The genius Nottingham Forest academy plan that Mikel Arteta is also using at Arsenal

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Nottingham Forest are curating a strong crop of talent in the academy, implementing a system that Mikel Arteta is having success with at Arsenal.

With Forest battling to finish in the Champions League positions this season, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have become intrinsically linked to Arsenal as the two sides occupy similar places and points tallies in the Premier League table.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	24	17	6	1	58	23	35	57
2	ArsenalArsenal	24	14	8	2	49	22	27	50
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	24	14	5	5	40	27	13	47
4	ChelseaChelsea	24	12	7	5	47	31	16	43

What is perhaps most surprising about the closeness of the two sides is that Forest lost 3-0 to Arsenal in November, suggesting a gulf in quality between the two teams that Forest have managed to fight back against to compete with the Gunners.

Alongside the jockeying for league position, Evangelos Marinakis also fought Arsenal on the transfer front as both Arsenal and Forest were keen on Matheus Cunha in January, although neither managed to capture the Brazilian.

It seems then that the two clubs are destined to continue this battle until the end of the season and potentially beyond, but at the academy level, Forest and Arsenal couldn’t be more aligned.

How Arsenal prepare youth talents for the Premier League revealed

Despite new Forest signing Joel Ndala outperforming Arsenal’s academy stars for England, it’s hard to ignore the success of the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelley in how they’ve transitioned into the first team.

In a report by the Daily Mail on this very phenomenon, it was revealed that Arteta has adopted a system that may sound familiar to Forest fans.

The report said: “Arsenal youth sides from Under 11s upwards are made to play in the same way as the first team – that means inverted full-backs, a 4-3-3 formation and a ball-playing goalkeeper.

“‘The coaches meet to make sure the style is the same as the first team,’ a source close to the academy told Mail Sport. ‘It makes it easier for them to transition as you already know what to do. The first-teamers don’t have to coach you through the game. It’s all about doing it faster and more efficiently.’

“The step up is therefore more of a mental battle rather than an acclimatisation to styles.”

Forest fans and Espirito Santo will be praying that the likes of Ndala and Zach Abbott can make the same leap from the Forest Academy into the first team that Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly have at Arsenal, which is possible given that the Forest manager implemented an identical formula when he joined.

Nuno Espirito Santo implemented the same academy plan that Arsenal are thriving with

When Espirito Santo was appointed Forest manager in December 2023, he arrived with little pedigree when it comes to developing young talents from the academy at either of his spells at Wolves or Tottenham.

However, Espirito Santo ensured the Forest youth teams replicated the first team, just as they do at Arsenal to evidently tremendous success. The pathway for Forest youngsters was also made more visual by the Portuguese coach, making sure that the youth teams trained on the same day as the senior team.

Whilst there hasn’t been the breakout success of the likes of Nwaneri seen at Forest just yet, Abbott appeared in the Forest squad against Everton over Christmas, highlighting that he may be the one to show the success of Espirito Santo’s plan.

Abbott was again in the Forest squad against Exeter on Tuesday as the defender gets closer to announcing himself as a permanent first team member at the City Ground.