Can Arsenal finally end their City Ground scoring drought?

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Arsenal head to the City Ground on Sunday chasing a tenth win in eleven matches this season, but recent history at Nottingham Forest suggests nothing will come easy. The last two visits there both finished goalless, despite Arsenal registering 40 shots across those two games combined.

Kick off is 4.30pm UK time, with Arsenal arriving in good form, having beaten both Leeds United and Lille at the Emirates in midweek. Mikel Arteta's side have also won six of their last eight Premier League away games, a record that points to genuine momentum heading into Nottinghamshire.

Forest's form hides a warning sign

Oliver Glasner's Forest side have managed just five points from six Premier League matches and have won only once in their last fourteen top flight games at the City Ground. On paper, that reads like an easy away day.

The underlying numbers tell a different story. Forest have created the second highest number of big chances in the Premier League this season but converted only 4.7% of their shots, with five goals from an expected goals total of 10.3. That gap suggests a finishing problem rather than a lack of quality in their play, and Arteta himself has called Forest “an extremely well coached team”, a description worth taking seriously given they have also conceded the joint fewest shots in the division.

Morgan Gibbs-White has created seventeen chances already this season and remains the focal point of Forest's attack, with Dan Ndoye offering pace in behind. Glasner's 3-4-2-1 shape has made Forest difficult to break down even when results have gone against them.

Injury situation and team news

Arsenal have fresh fitness concerns to navigate. Martin Zubimendi and Piero Hincapié both picked up ankle injuries in training recently, with Zubimendi in contention to return on Sunday while Hincapié is expected to be out for several weeks. William Saliba and Christos Tzolis remain unavailable.

There is better news elsewhere, with Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard, Kai Havertz and Riccardo Calafiori all in line to return to the starting eleven after being rotated midweek. Saka's impact as a substitute against Lille helped turn the game, with Arsenal eventually running out 3-0 winners.

Forest have their own issues, with Gibbs-White a doubt, Igor Jesus unavailable, and Nikola Milenković only just back in training.

Arsenal have won fourteen of their last seventeen league matches but have fallen behind in three of the last four, a pattern Arteta will want to avoid repeating against a Forest side capable of punishing any slow start. Saka has been directly involved in five goals in six Premier League appearances against Forest, and another contribution from him would go a long way to settling any nerves, particularly with Michael Oliver taking charge of the match.

Arsenal will be hoping to finally turn City Ground pressure into points as the title race continues to take shape.