Arsenal must be told where to stick it by Newcastle if they come calling over Alexander Isak. The Magpies have already boosted Nottingham Forest enough.
Brentford 0-2 Nottingham Forest: Bees have their home comforts eradicated
Fair play to Nottingham Forest, who have offset the ordinarily mortal embarrassment of being the only team to lose to Manchester City since October 26 by single-handedly ruining two otherwise imperious home records.
When they ransacked Anfield in September it felt like the sort of quaint result the start of the season can throw up. Forest were brilliant and entirely deserved to beat Liverpool but there was no sense the two teams would be in direct competition for places come May.
Yet in bringing to an end this phenomenal Brentford home record, Forest have established themselves as legitimate Champions League qualification contenders in December.
Brentford were conquered in much the same way as Liverpool before them: with organisation in defence, purpose in attack and a unbreakable collective belief and team spirit. There is beauty in the apparent simplicity with which Forest are operating, even if it obviously requires an unthinkable amount of work, effort, time and money to achieve.
Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga, the goalscorers, were salvaged from the Chelsea and Manchester United talent bin and recycled into £50m players. Neco Williams and Chris Wood would not attract the same sort of fee but both have been restored to more effective factory settings at the City Ground after varying struggles at Liverpool and Newcastle.
The Magpies have certainly helped fund this rise. Matz Sels struggled to break into the Newcastle setup in the Championship and financial malpractice forced the sale of Elliot Anderson; both have been crucial for Forest and were excellent against Brentford.
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