Nottingham Forest captain Ryan Yates shares clear instruction Nuno gave him against Arsenal

Add as preferred source on Google

Nottingham Forest drew 0-0 with Arsenal at the City Ground on Wednesday night as the Reds bounced back from the two away defeats to Newcastle and Fulham.

The Reds played well in parts. Defensively the team were sound with Matz Sels making a good save and Murillo ahead of him getting praise from Nikola Milenkovic.

Martin Keown was shushed by Nuno Espirito Santo when questions were asked about his team selection but ultimately, it proved to be a bit of a masterclass from the Forest head coach.

At the end of the game, it was Forest who might have nicked it. Chris Wood had a good chance to score on two occasions, whilst Elliot Anderson was inches away from teeing up Callum Hudson-Odoi to score.

Forest gave a strong account of themselves, however. It was a return to basics on a defensive basis last night and the Reds can take this point and look forward to games against Ipswich in the FA Cup and Manchester City in the Premier League.

• READ MORE: I saw £17m Nottingham Forest player showcase why he’s getting picked every week

What Ryan Yates noticed about Arsenal from the bench

The academy graduate was summonsed from the bench alongside teammate Danilo to try and change the complexion of the game and swing it in the favour of Forest with half an hour remaining.

Yates and Danilo both did extremely well in the game. Forest had their best opportunities to steal all three points when those two came onto the pitch and the substitutes seemed to work.

Club captain Yates had noticed something about Arsenal from the bench and shares why Espirito Santo had decided to put him on alongside Danilo with 30 minutes left to play.

Yates told BBC Radio Nottingham: “I think we were watching it and we knew it was going to be tough to break them down with a lot of sustained pressure and I think my job when I came on was just to crash the box when I could, make it difficult and make something happen. The ball dropped to us a couple of times but we just couldn’t get it in.”

Yates stats vs Arsenal

In recent weeks, Yates has lost his place in the starting eleven in the Premier League. As a result, he’s been forced to work his magic from the bench, with his performances against Newcastle and Arsenal catching the eye.

The player who lives and breathes Forest is a player who always gives his all. Clearly, in recent months that hasn’t been enough for Espirito Santo but he’s certainly trying his best to get back into the team.

This performance was a positive one from Yates. He won Forest some very good free kicks in dangerous areas and that is one of his strongest attributes when he’s out on the pitch.

There is still a role to play in the Forest team for Yates. It’s interesting that he watched Arsenal closely from the bench and as a result, that led to him knowing exactly what he needed to do when he was called upon against the Gunners.