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2024/25 English Premier League
Matchday 12
Arsenal v Nottingham Forest
Emirates Stadium
London, England
Saturday, 23 November 2024
Kick-off is at 17h00
Arsenal will be hard-pressed to end a four-match winless run in the
Premier League when they take on an improving Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, November 23.
The Gunners have seen their title challenge falter in recent weeks after picking up just five points from their last five games and losing to Bournemouth (2-0) and Newcastle (1-0).
Mikel Arteta's side drew 1-1 with Chelsea prior to the November international break which left them nine points adrift of league leaders Liverpool in fourth position.
The Blues (3rd) are just above them on goal difference and find themselves in a four-way tie with Forest (5th) and Brighton (6th) on 19 points.
The Reds pulled five points clear at the top of the table with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa on November 9 after Manchester City suffered a second consecutive defeat at the hands of the Seagulls (2-1).
Nuno Espirito Santo's side lost for only the second time this season with a 3-1 reverse to the Magpies on November 10 which halted a four-match unbeaten run.
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Raheem Sterling is available for selection again after being ineligible to face his parent club, while Declan Rice (ankle), Bukayo Saka, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Riccardo Calafiori (both knee) could also be in contention to return. However, Ben White (knee) and Kieran Tierney (thigh) remain on the sidelines.
Danilo (ankle) is the only confirmed absentee for the visitors, who could welcome back Elliot Anderson (ankle) and Ibrahim Sangare (thigh) for the trip to North London.
Arteta is hoping the injury problems that have plagued them over the last two months will ease up as his team have struggled for consistency with so many key players unavailable.
"What I am just praying is that after the international break I have the team fully equipped physically, they are available and they are fit because it has been an absolute nightmare for eight weeks," the Spaniard said.
"Issue after issue, not only the ones that are not able to play, but the ones that are able to play only for certain moments, only for certain days, not able to train.
"So I'm just asking that because the team, the desire that they have and how much we want it, there's no question about that. So, it's going to come, we just need that on our side to be able to be more consistent."
Nuno acknowledged there were important lessons to take away from their loss at home to Newcastle, but expressed pride in their performance and how his players are sticking together this term.
"I am very pleased even though we lost the game, I am very pleased and all of us at Forest should be proud of our players and how we were working together," the Portuguese said.
"Let's go again, just proud from day one of how we were working as a team. I would not say I'm frustrated, we lost the game, when you lose and win there is always a lesson to be learned, today we must learn some important lessons."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Arsenal wins - 4
Forest wins - 1
Draws - 0
Premier League Matchday 12 fixtures:
Saturday, November 23
14h30: Leicester City v Chelsea
17h00: Bournemouth v Brighton & Hove Albion
17h00: Arsenal v Nottingham Forest
17h00: Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
17h00: Everton v Brentford
17h00: Fulham v Wolverhampton Wanderers
19h30: Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur
Sunday, November 24
16h00: Southampton v Liverpool
18h30: Ipswich Town v Manchester United
Monday, November 25
22h00: Newcastle United v West Ham United
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