Chapter 833 Debut

"The players of both teams are ready. The 2014 English Community Shield will kick off soon. The two teams are the league champions Southampton and the FA Cup champions Arsenal!"

Amid the cheers of the live commentators, the two teams have already set up their positions on the court.

"From the perspective of the starting lineups, both sides gave their all."

"As a London team, Arsenal used a 4-3-2-1 formation in this game. The goalkeeper was Szczesny, and the back line from left to right were Gibbs, Koscielny, Mertesacker, and Juanfran who just transferred from Atletico Madrid this season."

"Wenger is very satisfied with this right-back, and judging from the pre-season International Champions Cup, Juanfran's joining has indeed improved Arsenal's defense, especially on the right side."

"The midfield is still composed of three players, namely Wilshere, Arteta and Ramsey, and the front court is composed of Cazorla, Higuain and Ozil. This was also Arsenal's strongest lineup last season."

"Judging from the International Champions Cup before the season, Arsenal's performance was quite good. Wenger also said in an interview that the Gunners showed a very good competitive state in the summer preparations, and he was personally very satisfied."

"Compared to Arsenal's excellent form, Southampton's pre-season has been a bit disappointing.

"Bielsa's team did not perform well in the International Champions Cup. Many people believe that this is due to the lack of the main lineup, but many people also believe that the transfer of Modric, James Rodriguez and Javi Martinez has weakened the Saints' control in the midfield and backcourt."

"In this game, Bielsa still adopted the 4-3-3 tactics. The goalkeeper is Neuer, and the back line is Luke Shaw, Laporte, Varane and Danilo. David Alaba suffered a minor injury in the warm-up match and is taking a temporary rest."

"The three midfielders are Pogba, Toni Kroos and Fabregas, which is also very surprising. Di Maria, who just transferred from Real Madrid this season, was even included in the squad by Bielsa."

"Among them, Fabregas was once the captain of Arsenal. No one expected that after returning to the Premier League, Fabregas' first game would be against Arsenal. So, we can see that many Gunners fans booed him in the stands."

"The front trident is Hazard, Suarez and Sanchez, which is the most undisputed!"

"From the Saints' starting lineup, Bielsa is still adjusting the lineup, especially in the midfield. According to previous games and training, as well as the news we have received, Bielsa still uses Toni Kroos the most, and if the defense needs to be strengthened, Matic will be used."

"However, the other two players in the midfield, Di Maria, Pogba, Fabregas, Oscar and Kovacic, all have great opportunities, and veteran Kaka can also play a role at many critical moments. Bielsa has a lot of cards in his hand, and it depends on how he arranges them."

With the referee's crisp whistle, the whole audience cheered and the game officially kicked off.

"It was Arsenal who took the lead. Wenger kept pressing the players on the sidelines. It was obvious that the Gunners were going to take the lead."

"In the past, Southampton's attack after the opening has always been a powerful weapon to defeat the enemy, so the first attack after the opening may disrupt Southampton's rhythm. Moreover, after Javi Martinez moved to Bayern Munich, Southampton's two central defenders have not been stable enough."

"So, Wenger's attack at this time might be to seize the opportunity to score a goal."

However, Arsenal's first attack failed to enter Southampton's penalty area.

Ozil tried to pass the ball to Higuain, but the ball was intercepted by Varane at the front of the penalty area and went out of the sideline.

"This is Raphael Varane. After Javi Martinez left, he is regarded as the core player of the Saints' defense for the next decade. He performed very well in the World Cup. He just disrupted the opponent's attack and is now organizing the defense. He is in command and has the demeanor of a general."

"His partner in this game is the young French central defender Laporte, who is only 20 years old and left-footed. This is also something Bielsa attaches great importance to. He once said that the left central defender is best with a left foot, and the right central defender is right footed. This is conducive to his set of guard passing system."

Arsenal's second attack still failed to work.

After the throw-in, Ozil cut to the middle and right-back Juanfran quickly made a run-in.

But Southampton's left-back, young player Luke Shaw, quickly followed up and entangled Juanfran on the left side of the penalty area, forcing Juanfran to accidentally take a long step and the ball went out of the baseline.

The Saints fans at the scene gave warm applause to Luke Shaw for his solid defense.

It is obvious that Saints fans have high hopes for this local young player.

"This is another Saints' academy player, 19-year-old left-back Luke Shaw. He is very solid in defense and goal kicks."

Arsenal's tactic was to attack after the opening, so Southampton's goal kick soon fell into the Gunners' feet and the offensive quickly resumed.

It can be seen that Wenger's plan was very shrewd and resolute, which was to attack the soft spot between the left center back and the left back after Javi Martinez left the team.

Who made you have Laporte as left center back and Luke Shaw as left back, both of whom are young players?

But Arsenal's offensive line is also very smart. It is not a straightforward attack, which is not Ozil's style.

The Gunners' two front wingers, Cazorla and Ozil, both prefer the middle, leaving the wing free. At the same time, they can also mobilize Southampton's defense and give the full-backs who come in from behind to take advantage.

The first move was just a test, and soon Arsenal repeated the same trick again.

Still on the right, Ozil still got the ball at the flank, lured Luke Shaw out of position, cut inside, and passed the ball back to Ramsey, who made a diagonal pass to the side, and Juanfran quickly inserted and made a cross.

Fortunately, in the penalty area, Laporte steadily grabbed the first point and headed the ball out, defusing the crisis.

"Arsenal's offensive is becoming more and more effective. The first one was just a test, but the second one was a real attack, directly entering the penalty area. It seems that the Gunners have practiced this style of play."

Bielsa on the sidelines also noticed it, stood up from the ground, shouted a few times to the players on the field, and made some gestures. I'm afraid only the Southampton players knew what it meant.

But the result on the field was that Southampton's formation retreated.

Pogba and Fabregas both retreated to the 30-meter area, and even rushed to the front of the penalty area to provide support.

But Arsenal's attack after the opening was very impressive and the coordination was quite smooth.

This was another time that Ozil got the ball on the right, cooperated with Ramsey, and then passed it to Cazorla.

The Spaniard shot directly, but the ball hit Varane. Wilshere, who followed closely behind, wanted to shoot again, but Toni Kroos blocked the angle in time, defusing the crisis.

"Arsenal's attack after the start was very resolute, with a lot of manpower invested, and the attack was quite threatening, but they were a little unlucky, especially in front of the penalty area, they should have been more patient."

After several consecutive attacks were thwarted, Arsenal also adjusted and began to try to pass the ball into the penalty area in front of the penalty area, taking advantage of Higuain's excellent scorer.

But the first pass was too long and was intercepted by Neuer.

The second time, Higuain obviously did not understand Cazorla's intention of passing the ball, ran past, and Varane intercepted the ball.

The French center back was seen to be very calm after getting the ball. He looked ahead and passed the ball forward with a low pass.

Sanchez received the ball and was disturbed by Gibbs who was trying to steal the ball on the spot, so he passed the ball to Fabregas in the middle.

The latter faced the direction of Arsenal's goal, faced the incoming ball, stopped, and pushed.

The ball was seen moving almost in a straight line, passing through the gap between the two Arsenal central defenders who were pressing towards the center circle.

Suarez, who had been waiting for an opportunity, was like a cheetah. He quickly passed by the two men and chased the ball at the fastest speed.

At this time, there was no defensive player in front of him, only the goalkeeper Szczesny.

"One-on-one! Suarez!" the commentator shouted in surprise.

The emotions of all the fans in the stadium were also aroused.

Attack!

This was a decision made by Szczesny.

He wants to compete with Suarez in speed to see who can touch the ball faster.

Because he knew very well that as long as Suarez received the ball, it would be almost impossible for him to block such a one-on-one attack.

But the fact proved that even if he attacked, he couldn't be stopped.

Although Suarez is not as fast as lightning, he is not slow either and is very calm.

Seeing Szczesny coming out to attack, he decisively kicked the ball before Szczesny.

This stab just happened to make Szczesny miss the attack.

Suarez flexibly bypassed Szczesny, caught up with the ball again, and easily shot into the empty goal!

"In the sixteenth minute, in the sixteenth minute, Southampton scored the first goal through Suarez!"

“This is a very exciting counterattack!”

"A solo goal from Uruguayan striker Suarez!"

"The one who passed the ball to him like a surgical knife was Southampton's new signing and former Arsenal captain, Cesc Fabregas!"

"It was so beautiful! Southampton opened the Gunners' goal with a sharp counterattack!"

"Who would have thought? Who would have thought that the team that scored the first goal was not Arsenal, who had the advantage!"

"This is the most fascinating thing about football games. It always brings you huge surprises when you least expect it!"

The Saints fans at the scene were going crazy!

Almost every Saints fan rushed out of their seats and cheered loudly.

Suarez rushed out of the stadium in one breath and rushed to the Saints fans' stand, listening to the cheers coming from the stands. He should have heard that all the fans were cheering for his voice.

"Fabregas' pass was very beautiful, with just the right route and strength, and Suarez completed it very comfortably. From this pass, we can also see Fabregas' passing skills."

"One to zero, Southampton temporarily takes the lead!"

"In Fabregas' debut, his first official game in the Saints jersey, he used a precise pass to open the door for Southampton and also made a dream start for his Saints career!"

"We saw that Fabregas did not celebrate like his teammates after assisting Suarez to score. He was obviously also considering the feelings of Arsenal fans, which shows that he still has feelings for the Gunners."

"Now, the pressure of the game falls on Arsenal."

"Will Wenger adjust the team's tactics?"