket of a goal from Martin Zubimendi, but he won’t have been happy with what he saw in the second half when Viktor Gyokeres scored early after the interval.
Still, after the match, he did pick three players out for praise in his post-match press conference and it feels clear that they will form the make-up of his team going forward.
He said: “Elliot Anderson is an outstanding footballer, watching him at close quarters today was brilliant. There were others. I was really impressed with Dan Ndoye today. Neco Williams was also outstanding today.”
Forest will ring the changes for Carabao Cup match with Swansea
It seems unlikely that Forest will keep too many of the same players when they head to Wales to face Swansea in the cup on Wednesday night.
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The Swans have started poorly in the Championship this season, and it feels like a good chance to rest a few players ahead of a huge game against Burnley next weekend.
Not only that, but it’s a game that should allow some of the new players a chance to get some minutes in a game where they should be able to express themselves against lower league opposition.
Postecoglou was clearly keen to take some positives from yesterday and it looks likely that Williams, Ndoye and Anderson have earned their spots for next weekend’s Premier League game already.