Here we are folks. It’s matchday. Like, a proper matchday, not like those fake match days that masquerade as if they’re matvhdays when in fact they’re international breaks.

Oh how I have missed them. The nerves, the anticipation, the apprehension…it’s all here. Except…I’m at Heathrow as I type this, about to board a flight to Greece, which doesn’t touch down until the game is about 25 minutes in. First world problems n’that, I know, and I recognised I’m fortunate. But at 7.25am on a Saturday when all you can think about is what the hell are Arsenal going to face up to today in Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest (feels a bit weird saying that still), the benefits of going on holiday feel a little bit detached from my current reality, if I’m honest.

What the hell are we going to see from Forest today? Surely not a high pressing line looking to win the ball back high up the pitch and dominate possession? These players have spent the best part of 18 months drilled into a compact, low possession, rapid transition, counter-attacking side. Surely they’re not going to “just who we are mate” it after two days with the Australian on the training ground. Are they?

We obviously all hope so, because if there is going to be green space for Arsenal’s front line to run into, it could be a fun day. Think Madueke against Serbia for his goal. Think Gyokeres for about a third of his goals last season for Sporting. If Forest go ‘Full Ange’ then we’re in for a treat.

What we’ll actually get, I suspect, will be Nuno’s Forest with Ange getting a VIP seat to watch. I think they’ll sit in, I think they’ll low block, I think they’ll use the likes of Ndoye and Hudson-Odoi to be the rapid counter options. Chris Wood will provide the physical threat for our two central defenders.

One of which might be Big Bill Saliba, who Arteta confirmed in his press conference yesterday has trained, which is great news. I think if he’s fit he plays – no ifs, no buts – he’s a mainstay in this Arsenal team and if he’s fit then Mosquera takes his place on the bench. But if there’s even a hint of him not being 100%, I say you rest him and give Christian the nod. He did so well against Liverpool that there’s a weird part of me that thinks he deserves another start. But if you’re Arteta, you’re thinking about getting the best team out there and that has Saliba in it. He has a better passing range, he’s a good progressive passer and carrier of the ball out from the back and on a day in which we’re up against a probable low block, a good one-on-one defender and if we find ourselves transitioned on, it would be more comforting to know we have a guy who is a good duel winner.

The rest of the team is probably quite easy to name. It’ll be Raya, Timber (with White only just back in training), Gabriel, Calafiori (I think), Zubimendi, Rice, Ødegaard, Madueke, Gyokeres….and…Eze?

I think most of us ‘think’ Ebs will play, but you just don’t know. If we’re going to get a low block Forest then Martinelli is effectively redundant, so it has to be one of Eze or Trossard and I suspect Eze gets the chance to make his home debut. And he has to make it count because I think there will be a congested final third and players with that little bit of trickery will be important. This feels like a game in which Martinelli doesn’t even go for a token warm up. He’s more than likely a candidate for Bilbao in midweek, but I wouldn’t put him in today, because I just don’t think there’s a game there for him. Maybe if Eze starts and doesn’t have any luck you ask Leo to show his stuff, because he’s better in small spaces, but not the Brazilian.

I think this is going to be a tough watch today. Forest will make this bitty, they’ll come to frustrate, they’ll defend everything from deep and they’ll contest that part of the field where they’re defensive ‘D’ is. We need to be ready for that and we need to move the ball quicker. The last thing any of us want to see is a slightly sleepy early kick off Saturday performance. We need to start off quick. I don’t want to be stepping off the plane with 25 minutes gone and firing up my phone to hear the commentators talking about how Arsenal have been sluggish in the opinion exchanges between the two sides. Last season we showed too much of that in too many games – especially home ones – so we need to lay down an early marker and I’m hoping we see that.

James is doing a post match review on the Same Old Arsenal pod at around 4.30pm today I think, so look out for that (I can’t link as I’m on the iPad and it’s a bit of a pain in the arse compared to my laptop), but otherwise I’ll be back tomorrow from Santorini giving you some thoughts.

See you then.