What an evening for Nottingham Forest and their supporters. Another night they will forever remember.
We love an upset in the cup, especially when it comes at the expense of a rival, so it was fantastic to see Forest knock Arsenal out of the FA Cup this evening by winning 1-0, thanks to a Lewis Grabban goal in the second half.
There were many Manchester United fans keeping an eye on the action tonight, with the Reds not playing their third-round tie against Aston Villa until Monday night, to see how James Garner would get on in midfield.
The midfielder won all of his duels in the air, completed 76% of his passes, made 6 ball recoveries, 3 clearances, 2 interceptions and 1 shot throughout the game.
James Garner’s game by numbers vs. Arsenal:
100% aerial duels won
76% pass accuracy
41 total touches
6 ball recoveries
3 clearances
3 ground duels won
2 successful long passes
2 interceptions
1 shotImpressive performance in a huge win for Nottingham Forest. 👏 #FACup pic.twitter.com/JxgBHcipKZ
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) January 9, 2022
The United midfielder impressed as he held his own in midfield against a top-flight opponent. His display warranted a reaction from Reds on social media, so we’ve brought you some of the best tweets:
He’s been outstanding
— Jul (@gobaith) January 9, 2022
James Garner is probably a better passer than any of our midfielders.
— Miles (@pard0nater) January 9, 2022
This Garner masterclass so far 🤌
— ً (@TheFergusonWay) January 9, 2022
If that free kick had gone in, I’d have been fully on board with cancelling Garner’s loan move immediately, getting him subbed off and into the squad for tomorrow.
— Jay Motty (@JayMotty) January 9, 2022
If United aren’t going to sign a midfielder this January, they must bring Jimmy Garner back.
He always shows for the ball, has footballing intelligence and can take set pieces. Really talented.
Can’t be any worse than our current options #MUFC
— Haider Rubbani 🇵🇸🇾🇪🎙⚽️ (@Haider_Rubbani) January 9, 2022
Jimmy Garner showing the Arsenal boys what a Premier League player looks like tonight >
— Alex Turk (@AlexCTurk) January 9, 2022
Well played Forest, I thought Garner was very good. Is Arteta still the Messiah? Asking for a friend.
— James Gorse (@10Jamesg) January 9, 2022
Jimmy Garner has been ready. This isn’t revisionism, he could’ve done a job for United this season
— Arion Armeniakos (@ArionArmeniakos) January 9, 2022
Congratulations to @jgarnerr96 for the qualification and another brilliant display. Wish that free kick had gone in.
— Fabiola Çejku (@fabiola_cejku) January 9, 2022
Granted United beat Villa in tomorrow’s cup clash, they will host Middlesbrough in the next round.
Meanwhile, Forest host Leicester City in the fourth round.
