Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal: 4 talking points from Nottingham Forest horror show

By Ross Kennerley

Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta gestures on the touchline during the English FA Cup third round football match between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal at The City Ground in Nottingham, central England, on January 9, 2022. - - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta gestures on the touchline during the English FA Cup third round football match between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal at The City Ground in Nottingham, central England, on January 9, 2022. - - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta gestures on the touchline during the English FA Cup third round football match between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal at The City Ground. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images) /

2. Nuno Tavares Disaster Forces Arteta’s Hand

It is not common practice to substitute a player after 30 minutes for tactical reasons. It’s even less common to substitute a player after 30 minutes solely because he was playing so incredibly poorly.

Nuno Tavares had a shocker. There is no shying away from that.

He gave the ball away a remarkable nine times in the opening half and hour, including a bizarre backpass to Bernd Leno that left the keeper scrambling, and it appeared as if he was playing for himself more than he was playing for the team.

Pinpointing exactly why he was so off the pace is a head scratcher. Physically he seemed short and his concentration levels were off. But is that the full reason?

Arteta has shown no fear since being a manager. He isn’t unwilling to be ruthless. On this occasion, however, might it just have been worth waiting the additional ten minutes until half-time? It’s clear he wanted to send a marker that this performance was not acceptable. Maybe, though, that could have waited until the break?

You can understand why didn’t wait, though.

Continued on next page…

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