Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest - Premier League Soccer Betting Odds

This English Premier League matchup which will see last year’s runner-up, Arsenal, hosting Nottingham Forest, who were promoted in 2022, at Emirates Stadium for a matinee match.

Arsenal have been busy improving their squad this summer, so it should go without saying that they are very large moneyline favorites to win this contest on all soccer betting sites.

Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest - Premier League Football Betting Odds - Saturday, August 12th

Arsenal had a Cinderella campaign last year, jumping from 5th to 2nd in the table. Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, were promoted in 2022 and, thanks to some stellar performances in the run-in, were able to complete the rare feat of staying up, which only 57 percent of promoted teams are able to do. Which side will start this new campaign off the right way? All odds provided by Betway.

Nottingham Forest was in dire straits about midway through the last campaign, but over the final five games they picked 11 of a possible 15 points and secured their spot in the Premier League for at least one more season. They will be looking to get off to a better start to the 2023-24 campaign so they can avoid the relegation battle they found themselves in last year.

They’ve got a couple of excellent young midfielders in Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White, the latter of which really gave Arsenal issues in their most recent meeting at the City Ground in May.

Arsenal has bolstered their back line with the signing of fullback Jurrien Timber, and with first choice left back Oleksander Zinchenko a big question mark for this match after having missed all of Arsenal’s preseason games, it could very well be Timber vs. Gibbs-White on Forest’s right side, which could actually work in Arsenal’s favor.

While Zinchenko is excellent with the ball at his feet and was known to drift into the middle when Arsenal were on the attack to become a second midfield pivot, Timber is a much more conventional fullback in the sense that he hasn’t been inverting as much as the Ukrainian based on the small sample size we’ve seen in preseason. Timber is also a much better match for Gibbs-White physically and athletically.

This is the kind of game that Arsenal should win without issue if they truly intend to challenge the Goliath that is Manchester City for the title. They will be throwing a couple of their new additions right into the fire on Saturday, so there could be some growing pains.

However, considering how god awful Nottingham Forest was on the road last year (worst away record in EPL, league high 44 goals allowed), Arsenal should have no problem hanging enough goals on them to win this one even if it gets ugly. We like both teams to score at +110 odds and we’re also warming to the over on this game’s 3.5 total at lovely +105 odds.

Anytime Goalscorer Odds Table

The odds for this market are extra intriguing for this match because with Arsenal’s number one striker, Gabriel Jesus, out for an extended period, the jury is still out on who will be the guy manager Mikel Arteta taps to be his replacement at the top of Arsenal’s attack. From a quick browse, it seems most sportsbooks are in agreement that 65 million pound transfer Kai Havertz will take on the role.

Havertz is a lanky attacking player that knows how to put himself in the right spot to create chances, his only issue over the last season or two has been converting those chances into actual goals. Havertz will need time to grow into the team, so we doubt he scores in his debut. We’re not even sure he’ll start.

The thing about Arsenal is that they spread their goals around so much. Last season, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, and Gabriel Jesus all netted 10+ goals. Even the role of Arsenal’s go-to penalty taker is up in the air. Either way, Saka and Odegaard are never especially bad choices to score at +120 odds—they’re just not our favorites here.

The one we like the most is Gabriel Martinelli, who scored last year when these teams met at the Emirates and Arsenal won 5-0 but missed the return fixture, which Arsenal lost 1-0. If Serge Aurier is starting at right back for Nottingham Forest for this game, Gabriel Martinelli will be licking his chops. If that’s the case, Martinelli is a great bet to score at +110.

Taiwo Awoniyi scored that goal in Nottingham Forest’s win against Arsenal last season, but the strength of Arsenal’s dual centerbacks William Saliba and Gabriel might make it hard on the striker. A goal from further back in the team from someone like Brennan Johnson (+425) seems more likely.