A tactical recap of what to make of that formation, that performance by Jesus, and what it all means for the future (plus, an intro about José Mourinho for some reason)
Cracking piece, from a Forest perspective they had two jobs, stop Saka & Odergard who they often doubled up or pressed harder on when in possession, which cut the supply to Jesus, who we saw on the day did nothing! You're right about the full backs, any side setting themselves up will be content to allow Partey & White to pass sideways (they won't often overlap or fiz cutting passes between the lines), interestingly when Zinchenko plays that position his forward passing and creeping infield can create issues of uncertainty for opposition, he was missed, along with the usual pace of Martinelli who was also missing, that seemed to make the team very one sided towards the right (which was well protected), I think the side lacked pace, physicality and intensity overall against a team that were fighting for their lives, focused, and with a game plan to defend regardless of their lead, this all contributed to a rather frustrating match, largely I think Arsenal's predictability has been their recent downfall, lack of depth not helping, I think they're a good 4/5 players missing to pose a real championship threat! As for Forest, I'll be honest with you, I'm a long standing (long suffering) fan, and that's the first time that tactic has paid off since we beat an equally drab and disappointing Liverpool in October. We've been crying out for a 1-0 a long bloody time, it helped that we faced a side already suffering in confidence after letting their title hopes slip away! Be interesting to see how the club bounce back, next season!
Cracking piece, from a Forest perspective they had two jobs, stop Saka & Odergard who they often doubled up or pressed harder on when in possession, which cut the supply to Jesus, who we saw on the day did nothing! You're right about the full backs, any side setting themselves up will be content to allow Partey & White to pass sideways (they won't often overlap or fiz cutting passes between the lines), interestingly when Zinchenko plays that position his forward passing and creeping infield can create issues of uncertainty for opposition, he was missed, along with the usual pace of Martinelli who was also missing, that seemed to make the team very one sided towards the right (which was well protected), I think the side lacked pace, physicality and intensity overall against a team that were fighting for their lives, focused, and with a game plan to defend regardless of their lead, this all contributed to a rather frustrating match, largely I think Arsenal's predictability has been their recent downfall, lack of depth not helping, I think they're a good 4/5 players missing to pose a real championship threat! As for Forest, I'll be honest with you, I'm a long standing (long suffering) fan, and that's the first time that tactic has paid off since we beat an equally drab and disappointing Liverpool in October. We've been crying out for a 1-0 a long bloody time, it helped that we faced a side already suffering in confidence after letting their title hopes slip away! Be interesting to see how the club bounce back, next season!
Lovely stuff. Thanks so much for reading, Danny.
so Kimmich's coming in to compete with White then! that'll do