After Wednesday night’s draw with Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espirito Santo made a ruthless speech that encapsulated all that is currently wrong with Arsenal. In a Premier League match at the City Ground, the two teams—currently ranked second and third in the standings—could not be separated and ended up with a score of 0-0.
Mikel Arteta’s team had yet another disappointing outcome as Liverpool maintained their lead at the top of the league. At first, Arsenal and Arne Slot’s team were vying for the championship, but recent performances have caused the Reds to pull away from the two by 13 points. The Gunners’ injury plague is one of the causes of their difficulties.
They currently have very few alternatives up front and have just lost stars like Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, and Bukayo Saka to injury. They have actually been starting midfielder Mikel Merino up top, and against Forest, they even had Riccardo Calafiori in an advanced position. Although the two have performed admirably, Espirito Santo himself noted that the club still lacks a significant amount of firepower.
Espirito Santo Commented On Arsenal’s Lack of Forwards
He pointed out how light they were up top
This season, Forest has surpassed all expectations and is now a strong contender for a Champions League berth. Espirito Santo has done amazing work, and his strategies have been quite effective. His team has occasionally switched to five at the back during the campaign, and it has become a club standard. He didn’t have his players do that on Wednesday night, even though they were facing one of the top two teams in England. When asked why, he didn’t hold back and just said:
“As Arsenal doesn’t have a striker… there’s no need for an extra body.”
"As Arsenal doesn't have a striker… there's no need for an extra body" 👀
Nuno Espírito Santo's delivers his brutal honesty 🤐
🎙️ @Julesbreach pic.twitter.com/L7N7H3yQD4
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 26, 2025
He made a brutally honest remark about how weak Arsenal’s front line is at the moment. It’s simple to understand why Arteta’s men haven’t had many goals lately. The Spanish coach discussed his team’s difficulties in front of goal and their attempts to try to resolve the situation in his post-match remarks. “We tried and adjusted the quality that we have, how we can help the team to create different things, to have threats from different qualities,” he said in quotes posted on Arsenal’s official website. “They are probably not about coming in the box and creating some magic moments, they are other kind of players.” We should try to adjust to things and do our best.
