In the players' tunnel, Li Shiguang and Rivaldo were walking side by side toward the locker room.
"Boss, Arsena reacted pretty quickly, Gallas playing defensive midfield... thank goodness he came up with that." It was clearly a compliment, but coming from Rivaldo's cold tone, Li Shiguang felt like the Brazilian was making sarcastic remarks about Wenger.
“Tsk…” Li Shiguang chuckled. “Indeed, Alsena is no ordinary opponent. This move not only stopped our attack, but it was also Flamini who dispossessed Marco that allowed them to equalize the score.”
"Boss, I think we need to make some changes." Rivaldo pondered for a moment. "If they continue playing like this in the second half, their two wing-backs will have to move centrally to cover for them. This would put Gareth and Frank's speed to good use. Should we...?"
“Don’t panic.” Li Shiguang shook his head and rejected Rivaldo’s suggestion. “Eboue and Clichy are both very fast. If Wenger adjusts to a four-defender formation and they don’t push forward very far, even if Gareth and Frank are brought on, their impact won’t be as great as you might think.”
Upon hearing Li Shiguang's explanation, Rivaldo's already expressionless poker face became even more somber.
Rivaldo knew that Li Shiguang was right.
However, given his current coaching experience, he couldn't come up with a good solution to the problem in the short term...
Li Shiguang noticed his assistant's anxiety.
With a slight smile, he said, "Ferreira, let me teach you a trick! As a head coach, besides studying the opposing coach's tactics before a match, understanding the general situation of the opposing players is also an essential course for a good head coach. Believe it or not, before this match, Arsène definitely learned about the basic situation of every one of our players, and he probably even had someone check Wang Chu's match data! As for Gallas, his strengths and weaknesses are very obvious... Perhaps we can take advantage of that!"
"Exploit his weaknesses?"
“Yes…!” Li Shiguang said meaningfully, “Wenger, the new captain, is certainly an excellent defensive player in terms of individual ability. However, finding a breakthrough point for him isn’t too difficult. Didn’t you notice? After Marco scored, encouraging his teammates and helping the team maintain morale was the most important thing a captain should do at that moment…”
“But the one who keeps encouraging his teammates isn’t him!” Rivaldo’s eyes lit up. “It’s Fabregas!”
"Yes... Arsenal's new captain isn't really mentally prepared. Sometimes, dealing with this kind of player doesn't require scoring goals. If someone can completely dominate him in one-on-one situations a few times, his mentality might collapse... And if a defensive midfielder who shoulders key defensive responsibilities collapses mentally, wouldn't that be a golden opportunity for us?"
····
The 15-minute break passed quickly.
As everyone had guessed, Li Shiguang made the first adjustment during halftime, but the content of this adjustment seemed somewhat absurd to everyone.
"Has Li gone mad?!" As a die-hard fan, Lineker was the first to stand up and question Li Shiguang. "I thought he would make adjustments to the team during halftime, but what kind of adjustment is it to replace Reus with Wang Chu, who looks even thinner than Reus?! And look at their positioning, Wang Chu even switched positions with Rodriguez! Does Li expect this kid who has no muscle at all to face Gallas's rough defense?!"
While not as excited as Lineker, Ron was equally baffled by Li Shiguang's shrewd move: "Where are Bale and Ribery?! Arsenal have clearly tightened their formation, I don't believe Li didn't notice!"
At the same time.
Wenger, who was standing on the sidelines, also saw Li Shiguang's adjustment.
"Arsena, it has to be you." Seeing Li Shiguang replace Wang Chu, Primorac, standing next to Wenger, couldn't help but sigh, "It's a good thing you reminded me that day, otherwise we really wouldn't know what Wang Chu's playing style is like."
"His passing vision and timing are good, his speed is average, his dribbling ability is excellent, and his physical strength is his weakness." Wenger did not answer Primorac, but instead frowned and muttered to himself about his judgment of Wang Chu after reviewing the data that day.
To be honest.
Wenger didn't understand Li Shiguang's substitution. Reus at least has some ability to break through defenses, but Wang Chu? Isn't he just a cut-down version of Rodriguez? What's the point of bringing him on against someone as tough and physically imposing as Gallas?
····
Wang Chu, standing on the court, seemed a little nervous.
The words Li Shiguang had said to him in the locker room kept echoing in Wang Chu's mind.
Five minutes ago.
After emphasizing that the second half would still focus on the mid lane, Li Shiguang stopped his speech and turned his gaze to Wang Chu, who was intently staring at the whiteboard.
"Marco, you rest for the second half! Wang Chu, you're on in the second half!"
"Me!?" Upon hearing Li Shiguang's arrangement, Wang Chu was completely dumbfounded, his mind a mess. His first reaction was to doubt whether Li Shiguang had made a mistake!
"Yes! You go!" Li Shiguang nodded with a smile. "What's wrong? Don't you want to go on stage?"
"No!! No!!" After receiving a definite answer, Wang Chu waved his hands repeatedly, and at the same time, a sense of tension immediately welled up in his heart.
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