Nottingham Forest’s swashbuckling performance tormented Crystal Palace last Sunday, but they walked away empty-handed after squandering several well-worked chances and fell to a 3-1 defeat.
Oliver Glasner’s men will struggle to replicate the impregnable defence Arsenal have built, but they do sit commendably in second for xG conceded this season and need their promise in both boxes to coexist.
To cede possession to Arsenal and invite pressure from their menacing artillery will renew the trepidation for the Forest faithful, who have been unable to see their side flourish at home for so long.
Yet, the signs of defensive structure under Glasner bode well to contain the Gunners and send them back to north London with a single point for a third successive time, unless costly lapses in the back line persist.
The hosts on Sunday have still conceded eight goals in the Premier League, with only the spirited victory over Aston Villa in their opening six matches, so this calls for a dive beyond a statistic papering over some cracks.
Glasner holds Arsenal in high regard and recognition of their capabilities was only reinforced when conducting his opposition analysis this week.
‘It’s now a team that has been built over years and, at the beginning, finding a core and then always adding the right pieces. It’s not just the quality, it’s also the mentality. In every single game this season, they were outrunning the opposition.
‘I think the structure they are playing, everybody knows and analyses, but it’s the way they are executing it. It makes it so difficult. We are always looking for weaknesses, and to be honest, we don’t find plenty of them.’
Morgan Gibbs-White is set for a race against time to be fit for the contest and this also hinges on how much of a risk the club’s staff decide to take.
Forest’s talisman is among Europe’s best creative weapons this season, and returned to individual training on Friday after suffering a minor muscle injury in the loss to Palace.
This may be a damaging blow for Forest if they aim to at least unsettle the visiting back line now and again, but Glasner referenced past experiences to reframe the impact of a key player potentially being ruled out.
‘I think we could see when we missed two centre-backs at Villa that we were able to get a win. Morgan is very important with the quality he has, but I think the team doesn’t just depend on him.
‘It’s for somebody else to step up and help the team to win. I think with every team you can play with everybody fit, everybody available, everybody in top shape, and you can lose against Arsenal. It can also be the opposite. Maybe you’re missing a few players.’
He added, ‘This is what I experienced in my career. I remember going to Bayern Munich with Eintracht Frankfurt missing seven or eight players. Nobody expected anything, and we won 2-1 there.’