FA Cup 2017/18, Nottingham Forest 4-2 Arsenal: Player Ratings

Nottingham Forest pulled off the upset of the FA Cup third round, beating holders Arsenal 4-2 at the City Ground.

After Eric Lichaj’s 20th-minute goal was cancelled out by Per Mertesacker, Forest re-took the lead going into the break when Lichaj grabbed his second with a wonderful volley into the top left corner.

A penalty from the man of the match Ben Brereton then made it 3-1 before Danny Welbeck got Arsenal back into the match with 11 minutes plus added time remaining. However, another penalty, conceded by Mathieu Debuchy, was converted by Kieran Dowell to end any hope of Arsenal escaping with a draw.

Here are the player ratings from the match:

Nottingham Forest

Jordan Smith – 6/10

Although Smith made a great save to deny Nketiah at 4-2, he made a horrendous mistake to allow Welbeck to score. Fortunately for him, it did not cost his side the win.

Eric Lichaj – 8/10

Lichaj made an incredible decision to move close to the keeper for his opener and went one better with his volley from outside the box to make it 2-1. He did find it difficult to deal with Nelson’s pace and trickery, but his two goals were incredible for a right back.

Lichaj celebrates scoring a magnificent volley.

Joe Worrall – 6/10

Worral was solid defensively throughout, however, he did receive a second yellow card at the end of the match.

Michael Mancienne – 8/10

Mancienne did a terrific job at centre-half and acted as a leader all game. Welbeck was limited to almost no opportunities, and the English centre-back cleared well on almost every occasion.

Armand Traore – 6/10

Traore kept Walcott relatively quiet throughout and made a great run before he was taken down to earn Forest their second penalty of the evening.

David Vaughan – 7/10

Vaughan was confident on the ball against an Arsenal side who like to press and keep possession. Additionally, he got Brereton in behind numerous times, which was worrying the Arsenal defence. Being the veteran of this Forest side, he played a crucial part in their victory.

Ben Osborn – 6/10

Osborn was solid in the midfield but didn’t see much of the ball as Arsenal kept most of the possession. When he did get the ball he kept it well and remained composed, but he did not do a lot influentially.

Matthew Cash – 8/10

Cash was quick and decisive on the ball, running at Arsenal defenders and getting it in behind to Brereton as much as possible. To top off his performance, it was him who won Forest a penalty to make it 3-1.

Kieran Dowell – 8/10

Dowell may not have had the biggest influence in open play, but his delivery set up Lichaj’s first, and he was the one to convert Forest’s fourth goal from the penalty spot, although it may have hit him twice before going in.

Zach Clough – 6/10

Clough was good in patches, driving at Debuchy and Arsenal’s centre-back pairing, but he was taken off before early in the second half.

Ben Brereton – 9/10

Unfortunately for him he only got one goal from the penalty spot as Dowell took the second spot kick, but his performance was superb. He held the ball up well, won fouls, run at Mertesacker and in behind him and forced Ospina into a number of saves. At 18 years old, it was a wonderful performance.

Brereton got himself a deserved goal from the penalty spot.

Substitutes:

Tyler Walker – 6/10

Walker continued to do Clough’s good work and tracked back well to help out Traore at fullback.

Barrie Mckay – N/A

With just three minutes left in normal time, Mckay spent the last few minutes sat deep in Forest’s half

Matt Mills – N/A

Introduced in stoppage time to waste some time and to sure up the defence after Worrall’s sending off, there was no time for him to do anything.

Arsenal

Arsene Wenger saw his team get knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round for the first time ever.

David Ospina – 6/10

Ospina was one of Arsenal’s better performers as he could do nothing about all for goals and he made a few good stops. However, he did concede four goals on the night.

Mathieu Debuchy – 5/10

Debuchy looked like he lacked match fitness and crucially, his tackle meant Arsenal gave away another penalty and conceded their fourth of the game, all but sealing the tie for Forest.

Per Mertesacker – 4/10

Although he got himself on the scoresheet, it was a terrible performance from Arsenal’s most experienced player and captain. He looked slow, was often out of position, and could have been at fault for many goals had Forest took their chances.

Mertesacker celebrates drawing Arsenal level.

Rob Holding – 3/10

Holding struggled all evening. He gave away a penalty at 3-1, gave away silly fouls and was like Mertesacker, lucky not to have been at fault for even more goals.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 5/10

In recent matches, Maitland-Niles has performed brilliantly for Arsenal. But defensively today, he did not replicate those recent performances. He is more a left wing-back than a left back, but he still didn’t perform up to his usual standard.

Mohamed Elneny – 4/10

Elneny was very poor in this shock Arsenal defeat. The Egyptian is usually good at spreading the play and mainly keeping the ball. However, he was barely in the game, left Arsenal exposed defensively due to not covering in midfield and overall, just didn’t do enough.

Joe Willock – 5/10

Willock was the more productive of him and Elneny, but even still he did not have a very good game. He was bullied at times in midfield and failed to create anything special in the final third.

Theo Walcott – 5/10

There have been talks of Walcott making a £30 million switch to his old club Southampton, but after today it’s unlikely they will want to buy him. He looks to have lost a yard of pace, he was lacklustre in front of goal, and he failed to create any good chances.

Walcott completely scuffed a good chance early in the game.

Alex Iwobi – 6/10

Iwobi was one of Arsenal’s better performers on a dreadful night for the Gunners. The Nigerian got in some good positions and made some key passes, but he just wasn’t able to set up a goal or score himself.

Reiss Nelson – 7/10

Despite being Arsenal’s youngest player on the pitch, he was their standout performer on the night. He consistently ran at Lichaj, getting the better of him numerous times and he won the foul which led to Arsenal’s opener. Furthermore, he linked up well with Iwobi, Maitland-Niles and Willock and showed how he is able to do more than just dribble and run at full-backs.

Danny Welbeck – 6/10

Welbeck got his goal, but he will still be very disappointed with his performance. Mancienne and Worrall were often getting the better of him, and if it wasn’t for him being gifted the goal by Smith, it would have been another unproductive evening for the Englishman.

Substitutes:

Eddie Nketiah – 7/10

Nketiah was very bright off the bench and immediately found himself in a one on one situation after a great turn, but his effort was eventually saved. Then at 4-2, he could have got a goal after pouncing on a defensive mistake, but he was again denied by the goalkeeper.

Chuba Akpom – N/A

Akpom was brought on with just three minutes of normal time remaining. Although he won a foul and got Worrall sent off, his time was limited to make an impact.