Saturday’s Premier League action gets underway at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal take on Nottingham Forest.
The international break came at an opportune moment for the Gunners, giving Mikel Arteta a fortnight to rally his troops following a 1-0 loss at Liverpool.
Arsenal head into proceedings as pre-match favourites, with the odds firmly stacked against the City Ground outfit, who lost 3-0 in this corresponding fixture last season.
Viewed as 2/5 favourites to claim three points, Arteta’s charges will aim to build on a 5-0 rout of newly promoted Leeds United in their opening home game of the season. The odds mean punters looking to use this Kalshi referral code to bet on the game are best placed to look at first scorer odds for value bets.
On the other hand, visiting Forest parted ways with Nuno Espirito Santo during the international break after a mixed start to the new campaign, bookended by a heavy 3-0 home defeat to West Ham United.
Shortly after sacking the Portuguese manager, who inspired the club to a stunning seventh-place finish last term, the Tricky Trees announced the appointment of Ange Postecoglou as the new head coach.
Last season’s UEFA Europa League winner with Tottenham Hotspur returns to North London for his first game in charge of Forest.
Time to bounce back
Liverpool interrupted Arsenal’s momentum, knocking them down from a two-game winning start to the 2025/26 Premier League season.
However, the Gunners fared reasonably well at Anfield, and had it not been for Dominik Szoboszlai’s screamer, they would’ve probably left Merseyside unscathed.
It was an evenly contested fixture, yet Arsenal offered very little in the final third, with marquee summer signing Viktor Gyokeres cutting a frustrated figure.
Gyokeres bagged a brace in his first appearance at the Emirates Stadium and could add to that tally when Arteta’s charges host Forest for this favourable match-up.
Except for a narrow 1-0 loss in May 2023, Arsenal have gone unbeaten in all five remaining league clashes against the Tricky Trees since their return to the Premier League in 2022.
Three of their four victories in that stretch arrived at the Emirates via a combined score of 10-1, highlighting their dominance on home soil and the challenge Postecoglou faces on his return to the capital.
Out-of-sorts opposition
Forest got the new season off to a flying start, beating Brentford 3-1 at home. Interestingly, they found the net from every shot on target, which was a trait that often defined them last term.
However, Forest’s scoring problems came to the fore towards the end of Espirito Santo’s regime, with Crystal Palace holding them to a 1-1 draw before West Ham’s aforementioned triumph in West Bridgford.
The Tricky Trees’ xG failed to hit a 1.0 mark in both games, underscoring their struggles to create high-quality chances despite their early-season results.
It’s now up to Postecoglou to reignite Forest’s faltering frontline and defy their underwhelming record in North London, which appears to be a Herculean task.
For context, the 60-year-old lost three of his four North London derbies in charge of Tottenham, not to mention Spurs conceded at least two goals on three occasions.
Team News
Arteta probably won’t be able to call upon standout performer Bukayo Saka, who picked up a hamstring problem against Leeds in late August.
Martin Odegaard suffered a shoulder injury in the same game, but the Norwegian came off the bench at Anfield.
As such, he will be in contention for this game, according to the Metro.
William Saliba may not be as lucky as he had to come off early against Liverpool and could be out for at least two weeks.
On the bright side, Kai Havertz is on the verge of recovery after undergoing minor knee surgery.
How Arsenal could line up vs Nottingham Forest?
(4-3-3): David Raya; Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalhaes, Cristhian Mosquera, Jurrien Timber; Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino; Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres.