Nottingham Forest boss Ange Postecoglou makes Mikel Arteta Arsenal transfer admission

Nottingham Forest head coach Ange Postecoglou has admitted that Arsenal are stronger than they were last season as he prepares to go up against Mikel Arteta once again on Saturday lunchtime.

It has been a tumultuous week for the Gunners'opponents with Nuno Espirito Santo being sacked on Tuesday. There was reports prior to the sacking that Nuno did not see eye to eye with Forest's sporting director and Arsenal's former recruitment chief Edu.

Nuno also admitted recently that his relationship with Forest's owner Evangelos Marinakis was no longer what it used to be. On the same day, Postecoglou arrived in the East Midlands and was appointed as Nuno's successor.

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Despite it being customary for new managers to watch their new team from the stands before taking charge, Postecoglou will be in the dugout this lunchtime when he takes on an old foe in Arteta's Arsenal. Ahead of the match, the Australian was full of praise for Arsenal and offered a glowing verdict on the club's transfer business.

"Every Premier League fixture is challenging, against clubs that are challenging for honours or others that are fighting for other things," Postecoglou said. "It’s a great game.

"Mikel has got them off to a good start. I think they’ve strengthened over the summer for sure.

"They’re a stronger team than they were last year so they’ll be a great challenge for us." Arsenalwill certainly be hoping they are stronger than last season considering the money they have spent.

Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze and Martin Zubimendi are just some of the high profile names who have arrived at the Emirates Stadium this summer. After winning their opening two fixtures against Manchester United and Leeds, Arsenal came unstuck at last season's champions Liverpool before the international break.

Ahead of this weekend's Premier League return, Arteta admitted that it was indeed Liverpool who have managed to assemble the strongest squad heading into the new season. "They have recruited the two most decisive players that were in Europe in the market (Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz), and they did really well to do that," the Spaniard said.

"They were very, very strong, and we need to look at ourselves and what we have to do in terms of our abilities to be better than them." Being the first kick off of the day, Arsenal know that a victory will move them top of the Premier League even if for just a few hours.