Arsenal will look to end a run of barren away days in front of goal when they visit Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday, October 18. Kickoff is at 4:30pm local time, which is 15:30 GMT. The Gunners have failed to score in their last two visits to the ground, with both matches finishing goalless.
Arsenal arrive in confident mood after beating Leeds 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium last Saturday, having come from behind to win. Their Premier League champions’ side had earlier been beaten 3-0 at Brighton, the first defeat of the season, and manager Mikel Arteta has said his players learned from that display, which he called “extremely average”. Arsenal also followed up with a 3-0 home win over Lille in midweek in the Champions League.
Arsenal bounce back from Brighton defeat
Arteta had to wait three weeks to put the Brighton loss behind him, and the result at Leeds gave his side a timely response. James Justin gave Leeds the lead in the 55th minute after Arsenal failed to clear a cross from Gabriel Gudmundsson. Riccardo Calafiori equalised from close range in the 62nd minute, and substitute Bruno Guimaraes scored the winner from the edge of the area just six minutes after coming on.
Guimaraes’s goal was his first at the Emirates since his close-season move from Newcastle. It also made it five wins from six league matches for Arsenal, who sit second in the table, three points behind Manchester City. Arteta said his side had shown their strength in depth, and Arsenal head to Nottingham in that position.
Arteta was measured about the challenge ahead. He said: “We’re going to try really hard to score goals and to prevent goals as well. It’s going to be a really tough match, they’re an extremely well-coached team.” He added that the club already had experience of facing Oliver Glasner’s side, and described Forest as a team that can build a very special momentum at home.
Glasner returns to face former club Palace
Forest boss Oliver Glasner was on the other side of a result last weekend, as his former club Crystal Palace beat Forest 3-1 on his return to Selhurst Park. Glasner, 52, had earlier led Palace to a shock FA Cup final win over Manchester City in 2025 and to UEFA Conference League success in May. He opted to leave the club after reported issues with its hierarchy over transfer policy, which paved the way for his move to Forest.
The Austrian was warmly greeted by Palace supporters before kickoff. Dan Ndoye gave Forest an early lead in the third minute, but the visitors wasted a number of chances to extend it. Japan midfielder Daichi Kamada levelled in the 41st minute, scoring his first Premier League goal, before Jefferson Lerma and Yeremy Pino completed the comeback.
Glasner praised the Arsenal side in his own pre-match remarks. He said: “In every game this season [Arsenal] were outrunning the opposition. It’s incredible.” He also said the effort and mindset Arteta had created were incredible, and that Arsenal’s players could come off the bench and still change games.
The Opta supercomputer has made Arsenal the clear favourites, giving them a 58.3 percent chance of winning. Forest were given a 20.4 percent chance, with a draw at 21.3 percent. Forest have not beaten Arsenal since a 1-0 win at the City Ground in May 2023, a goal from Taiwo Awoniyi that ended the Gunners’ title hopes that season.
Team news and injury updates for both sides
The previous meeting between the two sides ended 0-0 at Nottingham Forest in January. Arsenal dominated long spells of that game but wasted a number of chances, and a disciplined Forest defence held on for a point. The best chance fell to Bukayo Saka, who headed a Declan Rice cross towards the far post, only for Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels to make a fingertip save.
Forest face several fitness concerns. The club’s injury list includes:
- Striker Igor Jesus, who is out with a calf injury
- Defender Nicolo Savona, who is unavailable with a knee injury
- Playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White, who is a doubt with a minor muscular problem
- Centre-back Nikola Milenkovic, who is back in training after a knee injury and could feature
Arsenal are missing winger Christos Tzolis, who has a hamstring problem, and centre-back William Saliba, who is sidelined with a back issue. Arteta said midfielder Martin Zubimendi could be fit to face Forest. Defender Piero Hincapie, who suffered a freak ankle injury in training at the Emirates after the Leeds win, will likely miss the trip to the City Ground.
Arteta gave an update on both players. He said: “Piero is evolving really well,” adding that he expected Hincapie to need another week or two. On Zubimendi, he said: “Zubi looks much better, he already looked much better today.” Arsenal have another training session on Saturday, and Arteta said the club would then decide whether Zubimendi was available.
