Nottingham Forest must start winning football matches again if the Champions League dream is to become a reality.
VAR didn’t help Forest in the 4-3 reverse at the hands of Newcastle on Sunday, but ultimately the Reds were architects of their own downfall conceding four times in 11 minutes.
Peter Bankes asked Jarred Gillet to look at a handball from Ola Aina with the score at 2-1 to Newcastle. The same official didn’t award Forest a penalty for a similar incident against Wolves in January.
Arsenal will travel to the City Ground on Wednesday for what feels like a big clash especially after the Gunners were beaten 1-0 at home by West Ham at the weekend.
Naturally, there were some intriguing bits and bobs to emerge from that game and something occurred that might just have Forest winger Anthony Elanga rubbing his hands together.
Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card is brilliant news for Anthony Elanga
A lot has been made about the brilliance of Lewis-Skelly this season and he’s really stamped his authority on the left-back position at the Emirates Stadium.
It’s always intriguing to see who will be operating at left-back for the opposition because, in full flight, Elanga believes he’s the quickest player in the Premier League.
Lewis-Skelly boasts a large amount of pace down the left for Arsenal and it might be a concern for Mikel Arteta that he’s been sent off twice in just 18 appearances.
He won’t be available for the Arsenal boss against Forest and as a result, it feels likely that a makeshift option will now be forced to keep tabs on Elanga during game week 27.
Naturally, Forest will still be in for a tough examination despite Lewis-Skelly missing out. However, any boost that the Reds can take is positive and the injuries have been a serious detriment to Arsenal’s campaign.
Elanga could come up against struggling Arsenal player
When Lewis-Skelly was dismissed against West Ham, Riccardo Calafiori was tasked with playing at left-back in a move that didn’t really work out.
The Standard gave Calafiori a 4/10 and cited how Aaron Wan-Bissaka had crucified him down Arsenal’s left-hand side which should give Elanga some confidence if he gets the nod.
Jurrien Timber is another name that could come into the mix. However, he does possess pace but since arriving at Arsenal he’s had some injury issues of his own and he might not be up to chasing Elanga all night.
Whoever gets the nod from Arteta will get a tough examination from Forest star Elanga. He’s in fine form of late, scoring three goals and registering eight assists from 28 outings this season.
With Arsenal not having a fit centre-forward at the moment, Forest were never going to be facing the best version of the Gunners during the next round of games.
However, Lewis-Skelly looks like being one of the next big things in this country and the fact he’s not available isn’t just a huge bonus for Forest – but also provides an opportunity for Elanga to cause some real chaos.
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
