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Nottingham Post

Sport

Sarah Clapson

Nottingham Forest notebook: Cooper's plan, City Ground call to arms, Arsenal's secret weapon

Forest Arsenal Steve Cooper Nottingham Forest Mikel Arteta EPL Gunners the City Ground Keinan Davis Watford

Nottingham Forest will run out at the City Ground for the final time this season on Saturday (5.30pm) as they host Arsenal in their penultimate match.

Whether the Reds will still be a Premier League side when they return in August for their 2023/24 campaign remains uncertain. Steve Cooper’s side are well placed at the moment, but know the job is far from being done.

All eyes will also be on what unfolds elsewhere in this round of fixtures. Ahead of the meeting with the Gunners, here’s our round-up of the goings-on Trentside...

Crucial clash

It has felt like a long week building up to Saturday and a match with plenty riding on it. But while fans have spent plenty of time poring over the permutations and pundits have been debating what kind of Arsenal side Forest will face, Cooper’s full focus has been on the task in hand.

The Welshman dismisses any suggestion it could be a good time to face Mikel Arteta’s team with the title race all-but over. Although the Reds are a very different side now to when they were thumped 5-0 at the Emirates in October, they know the threat their visitors pose.

“Nobody is getting carried away, that’s for sure,” Cooper said. “We are absolutely honed in on trying to get the result.

“Preparation for that is analysing Arsenal, who they are and why they’ve been the team they have this year - which has been outstanding - and getting prepared for that. We are keeping it as simple as that.

“We are doing some really good things in games. We also know there are some things we want to be doing better. We have got to try to put all that together, turn it into a plan - including getting the right team and the right formation - and have the mental strength to deliver it.

“So many times you’ve come up against teams and you assume they’re in a certain situation and we've had the complete opposite. We're preparing for Arsenal to be who they are, and we have got to be at our very best.”

Call to arms

This season has already seen some special moments on the banks of the Trent. Just as was the case last term, the atmosphere at home games has been spine-tingling. There has been a real sense of occasion about every match.

Saturday will be no different. There has been some long overdue cleaning going on at the City Ground this week and Forza Garibaldi are preparing something “extra special”. A call to arms has been issued for fans to bring scarves again, having created quite the spectacle against Southampton. A brilliant video filmed by the club’s media team from Trent Bridge before kick-off against the Saints showcased just how loud Mull of Kintyre is.

"In terms of home games, there’s been a real sense of support, goodwill and really getting behind the team and being proud of Nottingham Forest and the team,” Cooper says. "There's been a real feeling of sticking together whatever happens during the game. That's why we’ve managed to get through times where we’ve gone a goal down.

"The support has been absolutely incredible and I’ll never get tired of saying it. That’s the main factor, as well as the players really committing to the plan and doing whatever it takes."

Whatever happens against the Gunners, there will be a lap of appreciation by players and staff after the final whistle.

What’s in a name?

When Forest beat Arsenal in the FA Cup in 2018, victory memorably meant more than just a famous result and passage through to the next round for one member of the squad. Eric Lichaj’s brace in a 4-2 thriller resulted in his wife relenting over his appeals for them to get a dog, having initially proposed he would need to score a hat-trick for that to happen.

“Gunner” subsequently became part of the Lichaj family and was even “interviewed” by Sky Sports as the story captured the wider imagination almost as much as the giant-killing at the City Ground.

On a canine-related theme, news has emerged that Mikel Arteta has started to bring a dog to Arsenal’s training ground. According to The Times, the chocolate Labrador accompanies the Gunners manager in an attempt to “lift morale” and “enhance the spirit of togetherness” at the club.

And the name of the dog? That would be “Win”... Forest will hope it is the visitors who are left barking mad come full-time on Saturday evening. And you suspect Lichaj will be keeping tabs from afar; he wished his former club “good luck this weekend” on Twitter when a clip of his scoring antics was posted from the official account.

On the move?

Speaking of former Reds, there is a suggestion that one of last season’s promotion heroes could soon be on the move. Keinan Davis remains a firm favourite among Forest fans, and some would still be keen to see him back at the City Ground.

That seems unlikely, with our colleagues at BirminghamLive reporting a move to the Championship is most likely as Aston Villa look to sell the striker “on the cheap”. It is said Davis changing agency points to a permanent transfer from Villa Park this summer. There was an agreement in place with loan club Watford for a £15 million sale had the Hornets got promoted, but it now remains to be seen where the forward will head to next.

Play-off final

Saturday is a big day all round. Before Cooper’s side are in action, Forest Women face Watford in the National League play-off final, with promotion to the Championship up for grabs.

It is a shame such a big match takes place on the same day the men’s team play, although some supporters are planning to try to make the dash from Stadium MK, where the final kicks off at 1pm, to the City Ground for the 5.30pm kick-off against the Gunners. The women's game is being screened live on BBC iPlayer and online from 12.50pm, however.

Meanwhile, Forest under-21s lost 3-0 to a very strong Leeds United side in the Premier League 2 Division 2 play-off final at Elland Road earlier this week. The strength of Leeds’ line-up was demonstrated by the fact it was their £35m record signing Georginio Rutter who opened the scoring.