‘What’s the point’: Nottingham Forest legend truly stunned by Nuno Espirito Santo decision vs Arsenal

Nottingham Forest beat Arsenal 3-0 on Saturday and the team slipped to seventh in the Premier League table.

   Nuno Espirito Santo will be working hard in training this week after his second straight three-goal game.

   Forest have still made a good start to the 2024/25 campaign and there are certainly plenty of positives.

   Forest came up against one of the best sides in the Premier League on Saturday and the Gunners are sure to challenge for the title this season.

   Mikel Arteta praised Forest for their effort during the game, but in reality his side probably should have won by more goals.

   The forest was exhausted.    James Ward-Prowse was mobbed by the fans on his first start in six weeks and needs to improve.

   Some of the best players have been left out of the starting line-up and hopefully Forest can return to full strength against Ipswich on Saturday.

   Garry Birtles left Nottingham Forest’s clash with Arsenal in shock

   A decision that surprised some was Chris Wood, who was only mentioned on the bench.

   Although he traveled to and from New Zealand on international duty, the striker was expected to play.

   Wood only came on the bench, but Taiwo Awoniyi started the game after months out.

   Espirito Santo made a decision that Birtles frankly did not understand.

   He told the Forest Focus podcast: “Just about the Chris Wood thing.    We’ve already had this argument, what’s the point of your striker sitting at the back of the bench?

   “If he’s fit to play, start him and ask him to give you an hour. He might just give us a goal. Give him when we lose. It’s not right if you have someone on the bench and he can run and do things, why not him  played?”

   Espirito Santo just told everyone how important Chris Wood is

   Birtle’s opinion is romantic, and perhaps giving the main man an hour to try and score would have been the way to go in his day.

   However, Forest are not gifted with many attacking options and Espirito Santo reminded everyone how important Wood really is.

   With Awoniyi out of form, the Forest boss needs his main striker fit for as long as possible and he clearly felt Wood was not worth the risk on Saturday.

   There is no such thing as a free goal in the Premier League, but with the points on the table, Espirito Santo was naturally thinking about giving his players some rest ahead of next weekend.