Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest teams news: Four ruled out, three doubts, five injury boosts

Fresh from their triumph over Manchester City in the Community Shield, Arsenal will welcome Nottingham Forest to the Emirates on Saturday for their 2023/24 Premier League season opener.

Both sides have been getting stuck into the transfer market to bring in new recruits to aid their respective missions this term. The Gunners are eyeing up another title run, while Forest will be desperate not to find themselves tangled up in another relegation battle.

Ahead of the clash, let’s take a look at the latest injury updates for both Mikel Arteta and Steve Cooper as the two clubs prepare to lock horns in their first game of the season.

Arsenal injury news

Arteta has confirmed that Gabriel Jesus is still out with a knee injury and will not return for Arsenal’s season opener against Forest, while Mohamed Elneny also remains unavailable with a similar issue. However, the Spaniard did seem to have some good news for fans on the injury front, by alluding to the fact that those who have been in doubt recently are now available.

“Yeah I think everyone is available. We have Mo [Elneny] out, we have Gabriel Jesus with a knee injury but the rest should be fine,” Arteta said in his latest press conference. This could mean that Jorginho, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Folarin Balogun, and Reiss Nelson could all be in contention to feature.

Nottingham Forest injury news

Cooper has confirmed that there are doubts over both Taiwo Awoniyi (ankle) and Moussa Niakhate (elbow) for Forest’s clash against Arsenal. The Reds boss stated the duo are “just about returning to training” and the season opener could be too soon for them. Omar Richards (groin) is also a doubt as despite him insisting he would be ready for the start of the season, there has been no official update from the club.

Two players who will definitely miss out are Wayne Hennessey and Felipe, both with knee problems. Cooper said the latter will miss the clash “for sure” while Hennessey remains out after undergoing surgery and will miss the start of the season. Forest do have their own bit of good luck as well though as Brennan Johnson is fit to play after recovering from an ankle injury.

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