Reds boss Sean Dyche says he expects a reaction from his players against Arsenal after he criticised several performances following the FA Cup loss to Wrexham.
Forest welcome the Gunners to the City Ground in the late kick-off on Saturday.
Arsenal will travel off their own cup success yesterday evening, beating Chelsea 3-2 in the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Contrastingly, Forest are looking to bounce back following the shock third round FA cup exit to Championship side Wrexham, which saw the reds crash out on a penalty shootout following a 3-3 thriller at the Racecourse on Friday night.
It was former Arsenal goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo who saved two of Forest’s penalties to secure Wrexham’s upset.
Following the defeat Dyche was scathing of the Reds’ first half, saying squad players who were given a chance to start against Wrexham had failed to perform.
“We’ve got to work hard [to beat arsenal], but that wasn’t the prerequisite against Wrexham and that needs to change,” Dyche said in a pre-match conference this afternoon (January 15).
“I expect more from the players,” he added.
The red were downed 3-0 in the reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium back in September, while still under the guidance of previous manger Ange Postecoglou.
It ended up being one of Postecoglou’s last games in charge of the reds.
Forest, however, do have form this year in games against top five Premier League clubs, including a 3-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield back in late November.
Dyche added: “Why can’t we take on the big teams?
“We’ve shown that we can be competitive against the big teams, like Liverpool.”
Despite the setbacks, Dyche remains positive and stressed he believes he has a good group of players than can still challenge in the Premier League and Europe, including the returning Ibrahim Sangaré, who returns following a quarter final African Cup of Nations exit with Ivory Coast.
However, Dyche suggested Sangare may not get his starting 11 spot back on Saturday, saying “he knows he has to fight” to retain it.
Forest remain relatively safe in the Premier League, but still in 17th, seven points above the relegation zone following the 2-1 away win at West Ham.
