'Nobody likes Arsenal!' – Nottingham Forest legend showed true colours with confession

Brian Clough once quipped "no one likes Arsenal" as he praised the Gunners for surpassing one of his most cherished Nottingham Forest records.

Clough famously guided Forest through a remarkable 42-match unbeaten streak in the top flight from November 1978 to December 1979, which featured their First Division title success. It took nearly 25 years for that milestone to be surpassed by Arsene Wenger's 'Invincibles' early in the 2004/05 campaign, shortly before Clough's death at the age of 69.

When asked for his thoughts on Arsenal's accomplishment, he told the BBC at the time: "I didn't think it could be beaten. It's such a prestige thing, and such an achievement. But as they say in the business, all records are there to be beaten."

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Clough refrained from acknowledging that Wenger's team matched his own, which won back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980.

Nevertheless, he conceded their accomplishment was "nothing short of incredible." He said: "I'm loath to confess they could be as good as us. They are brilliant."

In typical Clough style, he then joked: "It sticks in the craw a little bit because nobody likes Arsenal! Of course, there's a Frenchman in charge, Wenger, and not many English people like Frenchmen. He is a top, top manager."

Clough also addressed suggestions by Liverpool legend Graeme Souness that his Forest team of the late 70s and early 80s was not as entertaining as Wenger's.

He said: "Dour we certainly were, perhaps collectively we weren't as talented as Arsenal. At the end of the day, it's the results that count, you can't argue with that. I admire myself for the 42 undefeated games much more than the European Cup."

Following that milestone, Arsenal prolonged their unbeaten streak to 49 matches before it came to a contentious end with an infamous 2-0 loss at Manchester United in October 2004.

Arsenal's extraordinary run saw them complete an undefeated top-flight campaign, matched only by Preston North End, who went through the 1888/89 season without losing. However, Preston contested just 22 fixtures that term compared to the Gunners' 38.

Arsenal and Forest clashed on Saturday as former Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou began his tenure after replacing the dismissed Nuno Espirito Santo.