Nottingham Forest manager gives his honest assessment of Arsenal

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Star striker Lewis Grabban was left on the bench as Championship outfit Nottingham Forest were battered 5-0 in the EFL Cup by Unai Emery’s Gunners.

Nottingham Forest manager Sabri Lamouchi has admitted that he was disappointed by the manner of the 5-0 EFL Cup defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday but accepts that Unai Emery’s side simply had too much quality on the night, in quotes reported by the club’s official website.

Forest famously defeated the Premier League powerhouses in a famous FA Cup tie at the City Ground in January 2018 but there was to be no repeat of that giant-killing this time around.

Inspired by the brilliant Gabriel Martinelli, who scored twice on his first Arsenal start, Unai Emery’s side ran out 5-0 winners with Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock and Rob Holding also on the scoresheet at the Emirates.

Kieren Tierney, the summer signing from Celtic, was energetic and creative on his first appearance too while Hector Bellerin came off the bench after a long-term injury and immediately grabbed an assist. Even a seldom-seen German playmaker was handed a rare run out.

“I cannot complain about the players. We had a lot of respect for the opponent tonight. We are out of the competition but against a big club, top players,” Lamouchi said after suffering the heaviest defeat of his time in charge of Forest.

“I am disappointed for the players because it is cruel and disappointed for the fans because there were a lot of them here tonight.

“The last pass, the last choice was not right but we cannot forget that we played against Arsenal, a top team with top players.”

Forest fans might be wondering why Lewis Grabban, the talisman and star striker, was not brought off the bench with the score at 1-0 but Lamouchi should not be criticised for going with his head rather than his heart and leaving the veteran forward on the sidelines.

Lamouchi was not hired to lead Forest into the fourth round of the EFL Cup. His remit is to drag these sleeping giants back to the Premier League and his decision will be immediately justified if a fully fresh Grabban scores in Friday’s Championship clash at Stoke City.