Forest are ready to play Arsenal in the Premier League following their loss to Newcastle United.
A 4-3 defeat to Newcastle United on Sunday followed recent losses to Bournemouth and Fulham, and while Nuno Espirito Santo’s side remains in third place in the table, Deeney and fellow Match of the Day 2 pundit Joe Hart agreed Forest are struggling to qualify for European football.
“The Premier League is tough,” Hart stated on Sunday after losing to Newcastle.
“We were just talking while watching, Troy, and we were thinking they were the surprise package, and they were really hurting people with their compactness and ability to hit them on the counter.”
“I think teams are starting to understand and respect them a whole lot more, but with that respect comes different game plans and how people are playing against them and they are just working out not to throw as many bodies forward, be a bit more pragmatic and they are hurting them.”
Deeney went on to say that three of the next five games will see teams following and hunting them down.
“Obviously, it’s midweek for Arsenal now. Arsenal, we know, does not have that striker, but based on what they just saw Newcastle do with their runners, with (Martin) Odegaard and others, they will look and say, ‘This is a game we can win’. So this is a big opportunity to see what Forest can do.”
