Chapter 320 The feeling of stepping on the opponent

Everyone knew that December 12th was destined to be an uneasy day, because the next day was the battle between Chelsea and Arsenal.

On this day, media from all over Europe gathered in London, and the eyes of the world were focused on this focal battle.

This match was even more popular and attractive than the Manchester United vs. Chelsea match. The main reason was that when Manchester United and Chelsea were fighting, Chelsea was not yet so strong that no one could stop them. In other words, even though Chelsea had won all the games at that time, only 10 rounds of the league had passed, and even the Champions League had just begun, so not many people paid attention to that match.

But now it's completely different. Including the Champions League and League Cup, Chelsea has won 25 consecutive games.

Many media are expecting Arsenal to end Chelsea's unbeaten streak, so this game is particularly eye-catching. Even if we put this aside, this game is attractive enough. It is not just a battle for the first and second place in England. Since the two teams are in the same city, it adds the aura of a derby.

In the 100-year history of English football, the most representative derby in London has never been the match between the Gunners and the Blues. In London, the most exciting game is the fight between Arsenal and their arch-rivals Tottenham.

But since the Russian "golden wind" blew into Chelsea last season, this situation has changed a lot. Chelsea has made Arsenal no longer the only one in London. Tomorrow night, the Blues, who are 11 points ahead of Arsenal, will challenge Arsenal away. This is the strongest opponent Chelsea has encountered this season, which is actually a battle between Mourinho and Wenger.

Many media believe that in the league, although Chelsea has pulled behind Arsenal by as many as 11 points, the outcome of this game will also have a certain impact on the overall situation of the league championship. If Chelsea can win as they wish, they will be far ahead in the standings. If the Gunners win, they will still have a chance to maintain the suspense of winning the championship.

Therefore, almost all English fans believe that this game is almost a battle for the league championship - but it is one-sided for Chelsea.

In an interview with reporters, a Blues fan said cheerfully: "If we can win this game, we can celebrate the league championship in advance, because they can't catch up, the gap is too far."

"I'm even thinking that the team will win the championship a few rounds ahead of schedule, but the bookmakers don't have this bet. They are behind the times," said a very optimistic fan.

"We will go to Highbury to watch the game tomorrow. I have already bought the tickets." In an interview, George Scholes, the manager of the fans' association, said: "Yes, we are going to show off our strength. Arsenal can never be our opponent. The result is obvious."

…

Obviously, due to Chelsea's strength, the Blues fans are very optimistic about this game. However, for most media, there cannot be such a decisive bias.

In the report of this day, London's "Weekly Sports" analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the two teams in detail from the perspective of lineup and personnel matching:

"...Dutch youngster Arjen Robben has shown his strength. Although he seems a little eccentric and always likes to cut inside and dribble, his breakthroughs can indeed pose a great threat to the opponent. Dance master Alan Wang is even better. We believe that his performance will be the key to winning or losing this game."

"...Arsenal's winning magic weapon is on the left. England seems to lack a left midfielder, but Arsenal dominates the Premier League with its left-sided attack. If Mourinho wants to use Paulo Ferreira to deal with Arsenal's sharp left wing, it will obviously lead to disaster. Ashley Cole, Pires and Henry are a perfect match, which may bring nightmares to his "best right back". The only thing that can make him feel a little more relaxed is that Duff's containment in the frontcourt may suppress Cole's assists."

"However, even though Arsenal has a great advantage on the left, they are stretched in defense. Although their defenders are well-known, they were scored 4 goals by the opponent in the match against Tottenham. It is conceivable that facing the attack of Alan Wang, a young player who can almost cover the entire frontcourt of Tottenham, how will they defend? Undoubtedly, this is the problem that Arsenal must face. If the Frenchman cannot solve this problem, then there will be no suspense in the game."

In fact, not only the "Weekly Sports", almost all the English media believe that Wang Li's performance will completely determine the outcome of this game. His performance is really outstanding. If he can still maintain his usual performance in this game and score 2 or 3 goals, then even if Arsenal performs exceptionally well, it will not be easy to score 2 or 3 goals against Chelsea at home.

The result is predictable.

Almost all the reports on December 12 were of this type. Except for the fans of the two teams, everyone else would get tired of watching them. In fact, the media had no other choice. The day before the game, the top executives of both teams went to attend the Champions League knockout draw ceremony, which made it impossible for them to interview more news.

Fortunately, on this day, the Frenchman was no longer silent and Chelsea resumed normal training.

………

Last season was when Arsenal was in its heyday. They only lost one game in the whole season. If it weren't for the obstruction of Wolverhampton where Wang Li was, they might have even continued their unbeaten streak for more than 50 games.

However, with Chelsea's strong winning streak this season, the confidence of Arsenal players is gradually decreasing. The heroes of last season's league championship suddenly found that the unbeaten record they created seemed to be nothing in the face of Chelsea's 20-plus winning streak.

Under the leadership of coach Mourinho, all Chelsea has to do is to add another blow to the Gunners' heart as they gradually lose confidence.

This battle is not only a battle for Chelsea, but also a battle for Arsenal

Although the psychological warfare had not been successful before, there was now a best opportunity, and Mourinho certainly did not want to miss it. He knew very well that in order to establish an image as a big-name champion in the Premier League, he had to defeat the giant Arsenal.

"The whole world will watch it. I hope it will be a good game and the result will prove that we are the strongest team." The Portuguese is never satisfied with mediocrity. He wants to show himself in front of the whole world. If he can really walk out of Highbury Stadium with a smile, Chelsea will leave the opponent 14 points behind. More importantly, this can also cut a knife in the fragile heart of the Gunners---

Sir Alex Ferguson's team once cut a corner, leaving the Gunners powerless in subsequent games.

And if he can push the Gunners to the edge of the cliff again, Mourinho will be able to vaguely see the Premier League championship trophy.

Arsenal coach Wenger needs to face two kinds of provocations, verbal and on the league table. He will not be lonely with opponents. When the Red Devils gradually sink, Chelsea becomes the professor's biggest enemy, and this enemy is a little too strong, even making him feel a little powerless.

These days, Wenger has been carefully planning the team's tactics. Vieira is absent and it is difficult to make a choice between Ljungberg. In desperation, a group of young people are pushed to the front. In fact, what Wenger is worried about is that these young players will feel trembling when standing at Highbury Stadium and facing the battleship piled with money, and will not be able to perform in a normal state.

Many people say that Wenger likes to train young players, and he has already earned this reputation all over the world, but in fact, the Frenchman also has his own difficulties.

Joining Arsenal, you can spend tens of millions of pounds at will in a season. Who would choose young players?

Just like Chelsea and Real Madrid, every player they introduce is a star or superstar in their prime. For a football coach, such technically mature players are the most useful. For fans, when they see stars joining the team, they feel that the team is developing and has a more promising future.

However, Arsenal's financial situation does not allow this to happen.

Among the three major clubs and one upstart team in the Premier League, Arsenal's financial situation is obviously the worst. In recent years, they have had to prepare for the repayment of the loan for the new stadium. Where would they get the pounds to invest in the transfer market?

Now, the Frenchman even feels that coming to Arsenal was a mistake, and his days have been very "difficult".

………

For most media reporters, they still prefer Chelsea in their hearts, which is mostly based on the strength of the two teams. This afternoon, the Arsenal Club was already crowded with reporters from all over the world. They all wanted to get some explosive news before the game to increase the attention tomorrow.

However, it seems that Arsenal's stars are still very confident.

"Our feeling towards this game is 'expectation', not 'fear'." Facing a reporter's challenge, Pires said lightly, with an expression as if he was stating a fact.

The words of Henry the Great, the King of Highbury, added to his kingly spirit: "If we keep playing well, a big match like the one against Chelsea will be just one of many games, no different from any other game."

"... All games are tough games. For us, there is no need to emphasize how tough the game against Chelsea is. Our opponents are not only Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool. If we want to win the championship, all teams are our strong opponents."

However, he still reveals his hatred for Chelsea because the last time Chelsea beat them at Highbury, the scene of that night and the feeling of being a loser still haunt him: "I was really sad to lose that game. We played four games in eight days that time. We are not machines." The team's strength is now damaged. Henry is very clear about the key to victory: "The important thing is that we must unite."

Vieira, who was suspended this round, was a bit arrogant. Facing the interview with reporters, he bluntly said that 'Arsenal will definitely be the winner' and said: "We have a very good record of behavior, and the coach also hopes that we abide by the discipline and avoid yellow and red cards. This style makes us more popular, while some people always 'blatantly' injure opponents, but they never get punished."

Obviously, Vieira's words were referring to Wang Li.

In fact, after watching the match between Manchester United and Chelsea, many club coaches were surprised by Van Nistelrooy's injury. Therefore, Wang Li encounters fewer and fewer fouls in the general Premier League. After all, no defender wants to gamble with injury.

However, before Wang Li said anything about this, Lampard, who had just caught up with his girlfriend, jumped out directly: "We have many law-abiding players who have not caused any trouble. When the important games come, no one wants to be suspended, and we have avoided it." Vieira was suspended for accumulating yellow cards, and Lampard's remarks were obviously intended to deliberately expose the Gunners' scars.

After that, the Englishman continued to add with a smile: "We are confident that we can get good results from Arsenal. Since the beginning of this season, we have been running all the way, and one opponent after another has fallen at our feet. In fact, I don't think there is anything special about Arsenal at all."

Facing the attack from Chelsea, Henry and Pires immediately fought back on behalf of Arsenal.

"People say we don't have a big enough squad compared to some Premier League teams, but we have a lot of outstanding young newcomers. Not just Cesco, Flamini, but also Hoyte and so on." Henry has confidence in young people.

"They are young but very talented. If we show our confidence in them, they can do very well. This is their opportunity." Pires also has confidence in the young players.

At the same time, Pires also warned all those who underestimated the Gunners, "We are not afraid of the game against Chelsea at all, we are all looking forward to it", "Everyone says Chelsea has the advantage and they will win the league, and this situation is quite favorable for us", "If in the end, we defend the title when everyone says Chelsea is better. That will prove that Arsenal is the better team. We are now behind Chelsea, in second place, but this will make people more worried about what we are doing now."

Frank Lampard, the "upright man" who just fell in love again and told the media that he was going to get married, is obviously in good shape now. Just an hour later, his counterattack allowed the media to see the "language culture" of this English man.

"...Yes, Arsenal has a lot of young players, and the Frenchman is known for his ability to train young players." Lampard smiled wickedly and continued, "But the best young players in the world are at Chelsea. This is really ironic. Do they expect those kids to defend Alan? I think it's more practical to pray to God."

At this time, former Chelsea coach Ranieri also interjected: "The Premier League championship this season will definitely be theirs. Although I have never gambled in my life, if you ask me to place a bet, I will definitely bet on Chelsea."

Many fans agreed with Lather's statement, so British bookmakers immediately lowered Chelsea's odds of winning again, which has reduced the odds to a pitiful 2.13, while Arsenal's odds are 4.26. From this we can see that most fans are still optimistic about Chelsea's victory, mainly because they have never lost in previous games.

………

Amid the intense and frequent verbal attacks between the two teams, London soon welcomed the sunrise of the second day.

On this day, Wang Li woke up early for a rare occasion and arrived at Chelsea's first-team training ground around 8 a.m. to do some free kick training alone. In fact, he was still very much looking forward to this game.

Last season, when he was at Wolverhampton, he led the team to beat Arsenal at Highbury, and until now, that game is still remembered by many loyal Arsenal fans. So, in the 11th round of this season, when Wolverhampton met Arsenal again, they were slaughtered by the latter - 5:1. This score made Arsenal supporters calm down a little.

However, the biggest culprit is Chelsea, that is, Wang Li. Perhaps Arsenal fans are still expecting the team to complete their revenge, although many people think they will add insult to injury.

Wang Li really likes the feeling of competing with these powerful stars. In fact, what he likes is the pleasure of defeating his opponents. The stronger the opponent, the better the feeling. This is also an important reason why Wang Li only likes to start.

After running a few laps in the first-team training ground, he did free kick training for about an hour with the help of John Little. At this time, Chelsea teammates also came to the stadium.

Today's training match was still led by assistant coach Clark, but when the training was halfway through, head coach Mourinho also stood on the sidelines. He looked at the players exercising on the training ground with a serious face, and it was unknown what he was thinking.

Obviously, Mourinho, who appeared calm in front of reporters, was still very concerned about the game.

After the players completed the adaptive physical training, Mourinho gathered everyone together and said directly: "I know you are under a lot of pressure."

All the players looked at the shabbily dressed Portuguese man in confusion and listened to his next words.

Mourinho ignored the players' expressions and continued solemnly: "I am under a lot of pressure, and this pressure started in the summer."

"At the beginning of the season, although we also won a few games, I never thought that the team's victories would continue until now. This result is eye-catching, but it also has disadvantages, because it is likely that it will cause us to make mistakes at important moments..." At this point, Mourinho changed the subject and continued: "But even if there will be mistakes in the future, it must not be in today's game."

At this time, all the players have raised their heads. Mourinho looked around at the players' faces, nodded with satisfaction, and said: "Many people think that this game will be the beginning of the most important derby in London in the future, while some people think that this is just an ordinary league game. If you win, you will get 3 points, and if you lose, you will get no points. But for us, this game must be won."

"Look at those Blues fans outside. A few days ago, they even organized themselves and bought out all the scalped tickets for Highbury. Do you know what this means? That's right, you can all treat the afternoon game as your home game. If we still lose under such circumstances, not only us, but all Chelsea fans will not be in the mood to have a happy Christmas. Do you want this?"

After hearing Mourinho's words, the players knew in their hearts that he was trying to boost morale. However, these words really made the players feel the same way. They all started shouting for victory at the same time.

"Don't worry, boss."

"How can those little guys be our opponents?"

'We will win'

…

"very good"

Finally, Mourinho concluded: "What we need is victory. There can only be one strongest team in London, and I hope that will be Chelsea."

After saying this, the Portuguese turned their gaze to the north, with a gleam of excitement in their lifeless eyes.

Perhaps he also enjoys the feeling of stepping on his opponent.