Chapter 835: Beat Manchester City!

January 2011.

Colney training base in north London.

Arsenal head coach Wenger stood in the training ground, paying close attention to the team's training.

Right-hand man Pat Rice is leading Arsenal players on the field, constantly rehearsing the deployment of troops for the upcoming key battle.

On the training ground, Arsenal players were divided into two groups, one of which was the main force, and the other group was obviously simulating the next opponent Manchester City. Danish center forward Bendtner and Moroccan center forward Chamakh both started, both playing as center forwards, and it seemed that they wanted to simulate the performance of Manchester City center forward Sudon in the game as much as possible.

In the training sessions of the previous two days, Bendtner and Chamakh took turns playing, but Wenger felt that the pressure exerted by a single center forward on the back line was not great enough, so he decided to let both of them play at the same time today.

It's impossible that the pressure brought by two center forwards is less than that of Su Dong alone? It can be seen that the players representing the main team on the training ground always retreat as soon as they lose the ball and adopt a shrinking defense. The lineup is also changed from the previous 4-3-3 to 4-4-2, organizing three lines of defense.

Assistant coach Pat Rice kept shouting out various internal codes on the training ground, and the most common one was...

"Hurry, hurry, Sudong area!"

Whenever Pat Rice yells this, the team will switch formation immediately.

Of the four players in the back line, Djordje and Koscielny fell to the front of the goal, which was natural. Clichy and Sagna on both wingers also retreated to the defense line. In the midfield, Alexander Song and Denilson were dragged to the back, forming a double defensive midfielder.

The two original wingers immediately followed the two full-backs of Manchester City and quickly retreated to the midfield, quickly forming a four-midfielder configuration with Alexander Song and Denilson. Fabregas pushed forward and played as an attacking midfielder, while Van Persie played as a center forward and was at the front, ready to launch a counterattack at any time.

This style of play was rehearsed several times, and Pat Rice kept pointing out some problems of the team, and the shouts continued.

"Van Persie and Fabregas, you are too high up the pitch. Come back a little and pay attention to the position in the midfield."

"Krishi and Sagna should retreat a little bit, and then double-team the opponent when they come up, which will be more effective."

"Denilson, Song, the two of you should pay attention to controlling the flank area and return to the back line to fill the gaps when necessary."

"Hold tight! Hold tight! Koscielny and Djokovic must hold Su Dong tight! Hold him tight to death!"

"Right, right, that's it. Traps Su Dong, steals the ball, passes it straight more often, hits the ball behind him, and moves to both sides!"

"Little Tiger, your speed, your speed, quick, quick, charge!"

"Marcelo can't catch up with your taillights even if he rides his horse. When you counterattack, you have to rush forward quickly. Don't hesitate!"

"Nice three-way counterattack!"

As Fabrega followed Van Persie and moved forward near the penalty spot, sending Walcott's cross into the bottom of the net, there was a burst of warm applause on the training ground.

This is one of the ways Arsenal can restrain Manchester City, from defense to counterattack.

They have been rehearsing over and over for several days, constantly honing various tactical details and deducing various possibilities that may arise in the game, in order to ensure that there are no loopholes and no mistakes in the game.

Wenger is an economist by training and is good at calculations. He has made sufficient plans for various variables in the game.

He regarded the 3-3 tie in the first round between the two sides as a great humiliation.

After receiving a red card in the first four minutes of the game and a penalty in the first half stoppage time, they still failed to beat Manchester City away from home. This made Wenger and his Arsenal a laughing stock and severely hit the team's morale.

Now, Wenger is eager to restore the team's morale, and defeating Manchester City has become a must.

Everyone knows that the biggest trouble in defeating Manchester City is the ball possession tactics of Su Dong and Guardiola.

The latter is actually relatively easier to deal with. Wenger has no lack of experience in dealing with Barcelona's passing and controlling style of play, but for Su Dong, not only Wenger, but no one else can come up with a good and effective solution.

So Wenger adopted the most traditional old method, limiting Su Dong through overall defense, while also limiting Manchester City's possession of the ball.

However, in this case, shrinking the defense becomes inevitable.

Press out and hit?

Wenger doesn't think that his defense can stop Manchester City's passing and possession of the ball.

Wenger is willing to take out precious time in the busy Christmas schedule to practice targeted tactics, which shows how much importance he attaches to this game. Everyone at Arsenal has also felt this and no one dares to be careless.

…

"I'll just mention a few points."

After the training, the players were all sweating and panting, and Wenger walked among them.

After every training session, Wenger would communicate the problems he saw to the players and help them improve.

"First of all, no matter how much we value Su Dong, it is not too much. Each of us must focus 200% on this game."

This is not the first time Wenger has said this, and Arsenal players all nodded.

"Second, Robin." Wenger looked at Van Persie. "When counterattacking, you have to pay attention to giving more support to the wide players. Go to the wide areas more often and don't stay in the middle. Use your mobility and versatility to create more opportunities for the team."

Van Persie was originally a winger. His speed is not too slow, but his technique is very good. He is a player that Wenger relies on very much. Even in the counterattack on the left, Nasri usually passes the ball directly to Van Persie, who then organizes the attack.

"Pepe and Kompany are two monsters. Don't fight them physically. It's best not to confront them directly. Separate them by pulling and passing, and then we can cut in and exploit the gaps."

As Wenger spoke, he kept making various gestures with his hands, including a brutal beheading gesture.

"The last point is that when we counterattack, we should try to play the ball on the ground instead of high. Facing Pepe and Kompany, our high balls don't have much advantage. On the contrary, the ball just now from the little tiger was very sudden and threatening. Cesc also chose the timing of his run-in very well."

This is also why Wenger put Fabregas in the shadow striker position.

Many people think that Fabregas is a midfield organizer, or even a deep-lying organizer, but few people know that when this kid debuted, he debuted as a striker. He has an excellent ability to score goals and he is very good at grasping the timing of inserting from behind.

According to Wenger's strategy, Van Persie is more like a smoke bomb, responsible for pulling the defense line, and Fabregas's back-up is the most deadly threat.

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As long as they can score, Manchester City will be passive! "Everyone, I want to tell you that the next battle is related to our survival in the Premier League this season. If we want to win the championship, we must defeat Manchester City. In addition to sniping the leader, we can also improve our league ranking."

Wenger let out a long sigh at the end, "We haven't tasted the taste of the league championship for a long, long time!"

Manchester City is a nouveau riche!

Even if Su Dong joined, he would just be an upstart who owned Su Dong! Usually, such upstarts are difficult to last long.

Therefore, countless people are waiting for Manchester City's collapse in the second half.

In the eyes of many people, isn't the collapse of the nouveau riche a matter of course?

The only teams that really have the potential to win the Premier League title this season are Manchester United and Arsenal.

Chelsea has not won in ten games so far, and Ancelotti is on the verge of being fired. It is basically impossible for this team to rise again. Therefore, Wenger concluded that as long as Manchester City is defeated, this rich upstart team will definitely collapse.

Just like Chelsea!

Wenger thought so, and Arsenal players believed him and thought so too.

Everyone is looking forward to the game, expecting to beat Manchester City at home and thus kick off a major reversal in the second half of the league.

"Everyone, I have always believed that you are the best players in European football and you will definitely achieve amazing results. Now, such an opportunity is in front of you."

"Kill Manchester City! Imprison Su Dong completely in the cage you set for him and let him leave the Emirates Stadium with nothing!"

The players immediately cheered.

…………

…………

The first battle of the New Year 2011.

Arsenal's home game against Manchester City attracted worldwide attention.

It is the Christmas holiday now. Football fans all over the world are on vacation. Other leagues and competitions have been suspended one after another. Only the Premier League is still going on. This means that if football fans all over the world want to watch football matches during the holidays, the only option is the Premier League.

It just happens to be a focus match between Arsenal and Manchester City, a strong dialogue, and there is a superstar like Su Dong in the game, which makes the game extremely eye-catching. It can be said that fans all over the world are looking forward to it.

The two teams do not need to do anything, nor does the Premier League need to do too much marketing. The media and fans will spontaneously build momentum for the game. All the two teams need to do is follow the normal process.

When Wenger announced the 18-man squad before the game, he said, "We will beat Manchester City like we beat Chelsea!"

Arsenal coach also expressed confidence that the team is ready, "Manchester City will get a defeat at our home ground, and Arsenal will show their strength."

Regarding the game itself, Wenger also said, "This will be a great game, which will have an immeasurable impact on the future trend of the league and the future of the two teams. I believe my players are ready."

"The game against Chelsea and our recent performances have given us confidence and we are ready to take on Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium. They are destined to get nothing on this night!"

Not only Wenger showed confidence, several Arsenal players, including Van Persie, Fabregas, Nasri, Djokovic, Koscielny and others, expressed their confidence in the game when they were interviewed.

Many of them mentioned that Arsenal has found a way to confine Su Dong.

(End of this chapter)