Goonerholics Forever

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow…

Nov 30th, 2024 by 21st Century Gooner

Arsenal travel to the home of the former European champions and the fourth or fifth (or perhaps even sixth) biggest club in London on Saturday night. I am of course talking about the perennial mediocrity merchants, West Ham United.

I think most Gooners will agree with me when I say there isn’t really much needle between Arsenal and West Ham, at least not in the manner we share with Spurs and Chelsea. When you ask any West Ham fan who they consider to be their biggest rival many would say Millwall with healthy dollops of the marsh dwellers and Spartak Chelski 03. I don’t think too many would say Arsenal. With the over saturation of London clubs in the Premier League, this is really just another London Derby. We play 12 every year making over 30% of our league games (if my maths is correct) London Derbies. The rest of the country must be sick of us all.

Personally, I’ve never felt any deep resentment towards The Hammers. It’s maybe risen a tad in the past 18 months with their tinpot champions of Europe chant and their obsession with Declan Rice but other than that they’re an all right bunch I suppose.

Another part of it is they’ve been pretty rubbish for an awfully long time, so we’ve never really competed with them for anything. They did beat us in the 1980 FA Cup final, but CER had a full head of hair back then and 1980 is closer to Germany’s invasion of Poland than it is to the present day so that just goes to show how long ago it was. West Ham came into this season on the back of a three-year European tour which yielded a couple of deep runs in the Europa League and a triumph in the Conference League, but their fans spent most of it moaning about the bloke who brought that about and eventually they got their wish as David Moyes left and in came Spaniard, Julen Lopetegui to much anticipation. They currently sit 14^th in the table after 12 games with 15 points. Be careful what you wish for lads!

In fairness, most people expected them to do a lot better as they do have a number of very good players such as Jarrod Bowen, Kudus and Paqueta. But they are often porous at the back and that has probably been their biggest downfall. However, they do come into this game off the back of an unexpected 2-0 victory over Newcastle at St James’ Park which is not an easy place to go as we know all too well.

We did suffer that 2-0 defeat at home to West Ham last Christmas and that proved to be one of the games that cost us the title so we will need to be right on it from the off tomorrow. Having said that, we hammered them 6-0 at their place a few weeks later, a game I had the pleasure of being at so a repeat of that would be lovely! The sight of their fans leaving in their droves before half time was without doubt one of the most glorious sights to greet my eyes. There was hardly anyone left to boo them off at full time. That was a fun day.

In terms of the team news, I wouldn’t be surprised if Arteta names an unchanged eleven from the side who ran riot in Lisbon although perhaps with fixture congestion in mind we may see one or two alterations. Merino for Partey and Trossard for Martinelli perhaps? Arteta did say in his press conference earlier that Gabriel’s fitness was to be “assessed” but I am going to assume he will start.

As for West Ham, Edson Alvarez will return from suspension, but Mohammed Kudus is serving the fifth and final game of his own suspension for his red at Spurs a while back. That’s a bit of luck for us because he really is a useful player.

As for my prediction, I am going for a healthy 3-0 away win. We’ve gone up several levels in the last two games, and that is no doubt largely down to the return of Ødegaard. I am backing him to get another assist tomorrow. We are very good and West Ham are largely mediocre so on paper this looks straightforward but football is in fact played on a field by 22 men so what looks reasonable on paper does often fly out of the window, but you can’t not be confident for this game if you are of an Arsenal persuasion. Let’s see.

COYG!!

Posted in Match Preview | 32 Drinks »

A Great Night In A Great City

Nov 27th, 2024 by goonerholicsforever

Co-authored by ClockEndRider & 21stCenturyGooner

A month full of travelling to far away lands culminated in what proved to be a wonderful trip in the coastal Portuguese capital, Lisbon.

After many ridiculously early starts, it was lovely to have an early afternoon flight meaning we didn’t have to leave home until gone 9AM. We made it round the M25 to Heathrow in record time, flew through security and following a fry up and a breakfast pint, it was time to get on the relatively short flight over to Portugal.

We landed around 5pm and despite the setting sun, it was still incredibly mild. More so than the UK, that’s for sure. A short metro ride took us to our hotel and after we freshened up we walked to the restaurant wearing nothing but a shirt and jeans (and shoes) and enjoyed a splendid seafood supper. If you haven’t been to Lisbon I can assure you the food is pretty damn good.

After a much-needed good night’s sleep, it was time for some sightseeing before the match. First stop, Sao Roque, a Jesuit Church situated on top of one of the many rolling hills in Lisbon. Then we hit the beach enjoying an Aperol Spritz (CER) and a Mojito (21CG). Sunbathing by the sea in late November? You can’t do that in Preston.

We enjoyed yet more exceptional seafood in the Timeout food court for lunch, where the manager of one of the outlets was happy to chat with us and offer a free lunch on Wednesday if we beat Sporting by 4 goals – he was a Benfica fan and he was winding up the chef, a Sporting fan— be careful what you wish for, sir! Then, a quick siesta to recharge our batteries for the evening ahead. After meeting a friend who had travelled out on the day of the game, we hit the town in search of the Gooner congregation.

We travelled down to the harbour area at Cais do Sodre and, on emerging from the Metro, it wasn’t difficult to find where the away fans were congregating – a narrow alleyway with a long row of bars either side. The pints flowed and the singing got louder. All hugely good humoured, as might I add, were the local police who were happy to chat.

At about 6pm, it was time to move to the stadium, a 25-minute metro ride away, then on to the stadium, which is really well designed and a damn sight easier to access than the dinosaur that is the San Siro. Once again, police and riot police were strongly evident, but this is Arsenal and there was never any threat of trouble, which may well have contributed to their general unthreatening air and pleasant demeanour – again, unlike Milan.

The game started and immediately, Sporting came at us, as you would expect. However, it only took 7 minutes for the Arsenal to hit their stride with some fantastic interplay outside the box which led to Timber, who was excellent all night, escaping down the right and hammering in a low cross for Martinelli to slide home from a matter of a few feet. Cue an explosion of noise in the away end as the pressure lifted.

The first goal seemed to shock Sporting. Arsenal proceeded to tighten their grip on the game and strangle Sporting – who had not lost a game this season, up to this point. The inevitable second came on 21 minutes and it was once again perfectly executed. Timber to Partey in midfield, who looked up and chipped a Brady-esque ball – yes, it was that good – over the Sporting defence for Saka to run onto and cross for Havertz to slot home, again from feet.

The rest of the half progressed in the same vein with Arsenal dominating the ball and hardly putting a foot wrong. And then bang on half time, Rice floated in a fabulous corner to the back post for Gabriel to arrive like a train and thump home a header. A scintillating first half drew to a close with the Sporting fans somewhat chastened and the away fans in ecstasy.

Following total away domination in the first half, Sporting came out fighting in the initial stages of the second half. Morita saw his effort well saved by Raya but from the following corner Goncalo Inacio got half a yard on Calafiori and volleyed home at the near post. Unsurprisingly this got the already raucous home crowd going again. Sporting probed but Arsenal managed the game well. Gyokeres threatened to get away from Saliba and Gabriel on a couple of occasions but the reportedly highly sought after Swede was unable to get into the game to any real extent.

Just after the hour, the pendulum swung back in our direction as Ødegaard was brought down in the box by Diomande. Saka stepped up to take the ‘pen and despite the ‘keeper guessing correctly, Saka hit it right into the side netting following a short run up. A proper penalty. Eight minutes from time we added a fifth as Merino saw his effort parried out into the vicinity of Trossard who had come on as sub and the Belgian duly nodded home inside the six-yard box.

Arsenal scored five away from home in the Champions League for the first time since 2008 and it was our biggest away win in the competition since that famous night at the San Siro in 2003. It was an unexpectedly comfortable evening, and the surroundings made it even better. Lisbon did not disappoint. Great food, great people, and even great weather.

And the football wasn’t too bad either!

Posted in Match Report | 64 Drinks »

Gooners Look to Feed on Lusophone Lettuce for a Nutritious Snack

Nov 26th, 2024 by bt8

With Arsenal set to face Sporting Clube de Portugal, or Sporting Lisbon as they are known in the English-speaking world, on Tuesday at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in the Portuguese capital, conceivably it could be useful to know that the people of Lisbon are sometimes known as alfacinhas, or “little lettuces”. The first such reference to the locals of Lisbon as alfacinhas was written in Almeida Garrett’s 1846 travel diary, Viagens na Minha Terra, and one of the possible explanations mentioned in my sources is that some itinerant 19th century vegetable vendors thought the locals were as sedentary as vegetables, but that is not to expect Sporting’s high-flying team to be sedentary in any respect at all, of course.

It could also be appropriate to remember the history of Arsenal’s opposition. Sporting were founded in 1906 by the man for whom their stadium is named, and they are the third most successful club in Portuguese football with 55 major trophies to their name. Sporting won their first Portuguese championship in 1935, six years after they played in the Portuguese top flight for the first time. In Sporting’s golden era between 1947 and 1954 they won seven of the eight league titles contested; and in 1964 Sporting lifted their only European silverware when they defeated MTK Budapest in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final.

Sporting’s late 20^th century dry spell ended when they won the league title in 2000, and followed it up with a league/cup double in 2002. Another drought ensued until 2021 when they won the league under recently departed manager Rubem Amorim. Last season they won the league again, for their 20th league title. Their 90 points accumulated in the league was their highest-ever total, with 29 wins from 34 games, including all 17 home matches. In Europe they reached the last 16 of the Europa League, but their undisputed star was Gyokeres, who won the Primeira Liga Player of the Year and Golden Boot awards after bagging 43 goals in all competitions.

Sporting currently occupy second place in the Champions League table with 10 points from four matches played, trailing only Liverpool. In their two home matches the Lisbon club defeated Lille by 2-0 before they applied a 4-1 powdering to Manchester City as Gyokeres scored thrice. On their CL travels the Tagus side drew 1-1 at PSG and defeated Sturm Graz in Austria by 0-2 so they have scored nine goals in all, and conceded only two. Gyokeres scored once each against Lille and Graz so is level on five tallies with Barcelona’s duo of Lewandowski and Raphinha, as well as Bayern’s Kane as the leading goal scorers in this year’s competition.

Sporting sit on top of the Primeira Liga table with 11 consecutive wins in 11 matches played, and Gyokeres is top of the Primeira Liga in goals scored with 16, or double the production of his closest competitor in that competition. The young Sweden striker has been so prolific in front of goal that if Manchester City or some other behemoth club has not bought him by Summer 2025 at the very latest, I will be a monkey’s uncle or a reasonable facsimile thereof.

As of 10 November Rubem Amorim was still listed as Sporting’s manager. Amorim, who led the side to its first league title in 20 years and won a second league title last season, was appointed head coach of Manchester United effective 11 November subject to work visa requirements, and Sporting confirmed a few days later that Amorim was out and Joao Pereira was in as their new manager. In Pereira’s first match in charge, at home last Friday, Sporting secured a 14th straight home win in all competitions against third-tier side Amarante by a 6-0 score in the fourth round of the Portuguese Cup. Sporting have now won their last 14 home games in all competitions, stretching back to a 1-1 draw against Atalanta in the Europa League eight months ago.

Amorim culminated his four-year stint at Sporting when his side overturned a two-goal deficit to brush aside hosts Braga in their final outing before the international break on November 10. Sporting came back from a two goal deficit with goals by Morita, Hjulmand, and two by Harder to turn the match completely around. Seeing as Amorim’s time at Sporting ended so successfully, it will be an imposing challenge for Pereira to achieve a “new manager bounce” in his first few matches in charge. Arsenal, on the other hand, have no player who has scored more than once in the Champions League this season, so this contest will have some real challenges in store for the Gunners.

Arsenal XI

Having come back together after the Interlull in time to play coherently and well in the weekend’s home win against Nottingham Forest, the Gunners will be hoping to continue their decent form against a very difficult European opponent playing on their home turf. Given the injuries to Ben White and Declan Rice, the Arsenal team is likely to look something like this:

Raya
Timber Saliba Gabriel Calafiori
Ødegaard Partey Merino
Saka Havertz Martinelli

The last thing I would want to do would be to underestimate the quality of our top class opposition on this occasion, and I would like to make a thorough apology for comparing Sporting to sedentary little lettuces, if indeed I did such a thing. As a matter of fact, I would be quite pleased if Arsenal manage to honor the shirt, play well, and come away with a draw in this match, which is why I am predicting a score of Sporting 1 – Arsenal 1. A draw would objectively be a very good result, but a win would be just the thing to propel the team to the level we would like to see them playing at going into late November. In any case , it is great to see Martin Ødegaard back in the team and coordinating things in the center of midfield, and I expect him to have quite an impact on the way Arsenal handle this one.

Enjoy the match, ‘holics.

Posted in Champions League, Match Preview | 32 Drinks »

Nottingham Undone as Mikel’s Merry Men Hit the Bullseye

Nov 23rd, 2024 by Gunnersaurus Stunt Double

Arsenal were good today, running out deserved winners with three unanswered goals.

However, what may be most pleasing both to the gaffer and to the fans was that this was a long way from a perfect performance – and it is easy to see where we can make serious improvements. That bodes well given that our aim must be to go on a run where we rack up the points and chase down the league leaders.

However, the only way to do that is game by game, and whilst today was a template for us to build on, it is only worth three points. In the dressing room, the focus will already have moved on.

For us fans however, we can enjoy this Interlull banishing result for a while longer at least.

When the team sheet came out, I was surprised by what I saw. Havertz and Rice were on the bench, Jorginho started instead of Partey and Trossard was in for Martinelli.

The bright opening ten minutes showed us that Arteta had judged it well. We had a Timber goal disallowed after VAR took an age to confirm a marginal offside call against Merino, who looks increasingly comfortable in this side and continues to threaten in the air.

A few more shots and some good play from us looked ominous for Forest and we took less than fifteen minutes to score our first, the effervescent Ødegaard offering end-product in a brilliant captain’s performance when he combined with Saka on the right to set our rejuvenated England absentee up with the ball in the area; he danced around three defenders before lashing the ball back across the in-form Sels and high into the net. Top, top quality and it was so clear all day what we’ve been missing in our captain’s absence. He is a joy to watch and he makes Saka more effective too, either by starting on the right in Saka’s space and dragging a defender infield, or by dropping deep and playing early balls out to our man hugging the touchline. It was good from them today, but there was still a lot they can improve. When they do, we are going to hand some unlucky team an absolute thrashing.

The first half was mostly us. We didn’t quite create the chances to go with our dominance, but we were in control. The watching Martin Keown – I can’t wait to read his new book, which I would be a good shout for a Christmas present for the Gooner(s) in your life – would have been pleased. So too the Prime Minister and well-known Gooner, Sir Kier Starmer, no stranger himself to early challenges under his leadership but doubtless hoping he can have a similar effect Arteta has had in implementing his ideas for change. It might look on the surface like the PM’s job is harder, but he won’t have to deal with PGMOL, so swings and roundabouts.

Speaking of referees, we ended a fairly innocuous half with three yellow cards: the measured Jorginho receiving one for a nothing challenge when Simon Hooper bought an overreaction from the Forest lad; hard-working Jesùs unlucky but deserved when he accidentally caught an ankle; Saka for a high foot when he didn’t touch the player, who made that very modern action of bravely putting his head in where it might get caught but without any intention of getting the ball, simply of getting his opponent a card. It worked. Forest got a card of their own right at the end; it was either for delaying a restart (but I doubt it as every other offence was ignored) or for a late attempt at a block that was never a yellow card either. Just the typical low-level mistakes we are accustomed too.

Like many a Gooner, first half yellow cards put me on edge much more than they used to – it is hard not to feel that the refs are just looking for an excuse to reduce our numbers – but fortunately Hooper had a quiet second half and no big decisions to make. At one point, he did get in the way of the ball as we tried to break forwards. A meaner man than me might congratulate him on avoiding it the rest of the time, given the size of the target he presents.

At half-time, Arteta decided discretion was the better part of valour, taking no unnecessary chances on red cards and bringing on Partey for Jorginho. It took the Ghanaian six minutes to sweep the ball home with his instep after Saka teed him up just outside the box. Tactical genius from the gaffer, that. Ahem!

We simply controlled the game after that. No fuss, no panic, we held them at arm’s length, continuing along the way to play some great stuff that lacked end product. Sels made some saves. Raya got us going more than once with some sublime distribution, absolutely the best in league when he sprays it about like that. His safe hands from crosses completed a consummate day’s work for him, and the clean sheet was one we will look to build on.

Forest brought on a lad called Jota who appears to have modelled his look on Jack Grealish (calves notwithstanding). He had a snapshot volley that might have been headed in until it hit Chris Wood in the bonce, the New Zealander following his instructions to the letter, after being introduced to get his head on the end of things.

With ten minutes left we brought on Nwaneri and Sterling for Saka and Ødegaard, who we will need to keep fresh for the busy run ahead. The two new arrivals combined a few minutes later when Sterling made a good run and pulled the ball back intelligently into space for young Ethan to knock it home, becoming our second youngest ever PL goalscorer. If he goes on to have a career anything like Fabregas (the only man (boy?) to do so at a younger age) then we will all be thrilled. Although he will want to give Chelsea a swerve, obviously.

One thing I do notice is that he drifts around into space in the same way Ødegaard does. It’s a very rare skill to find the space and the ball, and I wonder how much Ødegaard’s mentorship is shaping his game as well as his attitude?

The match petered out, Forest demoralised and without hope. They have had a good start to the season and rightly taken the plaudits but we looked levels above them today.

Jesùs had a good game and the minutes and vote of confidence from the manager will have done him the world of good. If Timber stays fit then we won’t miss White, and I can’t offer higher praise to a right back than that. Calafiori managed over an hour and played with his usual blend of class and energy before being swapped for Zinchenko, a player I still think has a lot to offer us both on the field and in the dressing room.

After a bitty start to the season which just doesn’t get going until the three awful international breaks are over (my advice is to vote with your wallets people, just ignore them) it is now that things kick off for real. Form up to this point counts for little if results start to slide on this unforgiving lead into the New Year. Similarly, early struggles are forgotten if the chances are taken to rack up the points.

There was so much to enjoy about the game today, and so much more to come from the team. Arteta and the players know they need to build their season brick by brick, but today was a reminder that bad luck and a series of underwhelming results have done nothing to shake the foundations we have laid down with years of hard work and commitment. It shows.

Our players are tough. They believe.

So do I.

Until next time, ‘holics.

Posted in Match Report | 28 Drinks »

Cut the Forest Back, Gunners!

Nov 22nd, 2024 by Bathgooner

Saturday 3pm.

An iconic appointment in the week. A once immovable point in the calendar of British football fans that facilitated weekly father and son bonding, the release of pent-up tensions from the daily grind and fostered a tribal sense of belonging. Sadly, that date in the diary is now a rarity due to the financial power of global media over the Premier League, not to mention that body’s greed for ever more revenue. Sic transit gloria mundi!

Yet here we are! A too rare but very welcome appointment in Arsenal’s modern calendar.

Our visitors, Nottingham Forest, have a chequered history, distant success at the pinnacle of European football standing like a twin-peaked rock surrounded by a vast desert of mediocrity. Their recent form under Nuno Espirito Santo, bankrolled by Evangelos Marinakis took them briefly into the top four and stimulated memories of glory days and dreams of a return to European competition.

Nottingham Forest F.C. was founded in 1865 in the Clinton Arms by a group of shinty players encouraged by one J.S. Scrimshaw to play Association Football instead (wise man). The group purchased twelve tasselled caps in ‘Garibaldi Red’ thus establishing the club colours. The soubriquet Forest may derive from their original home the Forest Racecourse from which they moved to their current home, the City Ground, in 1898. Of interest to readers from the across the pond, the very next year, 1899, Forest, still a multisport club, were crowned British baseball champions. Since the relegation of Notts County from the Football League, Forest now have the distinction of being the oldest remaining club in the League – despite Stoke City’s characteristically spurious claims – which they entered in 1892 after being rejected on its formation in 1888.

It is, of course, impossible to write of Forest without mentioning Brian Clough who along with sidekick Peter Taylor delivered their most successful era in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s during which they won their only League title, two European Cups (!), one European Super Cup and two League Cups. Before his retirement, Clough’s Forest won two further League Cups in 1988-89 and 1989-90 and reached the FA Cup Final in 1990-91 and another League Cup Final in 1991-92. Their only other trophies are FA Cup wins in 1897-8 and 1958-9.

Clough was an extraordinary coach who could make average players good and good players great but was so forthright in his opinions that the FA Grandees were too timorous to appoint him as England coach, an appointment that would probably have ended all those ‘years of hurt’ long before that awful song was written. Before his Forest spell, Clough also led Derby County to their only First Division title in their history. Clough’s ability to sign and motivate talented players overlooked or rejected by big clubs was second to none and his trophy haul with two provincial clubs with otherwise modest histories demonstrates not only his skill as a coach but also proves that a great coach can have a huge influence on a club’s fortunes. His 44 day tenure in charge of Leeds United is legendary and was the inspiration for the book and film entitled ’The Damned United’. Well worth reading and/or watching if you haven’t already done so.

It is widely believed that in 1886, Forest was instrumental in determining that red would be the Arsenal’s predominant colour by donating shirts to the newly formed Woolwich club. This tale may have recently been debunked with the discovery of newspaper clippings suggesting rather that Woolwich Arsenal’s adoption of red shirts was encouraged by two of the club’s founding members, Fred Beardsley and Morris Bates. Both were former Forest players and may have kept their Forest shirts and encouraged their new teammates to purchase red shirts from a gents’ outfitters in Woolwich. Interestingly, in 1965, the Arsenal board clearly believed the original tale and returned the favour of a gift of red shirts for Forests’s centenary celebration match against Valencia.

Nonetheless, in the early years of organised Association Football, Forest appear to have been zealous advocates of the new game helping not only Arsenal but also Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion to establish themselves and donating kits to Everton where the shirt colour clearly didn’t have lasting impact!

Forest’s most recent 23 year exile from the Premier League ended in 2022 after a 2017 takeover and several seasons of heavy investment by Evangelos Marinakis. The Greek shipping magnate also owns Olympiacos and Portuguese side Rio Ave (I haven’t heard of them either!) and is apparently in talks currently to buy Brazilian club Vasco da Gama to add a fourth club to his portfolio.

The Arsenal has an excellent record against Forest, playing 105 times since 1904, with 54 wins, 22 draws and 29 defeats. Since the Premier League’s inception, we have played 14 games winning 9 and drawing 3 with an aggregate of 22 goals for and 10 against. During Forest’s recent absence from the Premier League we met in four cup ties between 2016 and 2022 with the Arsenal winning the two League Cup ties and Forest winning the two FA Cup ties. Since their return to the Premier League we have have won three of our four matches, winning 5-0 at home in October 2022 but losing 0-1 during our slump in May 2023, while we won both home and away games 2-1 last season. Encouragingly, Forest have failed to win in their last 13 visits to Arsenal in all competitions, losing nine.

Espirito Santo’s Forest eschew the current fashion for a high press, favouring instead a mid block and congestion of the centre of the pitch. Nor do they fetishise playing out from the back as most teams seem to do these days. A long ball to Chris Wood is a potent weapon on regaining possession but more frequently it is a pass into space for one of their speedy wingers to run onto, generally Elanga and Hudson-Odoi. Forest have ditched former Arsenal back-up goalkeeper Matt Turner, now on loan to Palace, and the Belgian international Sels has emerged as their first choice glove butler; Sels’ score on Fantasy Football is a measure of his form. They tend to play four at the back and their central defence is solid and miserly with much admired Brazilian Murillo partnered by Serbian stopper Milenkovic flanked by the talented Aina and Moreno. This season Forest have conceded only 10 goals in 11 games, 2 fewer than the Arsenal and are bettered only by Liverpool. Morgan Gibbs-White is the creative force in midfield supported by ball-winners Yates and the tricky Argentinian Dominguez. Up front, Kiwi Chris Wood is as traditional a British centre forward as they come: a modicum of finesse but mainly raw power and aggression; he is their biggest, though not their only, goal threat. The bench offers multiple options in the form of Williams, Boly, Morato, Ward-Prowse, Sosa, Awoniyi, Silva and the promising Elliot Anderson. Espirito Santo’s team are content to concede the bulk of possession, lure the opposition into traps, regain the ball then spring forward through Gibbs-White and the wingers. Forest are certainly no pushovers this season as their coach now has them fully drilled into his system and as a result they are organised and resolute..

Before their recent 1-3 home defeat by the ‘codes, Forest had reached the dizzy height of third place but, coming into this game, they sit level on 19 points with fourth-placed Arsenal though one place behind in fifth due to our superior goal difference of 6 to their 5. Hopefully that home defeat has burst their bubble but I expect we’re in for a potentially frustrating afternoon. I anticipate a tight game and a tight scoreline. An early Arsenal goal would be very useful.

Once again, unexpected injuries dog our preparation. No sooner had we digested the news that Ben White has been playing through pain and needed a minor knee operation that will keep him out for a total of eight weeks (two down, six to go) than we received the unwelcome news that Leo Trossard had been forced off in the first half of Belgium’s game against Israel last Sunday and is rumoured to have a hamstring strain. Hopefully, either Calafiori or Tomiyashu, or even both, are now fit and either can take the left back slot allowing Timber (who was an unused sub for the Netherlands on Tuesday) to move to right back, otherwise we may have to rely on Zinchenko (who played 70 minutes and scored against Albania on Tuesday) or even Kiwior (who had a decent 90 minutes against Scotland on Monday). The centre backs are shoo-ins (Saliba played 90 minutes for France in their win over Italy on Sunday and Gabriel played 90 minutes for Brazil in the early hours of Wednesday GMT). Rice played against Chelsea with the aid of pain killing injections and was clearly less than 100%. Hopefully, a fortnight of rehabilitation will have eased that problem and will spare him more of that treacherous medication. Otherwise, I would spare him from this game. In his stead, I would start Merino who looked to be bedding into our system before the Interlull. Partey has looked imperious in recent games and, again hopefully, Ødegaard will be further restored to robust health by two more weeks of intensive rehabilitation. Up front, I hope that Saka has recovered from the knock sustained against Chelsea that forced withdrawal from the England squad, otherwise we may see Jesùs or the to date unconvincing Sterling on the right. In the likely absence of Trossard, the other forwards are a no-brainer. Havertz is in great form, albeit not scoring barrowloads (and played the last 30 minutes against Hungary on Tuesday) and Martinelli (who played the last 30 minutes for Brazil against Uruguay on Wednesday morning) has just opened his goals account again. I’d give Jesùs and Sterling an opportunity to change the game from the bench if necessary. Hence the team I expect to start is:

Raya

Timber Saliba Gabriel Calafiori

Ødegaard Partey Merino

Saka Havertz Martinelli

The bookies make Arsenal firm favourites offering odds of 3/1 on, with a draw at 4/1 and a Forest win at 9/1. If you’re a betting man, a wager on an exact score might be more appealing with 1-0 at 6/1, 2-1 at 17/2 and perhaps most tastily 3-1 at 12/1. The rather unpalatable 0-0 and 1-1 are a surprisingly generous 10/1 and 9/1 respectively.

I’m delighted to have bagged three tickets in the fickle ticket ballot and will optimistically amble with my daughter and BtM along our traditional route from my pre-match lunch venue of nearly 30 years, down Stroud Green Road and St Thomas’ Road past the old North Bank and across the bridge to the New Home of Football hoping that Forest are neither as organised nor as resilient as the data suggest and that we have rediscovered our incisive attack with the return of our mercurial captain.

Enjoy the game, Holics. If you too are going, wrap up well. It’s going to be cold, wet and windy. I hope the team can warm us up!

COYG!

Tags: Match Preview