Championship is getting better and better, says Forest’s Armand Traore

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Nottingham Forest and former Arsenal full-back Armand Traore believes the standard of Championship football is constantly improving.

Nottingham Forest and former Arsenal left-back Armand Traore believes that the standard of football in the Championship is constantly improving.

Traore, who is a product of Arsenal’s famed youth academy, joined Forest in July of this year, after having previously played in the Championship for Queens Park Rangers in the 2013-2014 season.

Now, after having joined the two-time European champions as they aim to return to England’s premier division once again, Traore says he has been impressed by the increase in standard since he last plied his trade in the second tier.

“The Championship, I think, is getting higher in quality now than a few years ago,” Traore told the Nottingham Post.

“You make a mistake, you pay the price. It reminds me quite a bit of the Premier League.

“Obviously the Premier League is more ruthless, but the Championship is very open so you can always concede a goal if you’re not 100 percent focused. It just takes somebody not to focus and then it’s a goal.

“But it can only be good for the Championship. I think it’s one of the best leagues in Europe, and I’m not even just saying that.

Traore featured in his first league game of the season on Wednesday night, as Nottingham Forest came from a goal behind to salvage a 2-2 draw against Rotherham at the New York Stadium.

Despite salvaging a point from the encounter, however, Traore also believes that the club could have taken all three points from the match – with the team having conceded an 87th-minute equaliser, squandering two points in the process.

“It is very frustrating,” the 26-year-old full-back said of his team’s inability to maintain both a clean sheet, as well as his team’s late lead in the game.

“First and foremost, one of the very first things we talk about before games is, ‘let’s get a clean sheet’.

Forest have made a promising start to this year’s Championship campaign, having taken 11 points from their first seven games – scoring 15 league goals in the process.

Their defensive fragility in matches also continues to be an ongoing issue for the club, however, with the team also having conceded a worrying 15 goals across the seven games.

Forest are next in action against Norwich City on Saturday afternoon at the City Ground.

Norwich have also made a promising start to their Championship campaign, having taken 14 points from their first seven games, and currently sitting in fourth position in the table.