Benfica loanee Yuri Ribeiro shone as Sabri Lamouchi’s Forest were thumped by Premier League Arsenal in the EFL Cup.
There are not often many positives you can take out of a 5-0 battering. But it wasn’t all bad for Nottingham Forest as they suffered by far the heaviest defeat of the Sabri Lamouchi era during Tuesday’s EFL Cup third round clash against Arsenal.
In their first ever trip to The Emirates, the Championship high-flyers were put to the sword by an Arsenal side brimming with youthful exuberance and dazzling potential.
Two-goal Gabriel Martinelli looks a superstar in the making already while Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock and Kieran Tierney all staked their claim for a regular role in Unai Emery’s starting XI. As for Mesut Ozil, well, let’s just say Forest won’t come up against a player like him too often this season.
But it is easy to forget that Arsenal were just 1-0 up with 20 minutes to go. Nottingham Forest were organised and well drilled until that late collapse and, in Yuri Ribeiro, it seems that a new fans’ favourite announced himself in North London.
Making his fifth appearance since joining on loan from Benfica, the left-back stood out in a more advanced role. He was full of running, energy and determination, driving into the box at will and giving the otherwise impressive Calum Chambers plenty of headaches in the first half.
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