Nottinghamshire

Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

Arsenal face struggling Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday (16:30 BST) as they seek to continue their fine form after returning from the international break.

The Gunners have not been at their best in their past two fixtures, but they have battled well to earn a 2-1 victory over Leeds United in the Premier League and a 3-0 win against Lille in the Champions League.

Forest have yet to fire under new boss Oliver Glasner. They have suffered two consecutive defeats, with a disappointing 3-1 loss at Crystal Palace following a 1-0 reverse at home to Coventry City.

Glasner and Forest yet to get going

Glasner's style of play has yet to fully click at Forest, although their biggest issue so far this season has been a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal.

Only Tottenham, with a conversion rate of 4.72%, have a worse record in the Premier League. Forest also have the biggest differential between their expected goals (xG) and the number of goals they have scored, with figures of 10.30 and five respectively, leaving them at -5.30.

Glasner's side have also missed the most big chances in the Premier League this season, with 17, while they have hit the woodwork a league-high six times.

The head coach will be frustrated, as his team's poor form continues a trend we saw towards the end of last season, when he was the head coach at Crystal Palace.

Glasner has won just five of his last 29 Premier League games, and his win percentage of 17% is the second-lowest of any manager to have taken charge of 20 or more games, ahead of only Rob Edwards (13%).

Arteta finding an edge off the bench

The squad depth at Mikel Arteta's disposal has been key since the start of last season, with the high-quality options off the bench helping the Gunners get over the line.

Since the start of the previous campaign, Arsenal have recorded 25 goal contributions from substitutes - 13 goals and 12 assists - more than any other club in the top flight.

Two of those goals have come in the past three matches, with Bruno Guimaraes netting long-range strikes to clinch the points for the champions against Sunderland and Leeds.

Arsenal have also had to find different ways to score this season, as their set-piece effectiveness has dwindled compared with last year.

The Gunners are yet to score from a set-piece in the Premier League in 2026-27. It is the first time they have failed to score from one in any of their first six games of a season since 2011-12.

In terms of underlying numbers, their expected goals from set-pieces per 90 have fallen to 0.31 this season, down from 0.56 in the previous campaign. Their expected goals from corners have also declined, from 0.37 to 0.18.

Arsenal are taking more short corners on average, accounting for 18.5% of their corners this term, compared with 13% in the Premier League last season. The Gunners are also yet to take a single outswinging corner in their first six games, although they took just seven in the whole of last season.

Huzaifah Khan
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Oliver Glasner has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Arsenal at the City Ground (kick-off 16:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On team news, Glasner said Nicola Savona and Igor Jesus are out because of injury, but Nikola Milenkovic "could be in the matchday squad".

• He also revealed that Morgan Gibbs-White has failed to train with the squad this week after suffering a minor muscle injury against Crystal Palace and is "doubtful" for Sunday's game. He added that the England international will have the chance to train on Saturday and the club will see how he reacts.

• On the fact his side missed big chances in the game against Palace and how they can do better against Arsenal, Glasner explained: "No team has seven, eight big chances like we had against Palace [against Arsenal] but it's possible to have two or three. Then, it's up us to be clinical, taking the chances and then you have the chance to win the game."

• On his strikers struggling in front of goal, Glasner said: "Today, the main topic was finishing in training. Before the training, I told the players what we're going to do and then I said the one who can explain it best how to deal with this situation is Chris Wood."

• He added: "Overall, [he's scored] around 200 goals in English football and he had to deal with these situations." Wood's message was: "Always be confident, never lose trust in yourself, and there's always another one around the corner. Glasner added: "And that's exactly how it is. I could see players start to smile and that's how you best to deal with it."

• The Austrian boss was highly complimentary of the Gunners saying: "In every game this season they were outrunning the opposition. It's incredible. The effort and the mindset Mikel [Arteta] has created there is incredible."

• He added: "This makes it so tough to play against them and you see it from every single player. They have so many world-class players they can react from the bench."

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Nottingham Forest forward Dan Ndoye says head coach Oliver Glasner is a "top man and a top person" after his first few weeks of working with him.

Speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up and Show More Football podcast, the winger said:"There are a lot of things to learn from him and every day I try to listen to everything he says. With this type of coach, we can really step up as players and as a club.

"To be able to win trophies is what we work for as players and we can see that he has won already in the past. It makes us even more confident that everything that we do is to try and have that. We have full confidence in the work that we do.

On his role in Glasner's system, Ndoye added: "I really like this position because I like to have a bit of freedom, and offensively he leaves a lot of freedom.

"In the first weeks, to really understand where he wanted me to be was a bit tricky, but the more games that are coming, the more confident I feel."

Listen to the full interview and the rest of the podcast on BBC Sounds here

The latest episode of the Shut Up And Show More Football podcast has landed.

BBC Radio Nottingham's David Jackson and Colin Fray look at the Premier League expected points (xPTS) table, which is calculated by comparing the quality of goalscoring chances a team makes (xG) and concedes (xGA) in every match, and shows what the impact would have been on a team's points total.

Six games into the 2026-27 season, Nottingham Forest are sat third in the table behind Arsenal and Manchester City - a staggering difference to their reality down in 15th place.

There is also an exclusive interview with Dan Ndoye, who has adjusted to a new position under head coach Oliver Glasner, already scoring two goals in seven appearances while doing so this season.

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

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