Arsenal line-ups for Nottingham Forest as Gyokeres snubbed and Guimaraes agreement reached

Mikel Arteta has the luxury of making wholesale changes to the Arsenal starting lineup, even if a few big names are nursing knocks

Mikel Arteta could make wholesale changes to the starting lineup when Arsenal face Nottingham Forest. The Gunners will hope to make up ground in the Premier League title race when they lock horns with Oliver Glasner's side at the City Ground on Sunday afternoon, having fallen three points behind Manchester City.

Arsenal returned to winning ways last weekend after losing to Brighton just before the international break. The Gunners came from behind to defeat Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium, climbing to joint-first in the table, only for Enzo Maresca's side to leave Anfield with three points the following day.

As for Forest, they've had a shaky start to the campaign, winning just one of their first six Premier League games. Glasner's side has shown glimpses of promise, going toe-to-toe with Liverpool and beating Aston Villa, but they sit 15th.

When Arsenal last faced the East Midlands outfit on the road, they held to a goalless draw. But Sean Dyche was in charge at the time, and Arteta has an exceptional record against Glasner, who is now in the dugout, winning five and drawing one.

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Ryan Taylor

I'm intrigued to see how Mikel Arteta sets up his side given his poor record at Nottingham Forest and the tough trip to Bayern Munich on the agenda next week.

David Raya will start in goal, Ben White should come back in at right-back while Ezri Konsa, Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori complete the back-four.

Declan Rice and Bruno Guimaraes have to remain together in midfield while in attack, I'd like to see Eberechi Eze start on the left following his impressive second-half display against Lille.

Noni Madueke has played well in the past two matches but Eze's creativity and ability to unlock things could be key against Nottingham Forest's deep block.

Arsenal have failed to score in their past two visits to the City Ground and Madueke can then come off the bench on either flank, subject to how the game is going.

Martin Odegaard should obviously start as the No.10 while Kai Havertz leads the line as Viktor Gyokeres has had a tough start to the campaign.

Ryan's Arsenal XI vs Nottingham Forest: Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Guimaraes; Saka, Odegaard, Eze; Havertz

Jake Stokes

Almost in anticipation of next week's clash against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Mikel Arteta could make as many as five changes to the starting lineup when Arsenal face Nottingham Forest this weekend: two to the backline and three to the frontline.

It should go without saying that David Raya should, of course, remain between the sticks. All the while he's fit and available for selection, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Illan Meslier should remain on the bench.

At right-back, I wouldn't be surprised if Ben White comes in for Jurrien Timber; meanwhile, at the heart of the defence, Arteta should begin reintegrating Cristhian Mosquera, who had been nursing a hamstring injury before returning to the matchday squad on Tuesday night.

Ezri Konsa hasn't put a foot wrong, and he certainly deserves to keep his place in the side. In fact, the former Aston Villa defender has been superb. But he's played so much football recently, and the Gunners boss simply can't risk losing him, especially ahead of a huge game next week.

With Myles Lewis-Skelly covering for Piero Hincapie at left-back, Declan Rice and Bruno Guimaraes will have to remain in the double pivot. Eberechi Eze earned the right to keep his place in the starting lineup in the win over Lille, unlike Noni Madueke, Mikel Merino, and Viktor Gyokeres, who'll need to make way for Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, and Kai Havertz, respectively.

Jake's starting lineup to face Forest: David Raya; Myles Lewis-Skelly, Gabriel Magalhaes, Cristhian Mosquera, Ben White; Declan Rice, Bruno Guimaraes; Eberechi Eze, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka; Kai Havertz.