Chapter 123: Masterful Hands

Steptwood training ground.

The new training base has just completed its structure and exterior walls, and is surrounded tightly by iron frames.

At night, looking out from the youth team training building, it was pitch black and a bit scary.

Although Southampton attaches great importance to youth training, it has no way to provide the youth team with the same high-standard treatment as the first team. However, in terms of entertainment and training facilities, the youth team is treated equally with the first team.

In other words, whatever the first team has, the youth team will also have.

It's like a rec room.

The recreation room in the youth team's training building is even larger than that of the first team, and their TV is also bigger than that of the first team.

Before every game, the big TV is always filled with young players from the youth team.

Tonight, Southampton's away game against Arsenal is no exception.

When they watched through the TV screens one by one, the team's owner, Yang Huan, beating drums for Southampton players in the stands, the entire entertainment room went wild, and everyone looked at the scene in disbelief.

At the same time, they can hear the action from the Emirates Stadium in London with their own ears through live TV broadcast.

Southampton fans completely overwhelmed Arsenal in terms of momentum.

Even though, there are only more than 3,000 of them.

But Arsenal has tens of thousands!

But at this time, the number of people is not the key. The most important thing is unity and rallying people's hearts!

"Well done, Master Huan!"

"Yes, at least we suppressed Arsenal in terms of momentum."

"If we win with momentum, the game will be much easier."

"Yeah, the most frightening thing about this kind of competition is that you're shocked right from the start."

"Arsenal are a ball-control team. Don't let them get too comfortable with the ball. So, momentum is very important."

The players in the entertainment room were talking about it, and everyone's face showed their concern for this important game far away in London.

This is the first time that Southampton has directly challenged the top football team in England. Each of them wants to know whether the team they play for has the strength to challenge the top teams.

Or, how big is the gap?

Jorge Bernardo Griffa was also sitting in the rec room, along with the team's chief scout, Ramon Madoni, and some other coaches and employees of the academy.

Everyone is now very concerned about the situation in Southampton on the northern expedition.

With the whistle of referee Philip Dodd, the game officially kicked off.

We saw Southampton set up their formation almost immediately and pressed towards Arsenal's half.

Less than twenty seconds after Philip Dodd blew the first whistle, which was the kick-off whistle, he blew the second whistle, penalizing Southampton midfielder Vidal for a foul on Fabregas near the center circle.

But Arsenal's free kick did not stay in Southampton's half. Benatia headed the ball back into the penalty area, Neuer kicked it to the side, and Brazilian genius Neymar got the ball in front of Arsenal's half and used his personal ability to attack Sagna on the right.

"Bielsa is going to counter attack with attack!" Ramon Madoni saw Bielsa's opening tactics.

But it also sparked quite a bit of discussion in the rec room, especially among the coaches.

"Although Arsenal's offense is not particularly outstanding, they are a Premier League team after all, and their style of play is always very flashy, with a strong emphasis on ball control and technique. They are also playing at home, so as a visiting team, is it too risky for us to rush in and attack them?"

"Yes, after all, that is the third-ranked team in the Premier League, that is Arsenal!"

"Playing against Arsenal away from home is simply playing with your life!"

"I don't think so. We are a weak team. When playing against a strong team, we must take the initiative. Otherwise, how can we win this game?"

"That's right, if you don't play like this and let Arsenal have the ball, you're doomed."

There was a lot of discussion in the recreation room, and the players were watching the game and listening to the coaches' analysis.

After all, many of these coaches have been playing for more than ten years or even decades and are very experienced. They can analyze much more from watching the games than they do.

"Jorge, what do you think?" Someone asked Griffa.

Jorge Bernardo Griffa's football skills are recognized among this group of people.

"A very normal start!" Griffa replied calmly.

"We have been playing in the English League One for a long time. Although our players are very strong, the English League One is still the English League One. There are many things that cannot be compared with the Premier League, such as the high-intensity games. If we let Arsenal control the rhythm, we will have no chance of winning."

When Griffa reached this point in his analysis, everyone immediately understood.

This insight is indeed very profound. The strength of players and teams is indeed important, but in a football game, the most important thing is to see how much strength your players and team can exert.

Suppose you have 100% strength, but you can only play 20%, and you meet a team that has only 30% strength but plays 100%, you will still lose.

Can you say that I’m not strong enough?

All we can say is that we didn't perform well on the spot, or we were not in good shape.

The head coach's deployment of troops and on-the-spot command are one of the important factors that determine the team's performance.

"Bielsa is not stupid, he is very smart. He decided to take a risk and gamble, only by gambling can he win. But he did not arrange Isco to start, but Schneiderlin, which was a brilliant move."

As soon as Griffa finished speaking, Ramon Madoni laughed and nodded and took over the conversation.

"Yes, many people say that Bielsa is a die-hard, and some even label him as a die-hard, as if he never knows how to adapt. However, Bielsa is constantly seeking change in every team, every season, and even every game."

As fellow Argentines, Ramon Madoni and Griffa know Bielsa better than outsiders.

"The most important thing in this game is the midfield. If we can suppress the Arsenal midfield led by Fabregas, Wilshere and Alexander Song, we will have a great chance of winning this game. If we can't, it will be over!" Griffa's very insightful analysis and prediction.

Ramon Madoni nodded continuously, "So, Schneiderlin is more suitable to start than Isco."

Although this is what they said, everyone still has a doubt in their hearts.

That's Arsenal, can Southampton's midfield hold them back?

…………

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"As soon as the game started, both sides played very intensely, the tempo was fast, and the ball was exchanged frequently."

"It can be seen that both sides did not hold back at all and adopted the tactic of attacking with attacking."

"Southampton was very courageous. They dared to face off against a team like Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium."

"This is Southampton manager, Marcelo Bielsa."

A close-up of Bielsa's head appeared on the big screen at the Emirates Stadium. The Argentine squatted in front of the visiting team's coaching bench as usual, with his round head, watching the game in front of him intently.

At the beginning, both sides were still more testing the waters, after all, they were not familiar with each other.

Southampton's high-intensity pressure in the midfield and frontcourt caused Arsenal a lot of trouble. They had many opportunities to get the ball, but they were never able to launch an effective attack. On the contrary, Southampton, playing away, attacked Arsenal's 30-meter area several times but were unable to effectively threaten the penalty area.

"It looked like neither side was able to create good scoring opportunities."

Southampton tried several times to open an offensive channel from the left where Neymar was, but Arsenal obviously strengthened the defense on the right. Even the midfielder Alexander Song was frequently pulled to this side to help defend, which made Southampton's offensive unable to create a threat.

On the contrary, Arsenal, with more experience and playing at home, quickly stabilized their position after the start and showed their threat.

Among Arsenal's three midfielders, Alexander Song fell back, Fabregas rushed forward, and Wilshere was cruising between the two. However, with Schneiderlin falling back to protect the defense and the front of the penalty area, Fabregas did not have many opportunities in the front.

On the contrary, Vidal and Strootman suppressed Wilshere very well, making it difficult for Arsenal's midfield to operate effectively.

Fabregas is a very smart player and once he realized this, he immediately pulled himself back from the front.

In the eighth minute, Fabregas retreated to get the ball, but Schneiderlin hesitated and did not follow him immediately.

After the Spanish midfielder got the ball, he cooperated with Wilshere and, with no one defending, passed the ball directly to the front of the penalty area, looking for Van Persie who was pulling out of the penalty area.

The Dutch striker stopped the ball and turned to pass it straight. Walcott passed through David Alaba and Benatia at lightning speed and headed straight for the goal.

Throughout the Emirates Stadium, everyone's heart was in their throat.

Yang Huan even stopped beating the drum.

Even many Southampton fans covered their faces, not daring to watch what was going to happen next.

Countless Arsenal fans rushed out of their seats!

Single blade!

As long as Walcott receives the ball, it will be a one-on-one opportunity!

That's a goal!

Neuer was always very focused, but when he saw Fabregas pass the ball to Van Persie at the front of the penalty area, he was already prepared, guarding against the Dutchman's sudden kick and passing the ball to other teammates.

Especially Walcott and Nasri on the wings.

When he saw Van Persie pass the ball, and then saw Walcott tear through his teammates' defense at lightning speed, he reacted immediately and left the goal to attack!

Neuer was seen rushing out of the small penalty area quickly. His strong and even slightly fat body was incredibly flexible, and his eyes were fixed on Walcott.

Walcott was also looking at Neuer. He was absolutely confident in his speed, but he did not expect that Neuer's attack would be so decisive, without even the slightest hesitation.

If I continue to rush forward like this, will I hit him? Will I hit the goalkeeper?

With this thought flashing through his mind, Walcott couldn't help but hesitate, especially when he saw that Neuer had not yet reached the best position, but had already flown and stretched to the ground to save the ball, he immediately slowed down.

The ball hit Neuer's arms. The German's big hands held the violently spinning ball tightly, not allowing it to resist in the slightest.

In the stands, Arsenal fans couldn't help but sigh in unison when they saw this scene.

If it was one second later, or even less than one second later, Walcott would have had this one-on-one opportunity!

Damn Neuer!

The Southampton fans burst into cheers in unison, and the joy of surviving the disaster filled everyone's heart.

"Neuer!"

"Neuer!!"

“Neuer!!!”

All the Southampton fans were cheering.

Not only in the stands of the Emirates Stadium, but also the Saints fans waiting in front of the TV, they were also shouting.

Neuer slowly got up from the ground, the ball still firmly in his hands.

"What the hell is wrong with you? There's such a big gap. Are you blind? Didn't you see it?"

Neuer shouted at his teammates in front of him.

Including Benatia, Schneiderlin, Varane and others, everyone lowered their heads because of his drinking.

If this ball is lost, they are all responsible.

But it is hard to say who should take full responsibility, after all, the gap was exposed by the running and pulling of Arsenal players.

"Alright, everyone, let's go up and counterattack!"

Neuer held the ball and came to the front of the penalty area, pointing in the direction of the Arsenal goal and shouting encouragement.

At this moment, the German goalkeeper showed the aura and deterrence that a top goalkeeper should possess.

Southampton players immediately rushed forward.