It would be very easy to look at the Premier League table, see that this is a match between first and last placed and expect only one outcome, but on closer inspection it may not be quite as simple as that.
Arsenal have taken the league by storm so far this season, winning all but two of their domestic fixtures, and winning them in style and with conviction.
Mikel Arteta has rightfully received endless plaudits from fans and pundits for the work he has done over the last 18 months. His process now sees them sitting pretty in top spot, but their last few performances suggest that there are perhaps cracks to be exploited by Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon.
Despite Forest’s struggling start to their first season back in the top-flight for 23 years, Steve Cooper, who much to the surprise of neutrals, saw his efforts of guiding them to promotion last season rewarded with a new long-term contract and since then the East Midlands club’s form has improved significantly.
Since the renewal of Cooper’s deal was announced on October 7 his side have collected five points from the last four games, drawing to Aston Villa and Brighton as well as edging past Liverpool in a triumph Cooper and his players will take confidence and belief from ahead of their trip to the Gunners.
Arsenal contrastingly, whilst remaining top, fortuitously scraped past Leeds, before most recently drawing away to Southampton and collapsing to a 2-0 defeat in the Europa League against PSV Eindhoven, putting an end to their impressive nine game unbeaten run.
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This will be the first meeting between the two sides in red since their Third Round FA Cup tie last season in which Forest grabbed a last gasp winner to knock out Arteta’s men out, who will undoubtedly be out for revenge on Sunday afternoon.
Arsenal academy graduate and fan favourite, Paul Merson has made his prediction of how his former side will respond to their midweek woes, expecting them to be back to their best in a 3-0 victory. Likewise, Chris Sutton has opted for a 2-0 win for the home side and you can read their reasonings below.
Merson told Sportskeeda:
“Mikel Arteta has been quite clever with Arsenal. He has played four solid defenders at the back - Ben White, Tomiyasu, and the two centre-backs.
“Thomas Partey plays in front of them - he's played for one of the most disciplined teams in world football in Atletico Madrid. Arteta's told the rest of the team to go out there and express themselves, and it's worked wonders for his side.
“I know they suffered a bad result the other day against Southampton, but they didn't lose - that's a big compliment. Last season, they would've lost that game.
“If Arsenal are at the top of the Premier League table come the World Cup break, it'll be a massive feat.”
Sutton told BBC Sport:
“This is top of the table versus bottom, but the way last weekend's games went for both teams made me stop and think about this one a bit more.
“I am still going for Arsenal to win, but they looked a bit tired in the second half of their draw with Southampton on Sunday, and they had a Europa League tie against PSV Eindhoven on Thursday too.
“Forest have been a bit more stubborn in their past couple of games and have kept two clean sheets. They seem to have found a bit of defensive stability and it is down to Arsenal to find a way through.
“Because they are at home, I have to back the Gunners, but these next few weeks before the season stops for the World Cup will tell us a lot about their squad, and whether it is strong enough.”
What's your score prediction? Let us know in the comments section.
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