Arsenal: 4 talking points from Nottingham Forest horror show

Arsenal got exactly what they deserved as Nottingham Forest claimed a 1-0 FA Cup third round victory on Sunday night to dump the visitors out of the competition at the first hurdle.

Mikel Arteta took his side up to Nottinghamshire with nine players absent for a number of reasons, with it confirmed prior to kick-off that Folarin Balogun and Granit Xhaka had tested positive for Covid.

There were other absences with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Emile Smith Rowe both injured, while the quartet away at AFCON also, obviously, weren’t available.

They didn’t miss much.

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Arsenal: 4 talking points as Mikel Arteta’s side are dumped out of the FA Cup at the third round stage

One of the worst first halves seen for quite some time trudged on with Arsenal offering nothing of note against their Championship opponents, barring a few pop shots from distance that went wide.

Forest didn’t create much either but at least showed quality defensive organisation and determination, and with the Gunners carrying over their abysmal display into the second half it was only a matter of time before the moment everyone knew was coming did arrive.

A counter-attack from the hosts saw the ball moved out to Ryan Yates on the right hand side. It required a fine delivery from the midfielder and an equally measured finish from Lewis Grabban to score, which is precisely what the pair provided.

For just the second time in a quarter of a century, Arsenal exit the FA Cup at the third round stage. They didn’t deserve the 1-0 defeat. They deserved to lose by more.

1. Arsenal’s Best Followed by Arsenal’s Worst

Fans have been purring for the past week. Even having fallen to a 2-1 Premier League defeat to Manchester City, the buzz around the club has been unavoidable with fans invested in the team, its identity and the direction they’re heading in.

That performance against the champions was the best under Arteta. This performance against Nottingham Forest was the worst under Arteta.

While there were wholesale changes, the team put out on Sunday was one more than capable of winning that match. But not necessarily winning the match, they were also capable of not being absolutely, unequivocally atrocious.

It was, by a country mile, the worst performance of the season. And there is little reason to understand why. Yes, there are multiple players out for a variety of reasons, but one need only look at a team containing Benjamin White, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Sambi Lokonga and Martin Odegaard and see there are no grounds for excuses.

Across 93 minutes of agony, there are, quite literally, no positives to take. None at all. You can study that performance for years on end, do a Masters in it, and will still fail to extract any morsel of positivity. Arsenal went from their best showing in years to being spineless, static and uninventive.

There are few words.

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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.

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3. Arsenal Performance Sees Youngsters Miss Out

There was great excitement and buzz about this match as the number of absences within the squad meant there was going to be a strong academy showing among the travelling party.

Charlie Patino obviously started, while there were also spots on the bench for Omari Hutchinson, Salah Oulad M’Hand and Mika Biereth. Their lack of involvement was an unfortunate byproduct of the shocking level that Arsenal produced.

Facing Championship opposition who hadn’t played since December 30, off the back of the outstanding performance against Man City, was an open invitation for Arsenal to continue their impressive form. It was hoped – and expected, let’s not kid ourselves – that Arteta’s side were going to find themselves in a positive game state with enough comfort that some debuts could be handed out.

Those on the bench would arguably have shown more desire and commitment than those on the pitch, but bringing them on in this game would have been unfair on them. Patino, who looked off the pace, already suffered and his Under-23 teammates didn’t deserve the same.

Worst of all, they won’t get another chance this season with this competition now done and dusted. It’s a good thing they’ve got plenty of their careers left.

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4. Arsenal Have to Sign a Midfielder This Window (and a striker)

With Xhaka out with Covid for an unknown length of time and Thomas Partey away at AFCON, one of the many aspects Arsenal missed on Sunday was presence.

"“I want to try to get the best out of the players that we have,” Arteta said of his midfield post-match. “I think it is clear where we need to strengthen, but at the moment it is what we have. And what we have, we have to play.”"

On his return to the team Sambi had a poor evening. So did young Patino, whose lack of pace was exposed as he struggled to adapt to the physicality of the match. Both were passengers, which is understandable to a degree given how little senior football they’ve played in over a month.

While Sambi is an excellent talent it’s clear that he needs a more senior figure alongside him. The midfield was vacant all evening with neither of the pair able to stamp any authority on the match, and allowing Ainsley Maitland-Niles to leave, a deal that makes sense, is nonetheless baffling without anyone lined up to come in. You have to respect Arteta granting his wish, even if it’s a strange one to make when you’re heading into three massive matches with what is just two senior options.

Depending on Xhaka’s absence, Sambi may only be one. Arsenal have to hit this transfer market. And hard. The drop off from Lacazette to Nketiah was also hopeless.

We knew this already. We know it even more now.