Forest back in business with Brighton drubbing

ST's weekend football debrief

- Deepanraj Ganesan

The weekend's Premier League action saw Arsenal send out an emphatic statement with a 5-1 thrashing of defending champions Manchester City. Here are five key talking points.

FOREST SHOW THEY ARE REAL DEAL WITH STRONG COMEBACK

Nottingham Forest recovered from a 5-0 hammering by Bournemouth to dish out a rout of their own as they annihilated Brighton & Hove Albion 7-0.

Questions had emerged about their Champions League credentials after the five-goal hiding by the Cherries on Jan 25, but, against Brighton, Nuno Espirito Santo's men demonstrated steel with substance to register their most important comeback victory yet.

With over 60 per cent of the campaign completed, Forest are third, six points ahead of fourth-placed City, whom Chelsea could leapfrog should they beat West Ham United on Feb 3. The result was unavailable at press time.

In a season where they have defied expectations - England icon Gary Lineker had tipped them for relegation - qualifying for Europe's elite competition for the first time since 1980-81 would be the biggest story of this EPL season.

HAALAND SHOULD KNOW ARSENAL'S NEWEST TYRO