Roberto De Zerbi has opened up on his decision to leave Mateus Fernandes out of his Tottenham starting XI against Nottingham Forest.For the first time since the close of the summer transfer window in England, Tottenham Hotspur took to the field in the Premier League in their clash against Nottingham Forest. The Lilywhites were out in search of their first league win of the campaign, but instead had to settle for a 0-0 draw after failing to take a single shot on target. It was a good point earned by Spurs, who are now out of the relegation zone and up into 17th place after three games.Credit: @thefrederikkejensen / InstagramRoberto De Zerbi explains why Mateus Fernandes was left out against Nottingham ForestIn the clash against Forest, Roberto De Zerbi did look to shuffle his team, with a few players coming into the side, including Savio, Destiny Udogie and Conor Gallagher. Gallagher’s involvement meant that Mateus Fernandes missed out from the off despite the Portuguese midfielder’s impressive displays in his last two outings in the number ten position for Tottenham.The versatile midfielder was not even called into action until the 83rd minute of the clash, leaving him with little time to influence proceedings. De Zerbi has now opened up on his decision, revealing why he decided to leave Fernandes out of the starting XI against Forest.Speaking to football.london, he said: “I have experience to know enough what is this stadium. This stadium is England football and Gallagher he knows better this type of game. Mateus will become for sure in my time at Tottenham one of the best players but I am lucky because I have many good players and I have to find the right first XI.”Spurs setup shows why Fernandes was benchedDe Zerbi’s tactical setup offers further clarity as to why he decided to leave Fernandes out from the off this afternoon. From Tottenham’s shape, while Gallagher was named in the ten position, the Englishman barely spent much time occupying zones in the final third.Gallagher was often tasked with covering at right back whenever Pedro Porro ventured forward to offer Tottenham an attacking threat on the wings. The focus for De Zerbi was to create from out wide against Forest, limiting the need for a creative outlet in the number ten role where Fernandes has impressed.READ MORE: Five things we learned from Tottenham’s 0-0 draw with Nottingham ForestThe post De Zerbi reveals why he really dropped Mateus Fernandes from the Tottenham XI appeared first on Spurs Web.