Now for the North London derby

What. A. Game. I'm still buzzing from covering Forest's thunderous 1-1 draw vs Liverpool here in Nottingham ahead of my trip back down south for tonight's North London Derby

Hello!

Happy Wednesday!

They say if you do a job you love you’ll never work a day in your life.

Well, Tuesday was one of those days.

I’m writing this sitting in my hotel room in Nottingham on Wednesday morning.

And I’m still absolutely buzzing from covering Forest’s thunderous 1-1 draw with Liverpool, at the relentlessly raucous cauldron that was the City Ground last night.

You don’t need to read my match report (republished below) to know that I thought Forest were magnificent.

They swarmed all over Liverpool in the early stages with a barrage of lively attacks, before eventually breaching Arnie Slot’s side’s through Chris Wood’s excellent finish.

Nuno’s side then defended so incredibly deep to keep their lead. Yet Liverpool simply couldn’t break them down, until Diogo Jota’s header levelled. As they understandably tired you did feel a Liverpool winner was coming, but, the home side showed such character to throw themselves into last-gasp blocks and tackles to earn a throughly deserved point.

Such stirring commitment was wonderful to behold.

Amid all the negativity surrounding the game at the moment, from online abuse, to those ongoing 115 charges and so much more in between it was so refreshing to be reminded just why I feel in love with the game so many decades ago.

This was football stripped bare.

Forget deep analysis of tactics and needless statistics, not least your xG smoke and mirrors nonsense, I’ve always asserted football is a simple game made complicated by idiots.

On the banks of the River Trent last night it was simply about who wanted it more. And I loved it.

When every sinew was strained, it was about pulling out further reserves of character to help propel your team to the greater sum of its parts. All for one. A show of strength and solidarity. Of camaraderie and commitment.

My word it was absolutely wonderful to report.

I sincerely hope Arsenal can replicate the same in tonight’s North London derby.

Because if Mikel Arteta’s side display the strength of character Forest showed vs Liverpool, to go alongside our superb talent, then it gives us a real chance to win this game, and underline our title credentials, in a fixture where, traditionally, form goes out the window, and it’s all about who wants it more.

Come on you Gunners

DAILY LIST:

1 - My wonderful eldest daughter is a university here in Nottingham, so I’m going to take her our to lunch somewhere in the city centre, before heading back down the A1, all the way to Cockfosters tube, and then Piccadilly Line to Arsenal. See you at Arsenal tube from around 5pm to flog the Gooner Fanzine for a few hours before heading to my desk in the Emirates press box.

Come on you Gunners!

My Nottingham Forest 1–1 Liverpool Morning Star newspaper match report

Nottingham Forest 1–1 Liverpool: Report by Layth Yousif at the City Ground

What a magnificent game these two character-laden sides put on for a raucous City Ground, which roared its approval throughout a thrilling 90 minutes on the banks of the River Trent on Tuesday evening.

Nottingham Forest and Liverpool exhibited some of the best traits the Premier League can offer, including a display of outstanding full-blooded commitment amid an utterly raucous atmosphere in front of 30,249 fans to play out a thrilling 1-1 draw – leaving the neutral observer to conclude that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are emphatically in the mix for the title.

Barely the strains of Forest’s goose-bump evoking fans’ anthem - adapted from Paul McCartney and Wings’ iconic Mull of Kintyre – had died down, than Nuno’s hungry side swarmed all over their reeling visitors with a relentless barrage.

Such stunning exuberance saw Forest take the lead through the heart-warmingly in-form yeoman Chris Wood's clinical finish on 13 minutes - the stadium erupting in complete bedlam after the bustling Kiwi put the home side ahead with his 13th goal of a deservedly stellar season.

From a position of defensive dominance Forest’s mesmerizingly deep defence then proceeded to frustrate Arne Slot's side at the other end.

The centre-back pairing of Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic were nothing short of magnificent, with Ola Aina and Neco Williams supplementing their work out along the flanks. While captain Ryan Yates, Elliot Anderson, Anthony Elanga and Wood also worked so hard amid such a raucous atmosphere.

After the interval, as Forest’s thunderously impressive energy levels understandably dipped after such Stakanavite grade outputs, keeper Matz Sels was outstanding in keeping Liverpool’s formidable attack at bay, with a string of excellent saves.

Now wonder boss Nuno praised keeper Sels after the match, saying: "He is in a good moment, full of confidence and keeping us in games. We are very thankful."

However, Forest’s brave second half redoubt was eventually punctuated by substitute Diogo Jota's header with his first touch. The equaliser coming 22 seconds after Slot threw on his No20, alongside Kostas Tsimkas, whose corner the former angled past Sels to grab a point for Liverpool, in an inspired double switch on 66 minutes.

While being unable to recall a swap making such an immediate impact during his managerial career, speaking after the match, Slot, said: “I couldn’t have asked for more.

“I am also more positive about the second half than the first half, but if you play at this ground against this team, who are in such good form, hardly concedes a chance in every single game.

“You have to give credit to Nottingham because the way they defend, they throw themselves in front of shots, in front of every cross and then there is a goalkeeper that has an outstanding season this year and tonight again.”

It was breathless fayre throughout, with Nuno’s extremely impressive Forest leapfrogging Arsenal into second place ahead of Wednesday evening’s North London derby. While Slot’s Liverpool showed character to come back from a goal down in such a thunderous cauldron that is the City Ground - even if they couldn't ultimately turn one point into three.

No wonder Forest boss Nuno reflected afterwards: “It was a good game, entertaining. In the first half I thought we were organised, didn't allow too many situations. The second half was like ping-pong.

"When Liverpool became stronger, when they had space, that was a dangerous moment. But I'm very proud of the team, the way they worked, the way they ran, up and down."

As for the unyieldingly incredible atmosphere, Nuno paid tribute, saying the support of the fans was "Amazing. We didn't have the ball for so much time, and they kept supporting us, realising that our opponent was so good. The support in the end, in the last seven minutes, we had the feeling they were giving something extra to our players.”