Football prediction Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal: Faint hope

The defeat to Brighton at home in round 36 left Arsenal 4 points behind Man City, who still have a game to play. The Gunners will have a hard time catching up with the defending champions.

However, with no other goals to strive for at the moment, Arsenal can only cling to the faint hope of the championship race as motivation in the final two matches of the season.

The defence remains the biggest area of concern for coach Mikel Arteta. Jakub Kiwior, after a few decent games, was the factor that opened the door for Arsenal's defeat against Brighton, in a moment of indiscretion and inflexibility in front of his own goal.

Football prediction Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal: Faint hope - 1 — Arsenal disappointed in the final stages of the season.

At the crucial stage, Arsenal lost themselves in all three lines. The Gunners' attack still coordinated well and put enough pressure on their opponents. However, the long championship race seemed to have worn them down both physically and mentally. Bukayo Saka and his teammates lacked a bit of strength and composure in the final moments.

Nottingham Forest have a clearer motivation than Arsenal. The home team is not sure of staying in the league as they are only one win above the 18th-placed team, while their secondary index is not good. Nottingham Forest's goal difference is -31, only higher than Bournemouth and Southampton.

Nottingham Forest's form has not been bad recently. They have only lost 2 matches in the last 5 rounds. In the previous 10 consecutive rounds, Nottingham Forest only drew and lost. Positive signs appeared at Nottingham Forest when they only lost by a narrow margin to Liverpool, drew with Chelsea and beat Brighton - the team outside the top 4 who performed most impressively this season.

Nottingham Forest can cause Arsenal problems but they are still far inferior to their opponents. The problem for Arsenal is whether the visitors can fall into a defeatist mentality.