Arsenal v Nottingham Forest: the home and away records

 

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By Sir Hardly Anyone

The home and away records of Arsenal and Nottingham Forest are identical in that each club has played five, won three and drawn two.  The only difference, and it is not huge, is that of goals.

So this might suggest that Arsenal are going to have a problem, and of course we do need to look at the opposition.  To do this we’ve invented an extra column in the results section.which shows where the club Forest played against are now in the home table.  In other words what is the strength of the opposition they have played, specifically when the opposition is at home and Forest (obviously) away.

The position of the home club in the home league table is shown in the final column under “strength”.

 

Date	Match	Res	Score	Strength
24 Aug	Southampton v Nottingham Forest	W	0-1	18
14 Sep	Liverpool v Nottingham Forest	W	0-1	2
22 Sep	Brighton and Hove v Nottingham F	D	2-2	5
06 Oct	Chelsea v Nottingham Forest	D	1-1	11
25 Oct	Leicester City v Nottingham Forest	W	1-3	15

 

So we can see that although Forest had a superb and surprising win over Liverpool in September, their other victories and a draw have been against clubs residing 11th, 15th and 18th in the home table. 

Indeed that Liverpool v Nottingham Forest game was strange – Liverpool’s only defeat home or away in any competition this season and Forest’s first win at Anfield since 1969.  But we might also know Forest didn’t have a shot before half time but then, instead of doing what most clubs would do (playing for the draw) they brought on Hudson-Odoi at half time, and Liverpool seemed completely taken aback by the change, taking more time to adjust than we might have expected.

By way of comparison, Arsenal are 5th in the home table but Forest are still second in the away table, with points gained being the same.

 

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
6	Arsenal home	5	3	2	0	12	6	6	11
2	Nottingham Forest	5	3	2	0	8	4	4	11

 

But the big question for Arsenal is, “is the dip over?”   Last season we spent a lot of time talking about the dips and the need to avoid them, but here we are in a dip again: four games with two defeats (Bournemouth and Newcastle away) and two draws (Liverpool at home and Chelsea away).

Overall Forest are on an upward curve, although with a benefit from the fixture list.  Indeed combining the home and away results we find Arsenal and Forest locked together…

 

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
4	Arsenal	11	5	4	2	18	12	6	19
5	Nottingham Forest	11	5	4	2	15	10	5	19

 

Obviously Arsenal’s main concern is going to be injuries.

The Mail claims that Saka could be fit for the game but Declan Rice is somewhat more uncertain, although reports say his return is possible.   Trossard and White are clearly out but Riccardo Calafiori seems to be ok for the game.  Tomiyasu appears to have had yet another setback and looks likely to be out for a while longer.

Compared with Arsenal’s eight players out or doubtful or possibly returning the Nottingham Forest injury list is virtually non-existent which has obviously helped their climb up the league.  Danilo dos Santos de Oliveira is out as is Ibrahim Sangare but Elliot Anderson is said to be facing a late fitness test and is expected to be ok.

One final table to consider, and it’s not a good one from Arsenal’s point of view (although it’s not too bad if you think about who the club has had to play of late): it is the last six match table

 

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Liverpool	6	5	1	0	11	5	+6	16
2	Bournemouth	6	3	1	2	10	7	+3	10
3	Nottingham Forest	6	3	1	2	9	6	+3	10
4	Brentford	6	3	1	2	15	13	+2	10
5	Fulham	6	3	1	2	9	8	+1	10
6	Manc City	6	3	1	2	9	8	+1	10
7	Brighton	6	3	1	2	11	11	0	10
8	Tottenham Ho	6	3	0	3	14	8	+6	9
9	Chelsea	6	2	3	1	10	8	+2	9
10	Everton	6	2	3	1	5	3	+2	9
11	Arsenal	6	2	2	2	10	9	+1	8

 

The excuse of course is who Arsenal have played, but even so, it really is time for Arsenal to start putting wins together, no matter which club is being played.