Chapter 321 Offensive!
Many fans call Arsenal the 'Gunners', which is directly related to the club's history.
In the second half of 1886, a group of workers from the Woolwich Arsenal in London decided to form their own football team and participate in competitions. Their original name was called "Royal Arsenal". Soon after, the club changed its name to "Royal Arsenal".
Since the origin of the team is related to arsenals and firearms, this nickname became popular, which translates to "Gunners" in Chinese.
Now, there is a very popular team song in London:
"...tell me what annoys you,
Let it out on the court.
Now we're going to score again.
Singing 'The Gunman'
We are the gods of war in April,
England's number one, a mythical legend.
Scoring goals will become easier and easier.
The Gunners saw that Arsenal was creating a miracle.
Red and white, flying all over the world..."
This is a passage from Arsenal's team song, from which we can see that Arsenal's offensive style is a legacy of history. Almost all Arsenal fans are "radicals" who are eager for the team to create victory and glory through offensive means.
When the Chelsea bus drove to the edge of Highbury Stadium, many Arsenal fans wearing red home jerseys were watching from the outside. They kept shouting and waving flags. The flags were filled with various short phrases that encouraged Arsenal to win and attacked Chelsea, which made the Chelsea players on the bus very depressed.
Wang Li was treated specially by these fans. A fan group held up a cartoon to mock him. It showed a black-haired football player who kicked the ball away and then sighed on the grass with his head in his hands. However, perhaps the producer's skills were not very good, and the player's hair was very short, almost indistinguishable from a bald head.
This became a topic of conversation among Chelsea players on the bus.
Wayne Bridget pulled Wang Li to look out the window, pointed at the cartoon and laughed at him, saying, "Alan, they drew it so realistically."
"This group of people is still so enthusiastic." Wang Li, who was standing next to Bridge, couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the Arsenal fans outside the bus who were holding up their hands and constantly protesting against the bus.
"It should be said that it is crazy. These fans are the most radical in London. They will cause trouble for us if they get a chance during the game. Remember, ignore what they shout." Clark, the assistant coach sitting at the front of the bus, heard the discussion behind him and couldn't help but say. This sentence was obviously said to Chelsea's new players. Facing such fans of the opponent, it is easy for young people to resist impulse, and it is difficult to perform normally under the sarcasm of the opponent. Clark is still a little worried about this.
Having worked at Chelsea for more than ten years, Clark is very familiar with the situation of every Premier League powerhouse. He always uses this rich experience to remind the players to pay attention to some details that everyone does not pay much attention to.
"Don't be disturbed by these fans, we just need to play well. The most direct way to make them shut up is to score goals." At this time, Mourinho put down the tactical board and turned to remind the players.
Fortunately, although Arsenal fans were overly enthusiastic, the London police responded quickly. They had been prepared for this day a long time ago, and there were at least 300 police officers on the scene today specifically responsible for security work.
With the help of the police, Chelsea's bus was finally able to drive into Highbury Stadium. After entering the stadium, Chelsea players were able to get rid of the noisy environment. Many of them went directly to the locker room to rest for a while and then prepared to adapt to the venue.
At this time, Arsenal's assistant coach Pat Rice was already warming up on the field with a group of Arsenal players wearing red home jerseys. It was obvious that even the pre-match preparations were taken very seriously by the Arsenal players, and the solemnity even made the neutral fans who had just entered the stadium think that this was a European Champions League final.
Undoubtedly, this is a very important game for everyone.
………
“They are coming”
In order to broadcast this game live, the ancient oriental country Chaoting TV specially bought the live broadcast rights of the game in China from Sky TV and sent a camera crew to shoot on the spot. The reporters of this camera crew were near Highbury Stadium, and when they saw the Chelsea players in blue jerseys coming to the stadium to warm up, they shouted, and then the photographers began to shoot at these lenses.
"Where's Wang Li?"
After filming for a while, the reporters from the Imperial Court TV station realized that they seemed to have not found the real person, and they looked at each other in confusion.
"Over there, here he comes." After another quarter of an hour, the reporters saw Wang Li walking slowly into the stadium. If they didn't know that he was going to participate in a competition today, others would have thought he was just strolling around here.
In fact, the pre-match warm-up has limited effect on Wang Li. Relatively speaking, Wang Li, who practices Taoist martial arts, prefers a quieter environment. After a day of pre-match training, what is more important for him is to practice martial arts silently in the locker room and adjust his condition to the best.
As soon as Wang Li walked into the stadium, he heard a familiar call. He turned around and found that they were some Chinese reporters, including Xu Tao, a reporter from Sports Weekly. Wang Li waved to him as a greeting, but he did not go up to be interviewed. Before the game, he did not want to be disturbed by things off the court. What he had to do now was to adjust his state, find the feeling of scoring, and strive to perform at his best in the first minute of the game. This is the most important thing.
In fact, Wang Li was extremely eager for the championship. You know, although he had become famous for his crazy performance, he had never won a championship. In the league, this game was extremely important. Even the fans believed that as long as Chelsea won, they would win the league championship. Although Wang Li felt that he could win the championship even if he lost, who wouldn't want to have a perfect season?
For a professional player, the championship is the best embodiment of his value.
Many, many players love their clubs deeply, but they have to transfer to top clubs for their dreams, and their purpose is naturally to win the championship.
For example, as a Liverpool fan since childhood, Steven Gerrard is now clamoring for a transfer. Liverpool has not won any honors for a long time, and Gerrard has done his best by playing for Liverpool until now. He does not want to live without even a championship in his lifetime.
Now, at the age of 18, Wang Li has the hope of winning his first professional league championship. Perhaps titles such as the Champions League and the FA Cup cannot be guaranteed, but as long as he wins this London derby, a Premier League title will definitely be no problem.
After waving in the direction of the reporters from the Imperial Court, Wang Li walked into the stadium and started chatting with Bridge. Of course, the topic of the team recently was Lampard's girlfriend. This famous "playboy" got together with a young English woman. Many people felt that this relationship would not last long, and some even made bets on it.
Although Wang Li's passion for gossip is not as strong as his teammates, this kind of thing will always become a topic of discussion among everyone, and he is of course no exception.
At this time, reporters from the imperial court station in the distance also started talking about Wang Li's actions.
"Doesn't he have to participate in warm-up training with the team?" A colleague nearby looked at the black-haired boy who walked slowly into the stadium and started chatting with his teammates, and asked in confusion.
"These big stars are just lax about it. As long as they can play well, that's all that matters." Another reporter lamented.
"The Chinese national football team has good discipline, but they still can't play football well."
"That's the difference. Maybe he is very self-conscious. Look, Wang Li has never been involved in any bad news."
“Is this a gap?”
"Definitely. Look at those Chelsea players on the field. They are just kicking around randomly. They are adapting to the training. It's not a real game. Everyone's physical condition is different. They will adjust automatically." A person who considers himself a football professional analyzed.
Everyone expressed their opinions on the fact that Wang Li was late.
At the same time, the team coach Mourinho had already attended the press conference. When he walked into the scene, he immediately attracted the interest of all the media. Flashlights began flashing, and microphones were extended to him. Reporters gathered around him, wanting to seize the opportunity to ask questions that interested them.
"What do you think of this game? Can you reveal the list of players, Mr. Mourinho?" This is an Arsenal reporter, and he is obviously here to investigate the 'enemy situation'.
“Is Chelsea a sure thing?”
"What do you think of Barcelona? Are Chelsea confident of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals?"
"Mr Ferguson said the game would be a draw, do you have anything to say about that?"
…
Faced with the reporters' numerous questions, Mourinho did not ignore them as usual. Instead, he answered every question, which made the reporters on the scene very satisfied.
In the minds of reporters, although it is easy to get big news from the Portuguese during interviews, in fact he rarely actually answers the questions asked by reporters.
After a while, Arsenal coach Wenger also walked into the venue. After his arrival, half of the reporters on the scene quickly changed their targets. At Arsenal's Highbury Stadium, Wenger deserved such treatment. Fortunately, the opponent in this game was Chelsea. If it was any other team, then most of the reporters would have probably changed their targets. This is the attraction of wealthy clubs.
Facing the questions from these reporters one by one, Wenger did not answer directly, but turned his head to look at Mourinho next to him with a smile on his face. He looked very relaxed. After taking a sip of mineral water on the table, he said: "They have performed too well this season. They are already a top team in the Premier League."
"...Yes, Chelsea is already a strong team at the top level and is Arsenal's best opponent. This battle may become a classic battle that fans will talk about with relish. In these days, I have been preparing for this game. The players are also very motivated. I hope Arsenal can win the game."
Wenger's words were completely different from what he said before the game. There was no offensiveness at all, which made people feel that the relationship between the two teams seemed to be very good. When the reporters turned their attention to Mourinho, the Portuguese also said the same thing. He said calmly: "Although their results are not as good as ours, they are quite strong and are our strongest opponent. Our players must play 100% of their strength on the field to have a chance of defeating them."
"...But I believe Chelsea will be the winner in the end. Although Arsenal's performance was good, they didn't benefit from it last season and the same is true this season."
Although the two head coaches had disputes over who won, they praised each other and appeared harmonious. In fact, for the two teams, this match was a real match. Now that the preparations before the match had been done, it was useless to say anything more. What followed was a real fight on the field.
Although the reporters present were dissatisfied with the current situation, the two head coaches showed the same attitude, which left them helpless. They could only hope that the game would be more exciting.
………
When Mourinho returned to the locker room, the players had already made all preparations and were just waiting for the game to start.
Mourinho didn't say anything more. When the time was almost up, he took the players on the roster towards the player tunnel. At this time, the two teams of players met each other in the player tunnel.
Although Lampard, Terry and Henry and Pires almost cursed at each other before the game, in fact, it was only aimed at the game. As far as personal relationships are concerned, even if they are not familiar with each other, there will be no conflict.
In this way, players from both teams, whether they knew each other or not, were looking at each other in the player tunnel.
Now it is the official match between the two teams. Although many people in the two teams are familiar with each other, they still just look at each other and will not take the initiative to greet each other. After all, in the eyes of the fans, Chelsea and Arsenal are future rivals. As far as the clubs are concerned, the two teams are still rivals.
Among them, Wang Li received the most attention. These Arsenal players have not forgotten the shameful goal he scored at Highbury last season.
Blowing the ball into the goal with your mouth is a scene that will definitely be remembered
This is an absolute disgrace for Arsenal
Apparently, even now, many Arsenal fans label Wang Li the most unpopular person at Highbury.
………
"No. 21 Allen Wang"
As the players entered the field one by one, when the commentator read out Wang Li's name, there was a sudden burst of fierce boos from the Arsenal fans in the Highbury Stadium stands, the sound even drowned out the cheers from the Blues stands.
"Haha, Alan, you are really unwelcome." After entering the stadium, the upright man Frank Lampard listened to the boos from the whole stadium, walked up to Wang Li, patted him on the shoulder and said sarcastically.
Wang Li smiled and said nothing, then turned to look at the fans' stands around him.
Highbury Stadium can accommodate 40,000 fans. At this time, the east and west stands and part of the north stand have been surrounded by red, and only the south stand is full of Chelsea fans. After a simple visual inspection, Wang Li estimated in his mind that there are at least 10,000 Chelsea fans present today, and more than 25,000 Arsenal fans, and the rest are neutral fans who come to watch the fun.
Although there were only 10,000 Chelsea fans, this number is already very good. Remember, this is Highbury, not Stamford Bridge.
Although there is some involvement from the English Football Association, Highbury belongs to Arsenal after all, and they always consider Arsenal fans first when issuing first-match tickets.
"Did these fans buy the tickets from scalpers?" Seeing this scene, Wang Li was somewhat moved and asked involuntarily.
"It should be. I heard it was organized by two fan groups."
Wang Li was slightly moved. He raised his hand and clapped with Lampard to cheer him on. He then said, "If we lose today, we will be sorry to the fans."
"We can definitely win." Lampard turned his head towards the West Stand, put his hand on his forehead and looked carefully, and continued: "Really, Alan?"
Wang Li clenched his fist and waved it, saying forcefully: "I will definitely do it."
………
At this time, the commentator of the Imperial TV station responsible for broadcasting this game also began to introduce the rosters of the two teams:
"Arsenal used a standard 442 formation, with goalkeeper Almunia, defenders Lauren, Toure, Campbell and Ashley Cole, midfielders Pires, Flamini, Fabregas and Reyes, and forwards Bergkamp and Henry."
"Chelsea used a 4321 formation, with Cech as goalkeeper, Ferreira, Terry, Carvalho and Gallas as defenders, Wang Li, Lampard and Makelele as midfielders, Damien Duff and Arjen Robben as attacking midfielders, and Eidur Gudjohnsen as striker."
"...It's really strange that Wang Li was arranged to play as a defensive midfielder in this game. Is this an unexpected tactic of Chelsea? However, Wang Li's strength is absolutely unquestionable. I believe that even in the defensive midfielder position, he can perform very well."
"I don't know what tactics Arsenal will adopt to deal with Chelsea's attack today. Both teams have excellent offensive capabilities. I believe this game will be a wonderful offensive battle."
…
After the commentator from the TV channel introduced the lineups of the two teams, the two captains guessed the coin and Arsenal got the right to kick off.
“Beep…”
At the whistle of referee Boll, Henry passed the ball to Bergkamp and headed into the Chelsea penalty area alone, which also announced the beginning of Arsenal's offensive.
Yes, offensive
No matter who they are, Arsenal always focuses on attacking. For the Gunners, there is only attack, even the team song is the same, use attack to defeat all opponents.
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