Chapter 379 Still not good!
October 18th, afternoon.
As the golden game on Saturday afternoon, Gunners Arsenal sat at the Highbury Stadium and faced the city's arch rival Chelsea, which became the focus of world attention.
This is not just a London derby, but also a strong conversation between the top and the top in the Premier League.
The Highbury Stadium was full early, with the Gunners fans occupying the vast majority, while the away team Chelsea fans were squeezed into a remote corner and could not be the protagonist of the stadium, but they were resisting tenaciously.
Before the game started, the fans of the two teams had already started fighting back and forth in the stands, as if they were using their own way to win a outpost for the team they supported.
This scene was also included in the pre-match scene by the broadcaster of the game Fang Sky TV.
"As the only two unbeaten teams in the Premier League so far this season, the peak showdown between Arsenal and Chelsea is undoubtedly quite eye-catching, but in the past thirteen years, Chelsea has never defeated their opponents at Highbury Stadium."
"This season, after Abramovich joined the team, Chelsea hired the champion coach Gao Han with a large sum of money. After that, the Blues invested 200 million euros and introduced a group of high-level players. The team's strength has increased greatly and is ambitious to compete in the Premier League."
"Before the game, our reporter was lucky enough to meet Gao Han in the player passage and interviewed him several questions. What impressed me the most was that Gao Han said when answering the reporter's question that he regarded this game as a Chelsea's clear battle."
"He said that many people think Chelsea is a mercenary, but his team will break this misunderstanding."
"For the same city opponent, Gao Han also said that Arsenal is not as rumored by the outside world. He never thinks Wenger is a representative of technology and pass-by football. He believes that Wenger is implementing a very pragmatic defensive counterattack tactic in Arsenal, and he hopes to use his best pass-by and control style to prove his strength with Chelsea in the game."
Andy Gray just finished saying this, and Martin Taylor, who was sitting aside, also expressed his own opinion.
"To be honest, I really look forward to the tall Chelsea, because they are the teams that have really shined the Premier League over the past few years, especially the kind of advanced pass-and-control style on the European continent, which is so surprising."
"Yes, that's right." Andy Gray nodded in agreement, "Many people think that if Chelsea succeeds, it will greatly change the situation of the Premier League, especially the impression of the European continent of the Premier League."
Andy Gray smiled bitterly, "You know, Martin, they all call us technical and tactical deserts."
"Haha, that's right. Ferguson is a typical Premier League style, Wenger is a defensive counterattack, while Gao Han is a pass-by and control style. The Premier League this season is indeed very exciting."
"Okay, we've got the starting list for this game." Andy Gray took the conversation.
"The home team Arsenal still uses the 442 formation, with goalkeeper Lehmann, defense line being Ashley Cole, Campbell, Kloe Toure and Lauren, midfielder from left to right are Pire, Gilberto Silva, Vieira and Lungberg, and the forward line is Henry and Villott's French combination."
Martin Taylor immediately interrogated: "From Arsenal's starting lineup, it is still mainly focused on defensive counterattacks. Henry and Virtod are both speed strikers who are good at counterattacks, and have performed well this season."
"That's right." Andy Gray agreed, "Chelsea's starting lineup is a bit surprising."
"The goalkeeper is Van der Sar, the defense is Bridge, Galas, Terry and Ferreira, the midfield is Deco, Marklele and Beron, and the Trident is Ronaldinho, Ibrahimovic and Etoo."
"We see that Ibrahimovic and Etoo are back in the starting lineup. Martin, what do you think?"
"Yes, this will be a big suspense in the game," Martin Taylor replied.
"Although the outside world is not satisfied with these two players and even cursed, Gao Han stubbornly chose to trust. Although he had started with players such as Good Johnson, Robben and Van Persie, his performance seemed to be unable to satisfy Gao Han. This round made these two players start again, and I believe Gao Han has his own ideas."
"But the question is also obvious, whether the two players can bear the expectations of Gao Han is fatal."
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With the referee's whistle, this highly anticipated focus battle finally began.
At the beginning of the game, Arsenal took the lead in kicking off, while Chelsea players quickly rushed towards Arsenal's rear.
And it is not the kind of frontcourt players who come forward to harass, but the entire defense line is pressing forward, which shows Chelsea's determination to press against and squeeze in the midfield.
Arsenal obviously did not expect Chelsea to save so hard. When the ball was passed to Campbell, Etoo had already chased him in close proximity. The English central defender directly passed with a long pass and transferred to Lauren on the right.
But as soon as Lauren removed the ball, Ronaldinho came closer, forcing him to change his mind temporarily and kick the ball forward with a big foot on his left foot.
But the quality of this pass was obviously not high. After flying through half the game, Terry quickly pushed it down.
Just ten seconds into the game, Chelsea successfully grabbed possession of the ball back into his hands.
Terry topped the ball to Marclayle, who passed it forward to Bellon.
After the Argentine midfielder pulled to the right and received the ball, he quickly launched a counterattack.
Ibrahimovic was from the middle and Etoo was from the right, and the two rushed into Arsenal's penalty area at the same time.
Peron's pass avoided Gilberto Silva just right and passed to Etoo's feet. However, after the Cameroonian player received the ball at the front of the penalty area, he obviously wanted to cooperate with Ibrahimovic. After stopping the ball, he knocked the ball to the Swedish center. However, he did not expect that Ibrahimovic rushed faster than him and rushed in front of him.
As a result, Etoo's pass was very good, but no one caught it. Vieira quickly followed and directly cleared the ball with a big foot.
Ibrahimovic pointed ahead of him and looked at Etoo, as if saying, you should pass the prequel.
"I thought you didn't run so fast." Etoo walked back with his head low.
Ibrahimovic almost started scolding.
Although the first attack failed to create a threat, Chelsea still held the ball and organized patiently.
I soon got another chance.
Ronaldinho retreated and responded, passing Deco's pass to Peron, who directly passed it with a long pass to Ibrahimovic's feet. The Swedish center directly knocked the ball behind him and wanted to pass it to Etoo who was inserted behind him.
But this time Etoo failed to appreciate Ibrahimovic's intentions, and did not penetrate him diagonally, but rushed forward.
As a result, the ball was once again snatched by Vieira and passed it back to the defense line.
In just under three minutes, two mistakes not only made Chelsea lose the ball, but also greatly excited the fans of Highbury Stadium, and also exposed the team's own problems.
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"As sure, although they are a little more active than before, they still can't do it."
Pat Rice couldn't help but feel happy when he saw Chelsea wasting two consecutive opportunities.
The two mistakes reflected the problem between Ibrahimovic and Etoo, lacking tacit understanding, and it seemed that he was not willing to pass the ball to the opponent, and he was a little perfunctory.
Don’t underestimate this, because one is the center and the other is the right winger, which are both important links in the team’s offense.
This kind of continuous pass through has high requirements for the players. If there is a mistake in any link, it means the overall failure of the offensive, so Chelsea's two attacks at the beginning could not even make the penalty area.
Not only did Wenger see this, he saw more.
"Gao Han is really very thoughtful. Chelsea's overall pressing and oppression is very well organized. The players' route selection of running without the ball is very purposeful. The forward insertion, pulling, reversing, and crossing all reflect Gao Han's idea. Moreover, their players have excellent technical skills, so they have obvious advantages in passing and controlling."
"Their tactical execution efficiency is too high, and Gao Han must have put in a lot of effort in training." Wenger exclaimed repeatedly.
But soon, the topic changed again, "But you see, whether it is pressing and oppressing, running without the ball, or passing and controlling the ball, they are all for the offense. But now their attack has problems with Ibrahimovic and Etoo. This not only affects the smoothness of the team's passing and controlling the ball, but also affects the team's offensive threat."
As he was talking, he saw Chelsea get another chance on the court.
Etoo passed the ball from the right, and after Beron inserted the ball to catch it, he sent the ball to Ibrahimovic's feet before Gilberto Silva.
The Swedish center was at the forefront of the arc top of the penalty area, holding the ball behind his back, facing Campbell and Kloe Toure alone, he was not at a disadvantage.
Arsenal's two central defenders blocked the right side and the other blocked the back, forcing Ibrahimovic to have the opportunity to turn around and shoot with his right foot, forcing the Swedish center to turn around and shoot with his left foot, and made a unthreatening shot with his left foot, which was confiscated by goalkeeper Lehman.
This is also the first shot in the game!
Wenger and Pat Rice applauded hard on the sidelines.
"Good, beautiful defense!" Wenger shouted to the players on the court.
As long as Chelsea's offense can be blocked from the penalty area, Arsenal's goal will basically be stabilized.
"Laurent, don't be careless, pay attention to the number ten!" Wenger reminded his right back Lauren.
Lauren nodded on the court until his task was too heavy.
At the same time, Wenger also announced that the team began to shrink its defense line and tightly block its half.
Over the years, the Gunners' biggest advantage is to counterattack quickly. Through a skillful and smooth pass, they grabbed the ball and scored the ball into the opponent's penalty area in the shortest time.
According to the requirements of Arsenal's internal training, the counterattack must be completed within ten seconds after intercepting the ball. If it cannot be completed, give up.
Therefore, after understanding Gao Han's intentions, Wenger decisively took the contraction line and quietly launched a defensive counterattack that he was best at, waiting for Chelsea to make a mistake.
Chapter completed!