Nottingham Forest will face Arsenal at the City Ground this afternoon without their captain and chief creator, after Morgan Gibbs-White was ruled out entirely with a muscle injury — while Mikel Arteta has named a strong Gunners side, with Eberechi Eze starting and Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz all restored.
Gibbs-White does not even make the matchday squad for the 16:30 kick-off, as Sports Mole confirmed when the line-ups were announced. The England international suffered a minor muscle injury in last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace and, as Oliver Glasner revealed on Friday, was unable to train with the team all week.
Forest Lose the One Player They Could Not Afford To
Glasner left the door ajar until the last moment, and his explanation showed how close the call was. "If this had been the last game of the season, Morgan would have played today," the Forest boss said, via Fantasy Football Scout. The midfielder is expected to be fit again for next weekend, but that is no consolation this afternoon.
Nicolas Dominguez replaces Gibbs-White in one of two Forest changes from the Palace defeat, with Jair Cunha coming in for Ola Aina in the back three. There is one boost for the hosts: Nikola Milenkovic returns to the bench after recovering from a bone bruise. Forest remain without Igor Jesus and Nicolo Savona.
The timing could hardly be worse. Forest sit in the relegation zone with five points from six matches, have scored only five league goals all season — only Tottenham have managed fewer — and have not scored a single Premier League goal at home this term. Losing the player who has created seven big chances this season, from a side that already cannot score at home, turns a hard afternoon into a daunting one.
Arteta Goes Strong as Eze Keeps His Place
Arsenal, by contrast, have gone close to full strength. Arteta makes five changes from the side that dismantled Lille 3-0 in the Champions League in midweek, restoring Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori, Odegaard, Saka and Havertz, with Jurrien Timber, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Noni Madueke, Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyokeres dropping to the bench.
Eze holds his place on the left after scoring against Lille, making his first Premier League start of the season, while Bruno Guimaraes and Declan Rice start together in midfield for only the second time in the league. There is more good news on the bench, where Zubimendi returns after the ankle injury that kept him out in midweek — a comeback we tracked as he neared fitness earlier this week. Cristhian Mosquera is also in a league squad for the first time since August, and former Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier makes an Arsenal top-flight squad for the first time, with Kepa Arrizabalaga ruled out injured.
What This Means for the Title Race and the Drop
The stakes are plain at both ends of the table. Victory would move Arsenal to within three points of leaders Manchester City, keeping the champions firmly in the title hunt. A shock Forest win, meanwhile, would lift Glasner's side to eight points, level with Newcastle and Aston Villa and out of the relegation zone.
History offers Forest a sliver of hope: the last two meetings at the City Ground finished 0-0, and these are the division's two best defences by expected goals conceded. But Arsenal have kept four straight clean sheets against Forest, and a home side that has not scored on its own ground all season now has to find a goal without its best player. Something has to give.
Beyond the Final Whistle: This team news tells the story of the match before a ball is kicked — Arsenal arrive with their captain, their talisman and their first-choice attack all back, while Forest must face the champions without the one player who makes them tick. Glasner will set up to frustrate and hope for a repeat of those goalless draws, but if Arsenal score first, Forest's goalless home record says the game is gone. Can Forest pull off a shock without Gibbs-White, or will Arsenal close the gap on City? Tell us in the comments.
