Nuno Espirito Santo Discusses Team News, Away Form, Chris Wood, and Murillo Ahead of Arsenal Match

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo addressed the media in advance of Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Arsenal, scheduled for a 15:00 GMT kick-off. The following are the main points from his press conference: Regarding team updates, Ramon Sosa “is still to arrive” following his international commitments with Paraguay. Long-term absentees Danilo and Sangare “definitely can’t be involved,” and Santo further disclosed that “there’s some situations to manage and decide.” Discussing the upcoming match against Arsenal, he stated: “We always believe we can compete. We’re going to face a good, tough team. We’re going to compete doing the things we want, but it’s going to be a tough game.” Addressing the team’s enhanced performance in set-pieces, he remarked: “The first step was the awareness of the players to understand we had to improve that aspect. Their involvement was massive because they really put some effort on it, a lot of time spent doing it on the training ground and staying focused. The credit is for them.” Commenting on the club’s away form, given that Forest remains undefeated on the road this season, he noted: “The players realise there’s no game that we can change our approach, home and away has to be the same. It’s harder because we don’t have the City Ground behind us but we will have a lot of fans at the Emirates to support us.” Nuno described Chris Wood as “amazing,” following the striker’s continuation of his strong form, having scored five goals for his country during the international break. Nuno added, “I’m delighted for him that he’s breaking all the records in New Zealand.” Murillo was included in the Brazilian national squad but did not play. Nuno emphasized the importance of patience for the 22-year-old, stating: “We have to be proud of our players that are being involved in their national team squad, to be involved for Brazil shows the quality he has and he has to be patient and wait for his chance but I’m delighted he was involved.” When questioned about any surprise regarding his team’s start to the season, with the club currently positioned fifth in the league table, he responded: “What I expect and what the players give to us is total commitment to do things right. From the outside it can be surprising but for us? No. We work every day with them, we know the quality and talent they have, we demand a lot from them but we have to stay humble and realise it’s a very long and tough season.”