Nottingham Forest stun FA Cup specialists Arsenal at the City Ground

Nottingham Forest landed the final blow on a weekend of surprise knockouts as they dumped Mikel Arteta’s improved Arsenal side out of the FA Cup.

Boasting a proud record as the most successful FA Cup team in English football, with 14 trophies to their name, the Gunners were a shadow of the side that has climbed back into the top four of the Premier League.

Travelling to promotion aspiring Forest, Arsenal fielded a side valued just shy of £150 million despite making several changes to their starting lineup.

An attacking trio of Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka behind Eddie Nketiah should have presented Brice Samba with a busier evening than he anticipated.

However, the Reds’ goalkeeper did not have a shot on target to concern himself with over the 90 minutes.

Drafting Steve Cook in to make his debut alongside Joe Worrall and Scott McKenna, the former Bournemouth skipper played as though he had been at the club for years given the ease of his transition into the Forest rear guard.

Tactically, the hosts were excellent as they immediately pressed Arsenal, led by another debutant in Keinan Davis, as he let both Ben White and Rob Holding know that this was not going to be an early evening stroll on the banks of the River Trent.

Preventing Arsenal from getting any early momentum and finding space down the flanks, Forest started confidently enough against their Premier League opponents whilst the Gunners seemed content to play a waiting game and ease themselves into proceedings.

Such was the start from Gunners left-back Nuno Tavares as Arteta could not cope with his painfully casual attitude and subbed him off before half-time.

Much to the Portuguese man’s embarrassment, Tavares did not help himself much further as he petulantly threw down his gloves in front of the visiting bench.

In complete contrast, Djed Spence had a barnstormer of a game on the opposite flank as he bombed forward at any given opportunity.

Spence evaded three Arsenal challenges from inside his half, only to be crudely upended by Martinelli as he eased past the Brazillian and towards the final third.

With phase one of the assignment achieved with the scoreline goalless and Forest’s tactics keeping Arsenal quiet, the challenge for the Reds was to find the quality to nudge themselves ahead.

Youngster Brennan Johnson showed his potential with an electrifying run which left Holding chasing dust just after the break. As he progressed into the box, the young forward pulled the ball back across goal, however, Bernd Leno did well to get down low and prevent Philip Zinkernagel’s near-post effort from creeping in.

James Garner was next to test the Arsenal goalkeeper, this time from a 30-yard free-kick, but once more, the German shot-stopper was equal to the effort as he spectacularly clawed the ball away from the top corner.

With momentum growing and the home atmosphere going up in expectation, Forest boss Steve Cooper brought on Lewis Grabban and Cafu as they went in search of the killer goal.

Cooper did not have to wait too long to see his bravery rewarded on 82 minutes with Arsenal looking content to take the game into extra-time.

Ryan Yates, who had turned villain on Boxing Day thanks to a sloppy own goal at Middlesbrough, atoned for that error with a superb piece of midfield play that drew plaudits from TV pundit Roy Keane in his post-match assessment.

Closing down Albert Sambi Lokonga to win the ball inside the Arsenal half, Yates had the presence to support Johnson with a marauding overlap on the Forest right flank.

As Johnson drew the attention of Kieran Tierney, he rolled the ball into the onrushing Yates, who magnificently crossed for Grabban at the back post to prod the ball past Leno and took the roof off a delirious City Ground.

With an anticipated nervy finish, the visitors barely threatened the Forest goal and some impressive game management from the Championship outfit ensured that Forest got through to the next round.

With a home tie against Leicester City as a reward for their endeavours, it promises to be an equally as tasty clash for an East Midlands derby fixture that last took place back in 2014.

“Results like that should give us confidence. That was the message to the boys after the game.

“I believe they do, but the players have got to keep believing that they can play with the ball and they can play well, they can create chances and they can keep clean sheets, and we can be good tactically.

“All of the things that you need to be an achieving team, days like this can help with the belief.” – Steve Cooper, Nottingham Forest manager

Whilst Cooper will take many positives away from Sunday’s exploits under the lights in West Bridgford, his priority will be on their league campaign starting at Millwall next weekend.

The ex-Swansea City manager has quickly built a rapport with the home support and is embracing the rich history of the club.

Cooper has assembled a team that is no longer reliant on pieces of individual brilliance, and if Arsenal are to be used as a measuring stick of Forest’s Premier League credentials, it is not looking too shabby on Trentside.

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