"Coach Wang, we see that neither side has made many changes to their lineups, and to be honest, neither team has been performing very consistently in the league recently. So, who do you think will win today's match?"
Wang Lu is considered one of the more knowledgeable football commentators in China. After hearing Su Tao's question, he thought for a moment and then gave his opinion: "In my opinion, both teams have their own strengths and weaknesses. The key to this match is whether the two coaches can seize the opponent's weaknesses and deliver a fatal blow. Let's talk about Leeds United first. Youth is their advantage, but against an experienced powerhouse like Arsenal, this advantage often turns into a disadvantage. Even though Arsenal's form has been somewhat unstable recently, we have seen that Henry's form has been relatively stable. Once Leeds United gives Henry an opportunity in defense, I believe that with his ability, he will be able to seize that opportunity and turn it into a goal."
"On the other hand, Arsenal's two wingers can be considered veterans. Cole and Eboue like to go up and participate in the attack. When they go up, Ljungberg and Pires may need to participate in the defense. Once Leeds United seize the opportunity to launch a quick counter-attack, Ljungberg is fine, as he is in his prime, but Pires, who is over 30, will probably have a hard time withstanding Milner's attacks!"
As Wang Lu analyzed the two teams, Li Shiguang, standing on the sidelines, breathed a sigh of relief, because Wenger's starting lineup was exactly as he had predicted.
After watching the video of Arsenal's matches midweek, he noticed two problems with Arsenal and felt that if they could address these issues, they had a good chance of winning the game.
The first point is what Wang Lu just mentioned: Arsenal's two full-backs have extremely strong attacking attributes and really like to participate in the attack. Admittedly, this makes Arsenal's attack more diverse, but the consequence is that opponents can easily seize opportunities to launch counter-attacks through the flanks. In the first 12 rounds of the competition, Arsenal conceded 9 goals, 4 of which were scored by opponents through counter-attacks from the flanks.
The second point is Cesc Fabregas. Although still young, his superb technique and exceptional playmaking ability have already made him a key player in Arsenal's midfield. In fact, it could be said that neutralizing him would at least disrupt Arsenal's midfield play. Li Shiguang discovered in the video that a large part of Arsenal's inconsistent performance in the Premier League recently was due to the league's rough playing style, which led to Fabregas being fouled repeatedly. His fear of injury, coupled with these repeated fouls, made him hesitant to make moves, often simply passing the ball with one touch.
Therefore, Li Shiguang specifically chose Mascherano for the defensive midfield position today because he is fierce in defense and rarely commits fouls, which makes Li Shiguang feel at ease.
In fact, Toure had previously told Li Shiguang privately that he wanted to compete against his brother, Chloe Toure, in this match.
However, after careful consideration, Li Shiguang still chose to substitute him, because after 12 rounds of matches, Toure had been suspended for one game due to accumulated yellow cards. Facing the agile Fabregas, if Toure made a reckless move and got a card, Li Shiguang did not want to be forced to make a substitution.
But what Li Shiguang wants, Wenger wants as well.
After the match started, Arsenal changed their usual defensive style and began to use the high-pressing tactic system that Leeds United were most familiar with. As soon as Leeds United gained possession, even if they had passed the ball back into the penalty area, Henry and Van Persie would immediately rush up to press. After almost 10 minutes of the match, Arsenal's tireless pressing made it very difficult for the Leeds United players to organize effective ground attacks. Li Shiguang was also constantly instructing his players on the sidelines to play through the defense and not pass the ball back.
Meanwhile, in the coaching area, Wenger, dressed in a sharp suit just like Li Shiguang, crossed his arms and watched the situation on the field with satisfaction, while Li Shiguang continued to yell at him.
Before the match, Li Shiguang took the initiative to come over and greet Wenger and Adebayor. In accordance with European etiquette, Li Shiguang also took the initiative to hug Wenger.
However, in the professor's mind, 90% of the reason he spent more than 20 million euros to buy Adebayor was due to Li Shiguang. If it weren't for spending such a large sum of money, he could have strengthened a few more positions during the summer transfer window. So today, he had to make this young man suffer on his own turf and let him know that experience is indeed valuable!
Suddenly, a gasp from the fans behind him interrupted Wenger's thoughts. He quickly looked towards the field and saw Van Persie dribbling into the penalty area.
Just now, in the 11th minute of the game, Leeds United had a counter-attack opportunity. Mascherano successfully intercepted the ball from Fabregas and was about to pass it to Modric, who was positioned parallel to him. However, just as he passed the ball, Van Persie appeared in the passing lane.
After successfully winning the ball back, Van Persie immediately launched an attack on Leeds United's goal, and played a beautiful one-two with Henry, getting past Kompany who rushed up to defend. In just a few seconds, he received a pass back from Henry and had already dribbled into the penalty area. Kompany, who was out of position, could no longer catch up with Van Persie, and Chiellini was right next to Henry. He knew that as soon as he got away from Henry, Van Persie would immediately pass the ball to him.
Seeing this, Schmeichel finally couldn't hold back and rushed over to try and stop Van Persie from shooting. But just as he fell to the ground, Van Persie delivered a deft chip shot, sending the ball into the Leeds United goal.
On the screen, Su Tao's voice came through: "0:1!!! Van Persie!!! Arsenal have scored the first goal away from home!! A truly imaginative shot, Schmeichel never expected it, he could only watch helplessly as the ball slid over him and slowly drifted into the bottom left corner of the goal!!"
Upon seeing Van Persie score the first goal, Wenger, who usually maintained a calm and composed demeanor, could no longer contain his joy. He jumped up from his seat like a child, opening his arms to his running protégé. The two embraced tightly, expressing their indescribable excitement and happiness in this way.
After a brief but enthusiastic celebration, Wenger slowly released his hands, smiled, patted Van Persie on the shoulder in encouragement, and then casually sat back down, his eyes never leaving the pitch. However, almost simultaneously, a seemingly unintentional glance from him subtly shifted his attention to the Leeds United coaching bench not far away…
To his surprise, Li Shiguang, who had been somewhat anxious earlier, became completely calm after Leeds United conceded a goal. His face was expressionless, as if the goal had never happened.
Seeing Li Shiguang's expression, Wenger, who had just been immersed in joy, calmed down and couldn't help but guess.
What kind of trick is this kid up to?
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