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Mikel Arteta is not giving up the fight in the battle for the Premier League title but Arsenal cannot afford another slip-up against high-flying Nottingham Forest.
The Gunners ambled to a dispiriting 1-0 loss at home to West Ham, leaving Liverpool to take an 11-point lead at the summit.
Arsenal have a game in hand and travel to Anfield three matches from the end of the campaign. The danger is they will have run out of road before then. “Over my dead body,” Arteta said at his pre-match news conference when asked whether he would give up hope for Arsenal’s title bid. “If not, I will go home. Mathematically, it is possible. You have to play every game.”
Forest’s mathematical hopes of securing UEFA Champions League football remain implausibly strong as they remain third on 47 points. However, back-to-back defeats against Fulham and Newcastle United have seen the chasing pack close the gap.
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Nottingham Forest vs. Arsenal lineups, predicted starting 11, team news
Forest almost completed a remarkable comeback in their 4-3 weekend defeat to Newcastle, although they also led 1-0 and Nuno Espirito Santo will have been disappointed to see his usually robust defence malfunction to such an extent.
Aside from a hamstring injury for backup goalkeeper Carlos Miguel, he has a largely clean bill of health and is likely to go with a familiar-looking lineup, having already taken four points off Liverpool this term.
Nottingham Forest predicted lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Sels (GK) — Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams — Anderson, Yates — Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi — Wood
Injured: Miguel (hamstring)
Suspended: None
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Ethan Nwaneri was substituted during the closing stages of Arsenal’s defeat to West Ham. Arteta stated this was simply down to cramp and that the teenage attacking midfielder is “fine”. However, the Gunners’ boss did note how Nwaneri’s “load has been very different in recent weeks”, suggesting he is mindful of starting him once again.
The problem in that regard is Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli remain sidelined with hamstring injuries and Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus are out for the season. It means Mikel Merino is likely to resume auxiliary striker duties, while Arteta might once again have to hope for a performance from the forlorn Raheem Sterling.
Miles Lewis-Skelly is suspended following his red card against West Ham, with Riccardo Calafiori most likely to start at left-back in his absence.
Arsenal predicted lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Raya (GK) — Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori — Odegaard, Partey, Rice — Sterling, Merino, Trossard
Injured: Saka, Martinelli, Havertz (all hamstring), Jesus (ACL), Tomiyasu (knee)
Suspended: Lewis-Skelly (red card)
Nottingham Forest vs. Arsenal live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this Premier League match across selected areas of the world’s major regions: