Nuno Espirito Santo left Martin Keown nearly speechless with his candid assessment of Arsenal’s team selection against Nottingham Forest.
Nottingham Forest enhanced their chances of securing a top-four finish by holding Arsenal to a 0-0 draw on Wednesday night.
Arsenal failed to score for the second consecutive match in the Premier League, which may lead them to regret not acquiring a new striker during the January transfer window.
The long-term injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz have prompted Mikel Arteta to experiment with his attacking tactics.
This has seen midfielder Mikel Merino take on the role of starting striker, as he did during the draw at Forest.
After the match, Espirito Santo pointed out this issue in a brutally honest evaluation of Keown’s beloved side.
During a discussion on TNT Sports, Keown inquired of the Forest head coach: “In the 7-0 [win] against Brighton, you played with a [back] five that day.
“Today I wondered, ‘Ok, will you go with it?’ but you opted for a four, what was the reasoning behind that? Did you need more bodies in the midfield area?”
Espirito Santo responded: “Since Arsenal doesn’t have a striker, Merino played in that position; thus, there’s no need for an extra body.
“The overload will be in the midfield, so when it drops, it’s about containing the midfield.”
Keown had little to say in reply to the Forest manager’s comments, simply stating: “Yeah, ok.”
After losing at home to West Ham on Saturday, the dropped points at Forest have further jeopardized Arsenal’s title aspirations this season.
Meanwhile, league leaders Liverpool secured a 2-0 victory over Newcastle in the later kick-off, extending their lead over Arsenal to 13 points.
While Arsenal has a game in hand, their title chances appear to be dwindling as the season progresses.
Despite this, Arteta remains optimistic about his team’s potential for glory, as he firmly stated in his pre-match press conference.
“Over my dead body,” he asserted when asked if he would concede the Premier League title. “If not, I will go home.
“Mathematically, it is possible. Three days ago we could close a gap, and you are like, ‘You are one and a half games away.’
“The difficulty is higher than three days ago, but to win the Premier League, you must do something special.”
“If you are going to win the Premier League under the circumstances we face, you will likely have to accomplish something that nobody else has done in the history of the Premier League.”
Arsenal’s upcoming fixtures include matches against Manchester United and Chelsea, with a potentially title-deciding clash against Liverpool scheduled for May.
