“So far, I know there’s so much more I can do,” Premier League star Anthony Elanga tells me as he answers my call from Nottingham Forest’s training ground.
“Of course, I’ve not scored yet. I'm someone that always wants to score. I’ve been getting assists, but I’m a goal scorer, you know?”
A day after the Swedish winger spoke exclusively with Gulf News, he bagged his first goal of the Premier League season, swiping home a winner in the 93rd minute against Aston Villa to secure another superb victory in what is fast becoming a memorable campaign.
The Tricky Trees flirted with relegation for much of last season, only officially sealing survival on the final day. Yet this season, they are the surprise package, currently sitting in fourth place, one point ahead of Manchester City and just two points behind Arsenal in third.
The club’s 28 points from 16 games is their joint-best start to a Premier League season.
Nobody gave them much hope at the start of the season, but for Elanga and his teammates, they knew they were creating something special at the City Ground well before anyone else started noticing.
“I’d say it started in preseason,” Elanga told Gulf News.
“I feel like we had a strong rapport at the beginning. It was the preseason, and I felt we trained really well.
“I was confident we were going to do something this season – obviously the season isn’t finished yet – but even at the end of last season, we were playing really good football, but we just couldn't score.
“I think the difference between last season and this season is we're more clinical. Obviously, that’s thanks to Chris Wood, and everyone else is chipping in – we’re more clinical in that area.”
‘Everyone is equal’
For manager Nuno Espírito Santo, this season’s preseason was his first with the club, having joined Forest 11 months ago to replace the popular Steve Cooper in December 2023.
Nuno guided Forest to survival last season by the skin of their teeth and has since cultivated a spirit in the camp that is paying dividends.
“A preseason under Nuno was super important because he came at the end of last December,” said Elanga.
“We were already struggling then, so he couldn't really get his ideas across properly. His philosophy was mostly about just keeping us up because we were in trouble. Believe it or not, we were really in trouble.
“So it was all about staying up and then getting a full preseason together and getting all the new players in earlier, not while the season is ongoing.
“I feel that that's what we did, and that's played a massive part in our success and the way we’re playing right now. I feel like it's only going to get better.
“Nuno likes everyone to be equal. He bigs everyone up the same way he bigs someone else up. He likes it as a team – if someone wins an award, we all win that award.
“It was a nice touch from him when he won manager of the month and Chris won player of the month. He got all the staff – and I mean all the staff at the club – to take a picture together. It just showed that we win together and lose together."
Different style of play
Forest’s roll of honour this season includes being the only team to defeat Arne Slot’s Liverpool across all competitions, winning at Manchester United, and taking a point from Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
What makes their early-season success more intriguing is their tactical approach, which differs from many teams in both the Premier League.
Pressing has become more prevalent in the English top flight, thanks to the likes of Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, and Enzo Maresca. Yet Forest, who had the highest PPDA (passes allowed per defensive action) in the Premier League last season at 17.7, continue to play with a more reactive style.
This season, only Everton have a higher PPDA than Forest.
“There are different ways to play,” said Elanga.
“Obviously, our style of play can switch up in games. We can go to a back three with wing backs. We can go to two pivots, a flat three, etc., and these are things that we worked on in preseason.
“We didn’t want to have just one way of playing. We wanted to have different ways of approaching the game to break teams down.
“We could be winning 2-1 or 1-0 and maybe want to see the game out, or we’re losing 1-0, so we want to change the shape – it’s something we worked on a lot in preseason because we didn’t want to just stick to one shape – we wanted to be hard to break down.
“Obviously, we know we have speed on the counter, so we can use that as well. We've got loads of different weapons in the team, so if the manager wants to set up a certain way, everyone will be clued in because we’ve been working on it for a while now."
Connection
One of the keys to Forest’s success this season has been the goalscoring impact of Chris Wood.
The Kiwi striker has scored ten goals, and while Elanga has not yet directly assisted him, he has been one of Forest’s main creators of chances, delivering 65 crosses this season – more than any other Forest player.
Utilising Wood’s height and feeding him crosses is clearly something that has been drilled in training, but Elanga insists it’s also about the connection they’ve developed.
“I’ve played with Chris for many, many games now, so it just comes naturally,” he said.
“Of course, we work on it in training, but I’d say most times I know where he’s going to be in games. Callum (Hudson-Odoi) knows where he’s going to be, and it’s just that natural connection that we all have together.
“Like I say, it's been building up for a while, and I feel like it’s starting to pay off now, as we're playing really good football, Chris is scoring goals, and everyone's really enjoying life at the club."
How far can they go?
How much Elanga and his teammates will continue to enjoy this season may depend on their results in the upcoming festive fixtures.
A hectic schedule continues this weekend with a trip to Brentford before welcoming Tottenham Hotspur to the City Ground on Boxing Day. Forest will wrap up 2024 with a visit to Goodison Park to face Everton on December 29.
Should they come out of these fixtures unscathed, or even pick up six points from a possible nine, what could Forest achieve this season?
“I feel like it's too early to say,” said Elanga.
“When you get to February and March, and you look at where you are in the table, that’s when you can start thinking, ‘Okay, we might get something here.’
“For me, it's just about taking it game by game. Then, when you get to those later stages, March and April, and you look at the table and you’re maybe third, fourth or fifth, you're thinking, ‘Okay, guys, we can actually do something if we just keep on winning games.’
“We can’t let it get to our heads, as the season is long and a lot of things can change between now and February. It’s about staying level-headed, humble, and working hard."
