N-A-A Chapter 273
Chapter 273
The new season is coming.
Chapter 273 Arsenal’s hopeless players
Before the seventh round of the Premier League, the “Blue Foxes” Leicester City topped the league table with 18 points and a record of six wins.
The second place is the “Blue Moon” Manchester City, which lost to West Ham United in the last round, with five wins and one loss, and 15 points.
The third place is the “Red Devils” Manchester United, which has recently regained its form and defeated Liverpool and Southampton in succession, with 13 points.
The fourth place is the “Hammer Gang” West Ham United, which has performed well after the introduction of Payet this season.
And Arsenal, which had a bad start this season, ranked fifth.
The match between the top and fifth in the league is definitely the focus of this round!
However, earlier, another focus battle, Tottenham Hotspur played against the aggressive Manchester City at home, and the outcome was decided first.
Tottenham Hotspur returned to the locker room with a score of 1-1 in the first half. After Pochettino’s passionate midfield speech, they suddenly burst out with amazing energy in the second half, scoring three goals in a row and directly defeated Manchester City.
This season, Manchester City started extremely smoothly.
De Bruyne, who is very popular in Europe, was brought in from Wolfsburg, who shared David Silva’s organization to a certain extent. In addition, the “happy boy” Sterling, who transferred from Liverpool, also gave the team an explosive option on the wing.
The team’s offensive firepower was strengthened to the greatest extent, which also led to Manchester City’s impressive record of five consecutive wins at the start of the season without losing a goal, which was almost unstoppable!
However, in the following strong dialogue, Manchester City showed the confused state of a “pseudo-strong team”.
First, they lost to the in-form West Ham United at home, and then were humiliated by Tottenham 4-1 away. Manchester City’s state suddenly fell off a cliff.
Unknowingly, the Blue Moon, which invested the most in the summer window, has suffered two consecutive defeats.
However, when most Manchester City fans were disappointed, they also felt that this was just the “curse” of the monthly best coach award.
Compared with the somewhat unexpected result of the Tottenham-Manchester City match, the Leicester City-Arsenal match had a higher ratings.
Before the game, many people predicted that this game would be very tense.
Arsenal’s ball possession tactics and small-scale passing and cutting cooperation are the best in the Premier League.
And Leicester City’s defensive counterattack efficiency is the first in the Premier League.
The two teams each represent two different tactics.
In the eyes of many people, in this game, Arsenal will take the initiative, dominate the rhythm of the game, and keep the ball firmly under their feet.
Leicester City is looking for opportunities in defense, and then a fatal blow!
Such a focus battle naturally needs a good commentator.
Therefore, Sky Sports specially invited the respected old man Martin Taylor to be the commentator.
When the deep voice that countless Premier League fans are very familiar with sounded, it indicated that this much-anticipated focus battle has entered the countdown:
“Welcome to watch the red and blue battle in the seventh round of the Premier League. The Blue Foxes ushered in the Gunners at home…”
“Let’s take a look at the starting lineups of both sides first.”
“For the home team Leicester City.”
In this game, Leicester City still adopted a 4231 tactical formation, and all the main players started.
The goalkeeper is Schmeichel Jr.
The four defenders are Simpson, Huth, Morgan, and Fuchs.
The double defensive midfielder partners are Drinkwater and Kante.
The two wingers, Albrighton on the left, Mahrez on the right, and Ling Feng in the middle.
The single arrow is Vardy!
It is worth mentioning that, in addition to Ling Feng replacing Shinji Okazaki, this Leicester City is already the complete Blue Fox team that created miracles!
And with Ling Feng, a creative midfielder, this Blue Fox team will only become stronger!
“For Arsenal, Wenger made several position changes compared to the last round of games”
Arsenal only introduced Cech, who lost his starting position at Chelsea this season, and the main lineup framework is basically the same as last season.
In this game, Cech continued to serve as the guardian of the goal line.
The four defenders are Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, and Monreal.
Flamini and Cazorla are the defensive midfielders, and the one in front is Erdog.
The left winger is “thigh” Sanchez, the right winger is Ramsey, and the “little tiger” Walcott in the middle!
Ling Feng and Leicester City are very familiar with this lineup of the Gunners.
It is worth mentioning that Wenger chose
Choosing Little Tiger as the starting center forward instead of Giroud is a very targeted tactical arrangement.
Because Wenger knows very well that Walcott, who is faster, will be more lethal against Leicester City’s two slightly bulky central defenders!
Under fast passing and cutting, Walcott can rush behind the Blue Fox defense at the fastest speed compared to Giroud, who can’t swing his wheelchair to smoke.
However, in Ling Feng’s opinion, Wenger is a bit arrogant.
Facing the Blue Fox with the highest offensive firepower and counterattack quality in the Premier League, defensive interception in the midfield is very important.
Once Ling Feng can foul or intercept the pass directly in the midfield at the moment of offense and defense conversion, the counterattack can be directly strangled in the cradle.
However, Wenger did not let Coquelin, the main defensive midfielder, continue to start and form a double defensive defensive midfielder with Flamini.
Instead, Cazorla, an organizing midfielder who is not good at defense, played as a defensive midfielder, and then matched with a defensive defensive midfielder Flamini.
Obviously, Wenger’s purpose is very clear, that is, to let Cazorla serve as the core of the organization, and then control the rhythm of the game through the backcourt, and use long passes to dispatch.
In short, it is to add a stable outlet in the midfield, and use offense to suppress the counterattack of the Blue Fox.
However, such tactics have advantages and disadvantages.
Especially facing the Blue Fox with a very fast counterattack speed, the risk is very high.
Once Cazorla advances or pulls to the side to participate in the organization and dispatch, Flamini will be the only one left in the huge midfield!
And this “rich second generation” who will go back to inherit billions of assets if he doesn’t play well was once the most trusted “jack of all trades” by Arsenal and Wenger
However, after wasting several years in Milan, Flamini, who returned to Arsenal two years ago, is already a veteran who has begun to decline.
Now Flamini is not as good as Coquelin in terms of footwork and defensive ability.
Moreover, his physical fitness is average, and his confrontation and hardness are not good enough.
Even the running ability that was once proud of has declined a lot.
Weak waist is the biggest problem of Arsenal since Vieira left.
It is also the key factor that has always restricted the team’s championship.
Good defensive midfielders on the market are scarce.
However, except for a very small number of important main players of the team, as long as you are willing to make an offer that is hard to refuse, you can still buy some good players.
Of course, Wenger’s strategy is to keep rather than buy.
He would rather discover some young monsters and reuse young people such as Coquelin and Ramsey in the team, rather than go to the market to buy finished stars at high prices.
What’s more, the owner of the Arsenal club is not very willing to pay!
In the summer of 2009, the Kroenke family of the United States became the largest shareholder of Arsenal.
And over the years, Arsenal, like most American Premier League clubs, has been multi-shareholder capital operation, and the pursuit of profit has become the first goal.
Not only does the team have a salary cap, but the annual transfer investment is also the least among the BIG6.
In addition to the debt owed for building the stadium, Wenger has been able to dig out young talents and train young people over the years.
Then he eats according to his own situation and plays the cards in his hand as well as possible.
However, that is all in the past.
In the past few seasons, as the bank debts were paid off, Arsenal’s annual income has been increasing, and the investment has also increased visibly.
And Wenger, who has always been holding a piggy bank, has also been generous.
Last season, he bought Erdog, the former No. 10 of Real Madrid and the European assist king, with a record transfer fee. Last season, he bought Sanchez, the winger of Barcelona. The net investment in the two summer windows is definitely one of the best in recent years.
It can be regarded as the start of the transfer policy of one superstar per year.
In this summer window, Arsenal actually has enough reserve funds and can also carry out certain installment operations.
Anyway, buying people in installments has always been Arsenal’s traditional skill in buying people.
But why did they only get one Cech in the entire summer window?
There are many reasons, such as the lack of good options in the market, the poor ability of the management to recruit players, etc.
However, in the eyes of many fans in later generations, this is all due to Wenger’s personality.
First of all, Wenger is used to living in poverty and dare not spend lavishly.
As the last Premier League manager of this era, in his opinion, spending the club’s money is the same as spending his own money.
Indeed, for Wenger, who regards Arsenal as his home, every penny needs to be considered again and again.
Secondly, he believes that the current lineup is enough to compete for the top four.
Moreover, he is unwilling to give up the young players he has cultivated.
Because once a high-priced new player is purchased in the transfer market, it will definitely
Reduce the playing time of the young players in the team.
However, in sports competition, being bad is the original sin.
Wenger believed too much in the young players in the team, thinking that these young players could realize their talents and lead the team to win the championship.
However, these young players in the team have been proven by time to be hopeless.
. . .
“Okay, the game will start soon. Whether the Foxes will achieve an amazing seven consecutive victories or the Gunners will get back on track to victory will be revealed after 90 minutes of the game.”
“Let’s wait and see!”
With the referee’s whistle, this classic game that is destined to be remembered in the hearts of countless fans kicked off.
As predicted by major commentators and football experts before the game, after the opening, both sides quickly entered the state.
Arsenal, wearing the away gold away jersey, firmly controlled the ball and quickly advanced to the frontcourt.
However, facing the defensive formation of the Foxes, the Gunners did not have a good way to deal with it. They could only keep passing the ball around the periphery in an attempt to pull the defense line and create a larger passing space.
But the Foxes didn’t let them pass the ball back so calmly.
Like the decision-makers during counterattacks, Ling Feng also decided how to choose the time to press when defending.
As long as they saw Ling Feng suddenly accelerate to steal, other teammates would immediately follow up, forming a group of two to double-team the ball holder in a fan shape.
And their targets were mainly Cazorla, the organizer of Arsenal’s backcourt, and Erdog, the front midfielder who retreated to receive the ball.
These two people are technical midfielders with average physical fitness and are not very good at confrontation.
In the face of pressing, Arsenal was not in a hurry, using small-scale passing and one-touch passes to keep the ball under their feet.
Controlling the ball is the foundation of Arsenal’s foothold in the Premier League.
It’s not that you will make mistakes if you just grab it casually.
What’s more, Leicester City’s defensive strategy is like a hedgehog that doesn’t offend others unless they offend me.
Only when the opponent crosses the center line and enters the territory of their own half will they suddenly raise their body spikes and launch a wave of pressing.
Once the Gunners’ ball holder moves away a little, the Blue Foxes players will not continue to chase, but will suddenly shrink back and keep the formation tight.
Therefore, the situation of the game switches back and forth between the Gunners’ patient passing and Leicester City’s occasional rushing forward to grab the ball.
This season, with the arrival of Ranieri, Leicester City’s tactical concept has changed.
That is to defend first, then attack!
Therefore, even if they were pressed in the half by Arsenal at home, the Blue Foxes players did not rush to grab the ball impatiently.
Even if this situation continues, it is a completely acceptable result for Leicester City to shake hands with Arsenal in the end.
However, as the ball kept going back and forth, seeing that the pass could not penetrate, Arsenal was the first to lose patience:
In the 17th minute of the game, Sanchez on the left passed the ball back to Erdog who was nearby, and suddenly accelerated and made a diagonal run towards the Blue Foxes’ penalty area!
Erdog, who was at the front of the left side of the penalty area, suddenly sent a short pass with his left foot.
Sanchez’s running position was very cunning, just in the blind spot behind the right back Simpson.
In addition, Simpson turned a little slower, so Sanchez was the first to block his position in the penalty area and get the ball.
As the player with the strongest individual ability in Arsenal, Sanchez directly stepped on a bicycle and rushed to the bottom line.
Then, when Simpson desperately chased back behind him, he pretended to shoot with his left foot.
Seeing this, Simpson was shocked and stretched out his leg without hesitation, intending to block the shooting angle.
However, Sanchez suddenly dribbled with his left foot!
“A beautiful fake shot and a real dunk!”
“Sanchez is in the penalty area, as if he is in a no-man’s land!”
After directly shaking Simpson off, Sanchez took a look at Schmeichel’s position, almost blocking the entire near corner.
So, after his brain was running at high speed, he did not choose to shoot, but observed the back point and directly made a small cross with his right foot.
The ball just bypassed the two Blue Fox central defenders in the middle and flew to the back point of the goal.
Ramsey, who was inserted at high speed, threw the whole person out before Fuchs came forward to clear the ball, and made a diving shot!
“Cross.”
“Ramsey!!!”
The next second, there was only a “bang” sound, and the flying ball hit Schmeichel’s face squarely, and then bounced out.
Schmeichel was hit in the face and couldn’t open his eyes for a while due to the pain.
The two central defenders, Morgan and Huth, rushed to the ball immediately.
, trying to clear the ball.
At this moment, something strange happened!
A yellow figure rushed to the goal like a ghost, and kicked the ball into the goal before the two Blue Fox central defenders!
Behind the figure, there was a big number 17!
(End of this chapter)