Adrian Clarke believes he knows how Ange Postecoglou will set Nottingham Forest up against Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday.
Forest sacked Nuno Espirito Santo earlier this week, moving swiftly to appoint Postecoglou as the Portuguese’s replacement.
The Australian arrives in the East Midlands after having been dismissed by Tottenham over the summer, despite winning the Europa League with the Lilywhites.
His first test is a trip to his old foes Arsenal, with the Gunners looking to respond to their defeat at Anfield with a resounding victory against a side that has endured a turbulent couple of weeks.
Adrian Clarke thinks Ange Postecoglou won’t play a high line against Arsenal
Arsenal narrowly lost away at Liverpool courtesy of a stunning late free-kick from Dominik Szoboszlai.
The Gunners need to ensure they return to winning ways following that disappointing defeat, and they’ll be optimistic about their ability to do so against a team that hasn’t started the season particularly well.
Fans are excited about playing Postecoglou’s side, feeling the Australian’s adventurous style of play will leave the Gunners plenty of space to expose behind Forest’s back four.
However, speaking on his YouTube channel, Adrian Clarke revealed that he doesn’t think the former Spurs boss will implement his notorious high line from the outset.
“Is he going to immediately try and play that high line and look to control games, or is he going to be a little bit more circumspect?” Clarke pondered.
“I think probably the latter here, because it’s Arsenal away. I think that would be a little bit crazy on Forest’s part to change so dramatically in one particular game.”
Clarke is probably right; Postecoglou will only have had a matter of days to train with his new squad, so it is unlikely that there will be too drastic a style change from Espirito Santo yet.
However, the ex-Celtic boss is very principled and staunch in his identity, so it’s not impossible that he will immediately look to implement his system.
How can Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest if they don’t play in Ange Postecoglou’s style?
If Forest sit deep and look to hit Arsenal on the counter in classic Espirito Santo style, then the Gunners may have a difficult day on Saturday.
This sort of opponent has been Mikel Arteta’s side’s Achilles heel in the past, and they’ll have to find a way to counteract this approach.
The best way is to play high up the pitch, dominate possession and control the game inside Forest’s final third.
Once they lose the ball, Arsenal should then look to be direct and create dangerous moments in transition immediately.
Utilising high turnovers more efficiently is something the Gunners need to improve, and the clash with Forest is the perfect opportunity to work on this.
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