Arsenal suffered a 1-0 defeat to Premier League champions Liverpool just before the international break and they aim to bounce back against Ange Postecoglou's Nottingham Forest.
Former Tottenham manager Postecoglou is back in north London for his first game in charge of Forest, who parted company with Nuno Espirito Santo this week.
Nuno’s final game as Forest boss ended in a 3-0 defeat to West Ham at the City Ground and that was also the scoreline in last season’s away defeat to Arsenal.
We have selected a 16/1 bet builder for Saturday’s big game at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal v Nottingham Forest Tips
Under 2.5 goals @ 11/10
Declan Rice to have 1+ shots on target @ 5/4
Neco Williams to be carded @ 23/10
Pays out at 16/1
Postecoglou’s Forest can keep things tight
Ange Postecoglou was renowned for his gung-ho attacking football at Tottenham although he tempered that approach during their triumphant Europa League campaign.
He will demand a committed, disciplined performance from his new side against Arsenal, who thrashed Leeds 5-0 in their first home fixture of the season but are still not firing on all cylinders in attack.
The Gunners scored with all five of their shots on target against Leeds, including a penalty from summer signing Viktor Gyokeres.
The Swedish striker made less of an impact in his other two outings, a 1-0 win at Manchester United where Riccardo Calafiori struck from close range after a set-piece, and the 1-0 loss at Liverpool, so under 2.5 goals looks a solid Bet Builder selection.
Leg 1: Under 2.5 goals @ 11/10
Rice’s attacking threat may be underrated
Declan Rice was superb for England in their World Cup qualifying wins, scoring against Andorra and racking up seven shots and two assists against Serbia.
Martin Zubimendi’s arrival to anchor the Arsenal midfield frees up Rice to gallop forward more regularly and he should be backed to have a shot on target against Forest.
No England player had more efforts on target than Rice’s three in the 5-0 rout of Serbia and he scored four goals in his last six home games for Arsenal in 2024-25.
Leg 2: Declan Rice to have 1+ shots on target @ 5/4
Weary Williams could collect a card
Arsenal have some exciting options in wide areas including Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard so Forest right-back Neco Williams could have a difficult 90 minutes.
Williams was part of the Wales team who won 1-0 on their gruelling World Cup qualifying trip to Kazakhstan, where he picked up a yellow card, and he is worth backing to be booked again on Saturday.
He received seven cautions in 28 Premier League starts last term and was booked just 53 minutes into Forest’s opening win over Brentford.
Leg 3: Neco Williams to be carded @ 23/10
