20′ Emery’s side opt for a short corner on this occasion, and Rodriguez hooks the resulting cross away at the near post.
19′ The hosts are looking very comfortable in position at present. Forest are content to soak up the pressure and look to attack on the break, but Arsenal win another corner as Robinson turns Tierney’s cross behind.
17′ JUST OVER! After Martinelli’s effort got turned behind for a corner by Cash, Nelson delivered a dangerous cross into the centre of the area. Mustafi got across his man well and flicked the ball goalward, but it just went over the top of the bar. Close to the opener.
15′ Smith Rowe looks for a quick one-two with Ozil down the right-hand side of the pitch, but the German instead sends it around the corner for Chambers. The linesman, however, has his flag up for offside against the defender and Forest are awarded a free-kick.
14′ Nelson slides the ball to his right for Chambers, and the full-back fires his effort wide of the far post. Muric was never going to be troubled by that one.
13′ After trying his luck from range, Torreira’s strike from distance sails wide to the right of Muric’s goal.
11′ The away side are enjoying a good spell of possession at present. Adomah looks to float a cross in from the right for Carvalho to attack, but Mustafi rises highest and heads the delivery away.
10′ Arsenal win a corner to the left after Martinelli’s strike on the edge of the box is deflected behind off Rodriguez. The resulting set-piece evades everybody and comes to nothing.
9′ OFF THE POST! Nelson steps up to take the free-kick, and his curling right-footed strike clips the outside of the near post before going behind for a goal kick.
7′ Martinelli attempts to hold the play up on the edge of the Forest box but is brought down from behind by Johnson. Arsenal have a free-kick in a dangerous position.
5′ Nelson bursts always down the left flank and looks to whip a dangerous cross into the area. Rodriguez reads the danger and positions himself well to nod the ball to safety.
3′ Arsenal quickly gain possession in the opening moments of the match and start to work the ball around in midfield. Ozil slides a pass down the right-hand side of the penalty area for Smith Rowe to chase, but Figueredo gets across well to deny the cross.
1′ Kick-off! The referee, Darren England, blows his whistle and Forest get this third round clash underway.
Both teams are out, and kick-off will soon be upon us here at Emirates Stadium.
Forest are winless in their last 10 away matches in all competitions against Arsenal, after winning 3-1 win under Brian Clough back in March 1989. However, this is their first trip to face the Gunners since their Premier League visit in August 1998.
The players are currently out on the pitch undergoing their warm-up routines following the delayed kick-off.
As a result of travel issues affecting supporters, kick-off has been delayed by 15 minutes. The match will now start at 20:00 GMT.
Arsenal have beaten Forest in their three previous meetings in this competition. The Gunners went on to win the cup following two of those wins in 1986-87 and 1992-93.
Following a bright start to the campaign, the hosts have lost only one of their opening seven matches in all competitions. Unai Emery’s side are also yet to suffer defeat at home and will be optimistic about extending their unbeaten run to five consecutive matches. Much like the Gunners, Forest have lost only one game all season, which came on the opening day at home to West Brom. Having kept three clean sheets in their previous four fixtures, the visitors will be hopeful of continuing their recent defensive form against Arsenal.
Arsenal are much changed from their most recent Premier League fixture, with Emery opting to make 11 alterations. Tierney comes into the side to make his Arsenal debut after recovering from a groin injury, while Ozil also returns to first-team action after being an unused sub last time out. Forest, on the other hand, make six changes with Muric, Figueredo, Robinson, Chema, Johnson and Adomah replacing Brice Samba, Michael Dawson, Joe Worrall, Ben Watson, Sow and Grabban.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST SUBS: Jordan Smith, Alexander Milosevic, Jordan Gabriel, Samba Sow, Sammy Ameobi, Lewis Grabban, Alex Mighten.
ARSENAL SUBS: Matt Macey, Hector Bellerin, Tolaji Bola, Robbie Burton, Folarin Balogun, Dani Ceballos, Bukayo Sako.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST (4-2-3-1): Arijanet Muric; Yuri Ribeiro, Tobias Figueiredo, Chema Rodriguez, Jack Robinson; Matthew Cash, Brennan Johnson; Joe Lolley, Tiago Silva, Joao Carvalho; Albert Adomah.
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez; Calum Chambers, Rob Holding, Shkodran Mustafi, Kieran Tierney; Lucas Torreira, Joe Willock; Reiss Nelson, Mesut Ozil, Emile Smith Rowe; Gabriel Martinelli.
The home side come into this fixture having won their last Premier League match against Aston Villa 3-2 despite falling behind twice. Sabri Lamouchi’s team, on the other hand, will be looking to pick up where they left off after beating Barnsley 1-0 in their most recent Championship outing.
Hello and welcome to live match coverage of the EFL Cup third round fixture between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium.
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