Nuno Espirito Santo surely has to consider dropping £8.5m star for Nottingham Forest’s next game

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There was no getting around the importance of Wednesday night’s game for Forest as a negative result would’ve ramped up the pressure on Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad’s chances of Champions League qualification.

Whilst the Premier League is set to have five Champions League spots, Espirito Santo won’t want to rely on the lower positions which looked set to be a possibility after Sunday’s 4-3 defeat to Newcastle.

As a result of the Gunners’ lack of attacking options, Chris Sutton predicted a draw between Arsenal and Forest in what was widely expected to be a tense affair, which was evident in the first half especially as neither side created a threatening opportunity.

However, throughout the first half, it felt as if Forest were struggling to get to grips with the game in the midfield as Arsenal’s central three were causing the Forest manager plenty of headaches.

One player, in particular, seemed to really struggle in the heart of the battle, though, frustrating Forest fans before a welcome tactical tweak was made.

Nicolas Dominguez was ineffective for Nottingham Forest

Espirito Santo stuck with the same midfield pair that started against Newcastle, with Elliot Anderson and Nicolas Dominguez tasked with competing with Arsenal’s 4-3-3 system.

Dominguez was frustrated at not getting a chance against Fulham but based on how the Forest fans reacted to his display against Arsenal, that frustration may have been misguided.

The Argentine possesses strong technical ability so to see him not create a single chance in his 63 minutes on the pitch would’ve been frustrating for Espirito Santo as the match lacked true quality in terms of creating chances throughout.

Defensively, Dominguez also struggled as he was too easily bypassed by Arsenal’s midfield, being dribbled past three times in the game whilst also only winning 50% of his tackles.

Clearly, the Forest manager saw enough of Dominguez to decide that a change was required in the midfield and in bringing Danilo and Ryan Yates on, Forest were able to regain control in the middle of the park.

Ryan Yates’ cameo emphasised Nicolas Dominguez’s struggles

Yates could’ve started the game in all honesty but perhaps understandably, Espirito Santo wanted to give those who started against Newcastle the opportunity to prove their worth.

However, when Yates was introduced in the 63rd minute, it became obvious that the Forest Academy man was the obvious antidote to Arsenal’s midfield dominance up to that moment.

Unlike Dominguez, Yates was able to contribute to Forest’s attacking threat, creating two chances for his teammates and whilst they weren’t taken, they helped the Reds gain a modicum of control in the game to take the pressure off the backline.

He was also solid defensively, winning 75% of his ground duels and not being dribbled past once, forcing Arsenal away from the centre of the pitch where they theoretically had the numerical advantage.

There have been rumours that Dominguez could be swapped for Bryan Cristante in the summer which may not be a surprise given how much Yates outshone him in just 27 minutes against Arsenal.