Early morning, Arsenal club manager's office.
Sunlight shines into the room through the open window and penetrates the heat rising from the tea cup.
He took a sip from his tea cup and looked at the game statistics on his right hand. When he saw Chen Mo touching the ball in the red dot area in the frontcourt, Wenger frowned slightly.
On the data sheet, the red dots that covered almost the entire back, center and frontcourt area last season are now only half of them! More than 80% of Chen Mo's touches were in his own midfield and backcourt, and the number of times he touched the ball in the frontcourt was only a handful!
"One less passer."
Putting down the data sheet, Wenger leaned back in his chair and frowned slightly.
In his original team-building plan, Arsenal still had the same two midfielders as last season, and the midfield attack was completely left to Chen Mo. However, after a battle with Chelsea, Wenger keenly realized that something was wrong!
Just like fish in the water are all streamlined, just like animals living in extremely cold areas have thicker hair. Chen Mo's performance last season was too terrifying. He was almost unstoppable in the middle.
Under this situation, other teams in the Premier League that want to compete for the championship have begun to adjust their team lineups. Even Manchester United, which has always played 442, has transformed into a 433 with a single or double midfielder, and renewed its contract at a large price. "Wild Boar" Davis.
Not only Manchester United, but Chelsea also bought Ballack, who has stronger defensive ability, to replace Thiago.
The midfield intensity of Manchester United and Chelsea has been greatly improved, but Arsenal has also lost Vieira.
Vieira is not only a defensive gatekeeper, he has richer game experience, and his passing and receiving abilities are far better than those of Mascherano and Essien at this stage. His departure caused Chen Mo to lose his ability in the last game against Chelsea. It’s almost impossible to get the ball!
It's not that he can't hold the ball, but that as long as he enters the encirclement, the ball can't be passed in at all.
Thinking of this, Wenger picked at his temples and moved his eyes to the boy on the white paper on the other side of the table.
[Name: Luka Modric]
[Nationality: Croatian]
【Age: 20】
【Height: 172】
[Position: Central Midfielder]
[Characteristics: Can send accurate passes with both left and right feet, strong creative passing ability, active running, abundant physical fitness, broad vision, and strong game reading ability]
[Disadvantages: Slightly thin physique may not be able to adapt to the physical confrontation of the Premier League, expensive]
[Current team: Dinamo Zagreb Football Club]
[Asking price: 15 million euros]
"It's so expensive."
Under the early morning sunshine, Wenger frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose. At this moment, the corner of his eye glanced at Chen Mo's red dot picture.
"."
The air fell into silence. Looking at the red dots on the white paper, Wenger thought for a moment and picked up the phone.
.
In August, when the summer window has not yet closed, there is basically one game a week. The schedule is very easy, but the players do not relax and train seriously every day.
After the draw with Chelsea, who had strengthened this summer, the outside world was touting Arsenal as still maintaining the championship level, but only the players in the team understood that the game was actually completely out of control.
The ball on the offensive end could not reach the frontcourt at all, and Chen Mo was forced to return to the backcourt to get the ball and break through on his own.
Effective, but extremely unstable. After all, except for highlights, no player can complete a one-stop breakthrough in the middle every game.
Moreover, Chen Mo's retreat is not without cost. When Chen Mo retreats, the opponent can press upward. Arsenal's compensation plan last season was that Vieira and Essien pressed forward, and Chen Mo sent a long pass from behind.
Vieira is very tall and has strong passing and receiving abilities. He can be a fulcrum in the midfield and frontcourt, so in this case the opponent does not dare to press too high. But in the game against Chelsea, Vieira, who is less than 1.8 meters tall, Xin was completely suppressed by Ballack, and Giroud was also double-teamed by two central defenders.
Neither Essien nor Marcos has very strong passing and cutting skills in ground balls. The ball cannot be passed from the ground. Essien has no physical advantage in high-altitude balls. Giroud will also lose when he is double-teamed.
In the final stage of that game, facing Chelsea's crazy pressing, Arsenal was completely trapped in the 30-meter area of their own penalty area and could not get out.
This is a problem at the staffing level, which often leads to personnel adjustments, and the key to the problem now is the midfielder.
Although Brother Ma didn't say much during the training, Chen Mo could still clearly sense the nervousness in his heart.
As the youngest captain of Arsenal, he naturally has to help his teammates solve problems at this time, let alone a compatriot.
Needless to say, since the game against Chelsea, Chen Mo has been pulling Ma to practice Muay Thai every night to relax.
There is a saying that bald men are tough.
Xiao Ma, a tough guy who even suffered from anal fissure, is naturally even tougher. Even if Chen Mo's powerful whip made his arms tremble, his hand holding the target never loosened.
However, such days did not last long. On August 16, Arsenal sold Essien to Chelsea for 40 million euros and brought Modric from Croatia to London for 12 million euros. .
Super big news!
You must know that Chelsea is Arsenal's direct competitor, and Essien is still the absolute core player. Wenger actually chose to sell Essien instead of Mascherano!
Suddenly, the outside news media began to speculate wildly about [Argentina gang squeezing out Essien! 】,【Argentine gang destroys Arsenal! ], [The main core has been sold to competitors, Wenger has given up on competing for the championship this season! ], [Who is Modric? ! Words like "We don't want herding sheep" are noisy in the world.
The outside media began to generally badmouth Arsenal, and commentators like Old Jack who eat black traffic will naturally not miss this opportunity.
[Chen Mo’s good luck ends here! 】
[Mr. Wenger is crazy! 】
[Arsenal has lost hope of winning the title! 】
When the league just started and we tied with last season's champion Chelsea, guys like Old Jack started talking directly.
All I can say is that you have to be careful with your rice!
You can see different interview words in newspapers every day, most of which are badmouthing Arsenal. However, coaches from major clubs, including Mourinho, who always likes to promote hatred, did not speak out this time. They just expressed their nervousness. Another focus is on the second round of the Premier League, Arsenal vs. Manchester United! .
On August 21, 2005, the Highbury Stadium was packed with people.
“Kill Manchester United!!!”
"We are Champions League champions!!!"
"We are also Champions League champions! Two of them!"
"Oh! Get the damn bumpkin out of here!"
"We are country bumpkins, who are you?! City beggars? Paupers!"
The game hasn't even started yet, but the fans and spectators in the stands are already completely ignited, shouting and cursing at each other.
Although Arsenal and Manchester United are not mortal enemies in the same city, they are definitely not inferior to the derby in the same city. After all, the two sides have been fighting each other for nearly six years. Not to mention the fans, there have been many fights between the players on the field.
"Okay, fans and viewers, I am very happy to bring you today's match between Arsenal and Manchester United in the second round of the Premier League! I am the commentator Johnson, and my partner next to me is Old Jack!"
Behind the floor-to-ceiling windows is a crowded fan stand. Two commentators are sitting at a round table. One of them, a blond middle-aged white man, smiled and greeted: "Hello everyone, I am Jack. The commentary for today's game will be brought by the two of us. , Okay, so without further ado, let’s get straight into the game.
Speaking of Arsenal, it’s really raining all night. It’s clear that they just experienced disintegration this summer, but as a result, Chelsea and Manchester United were defeated at the beginning of the league. Tsk, tsk, tsk, I really feel sorry for these little guys, haha. "
"Well, Arsenal's early-season schedule is indeed cruel, but in their last game they drew with defending champion Chelsea away from home, and someone even kissed the donkey's butt. Haha."
"Indeed, Arsenal performed very well in the last game, but Essien was still in the team at that time, but now? Trading Essien for a 20-year-old Croatian midfielder? Modric? Who? Who is he? Me Never even heard his name before.
Look at his small frame, it would be criminal to have him playing on the same stage with Keane and Davies. I don't think he can bring any help to this Arsenal, or even negative impact, no matter it is facing Fabregas's dribbling, center Ruud van Nistelrooy's retreat, or winger Cristiano and Giggs' adduction to get the ball, it would be difficult for him to provide defense! "
"Wow, it seems that old Jack is really full of resentment towards Arsenal. Haha, okay, now the match lineups of both sides have come out, let's take a look. Arsenal's side has returned to the 433 formation, with Henry and Giroud on the front lines. , Di Maria, the back line is Bell, Chiellini, Samuel and Maicon. As for the midfielder, well, Mr. Wenger is as bold as ever, and he just uses the newcomer Mascherano to play alone. Lower back.”
"After all, they don't have a better candidate for the midfielder position, right?"
"Haha, okay, okay, accept your resentment. Well, Manchester United's lineup has also been announced.
Rooney, Ruud, Cristiano.
Davies, Fabregas, Keane.
Neville, Ferdinand, Sylvester, Heinze.
I really didn’t expect that Rooney would be assigned to the winger position in this game. Mr. Ferguson probably wanted Rooney to assume Bergkamp’s playing style of playing as a winger last season? "
"Maybe, okay, now that the players from both sides have entered the court, let's hand over the camera to the scene!"
The commentary was chattering, and Chen Mo's ears were filled with the cheers and shouts of the fans. Under the spotlight, the referee tossed a coin. Arsenal had the ball and attacked from left to right.
"Be careful you get knocked over by me."
"You just got injured and started talking dirty again?"
"."
Shaking hands with Keane who rolled his eyes, Chen Mo, who was wearing the No. 10 jersey, turned back to the center circle and glanced at the faces of every teammate, including Mo, who they had just met but were already close to each other after the food offensive. Derich.
After receiving serious and serious nods from everyone, Chen Mo raised a smile on his lips.
Soon, as the referee blew his whistle, Giroud knocked the ball back in the center circle. As soon as the ball was passed back, before it rolled to the feet of Chen Mo in the right midfield, Fabio and Ruud Ruud on the striker immediately surrounded him!
"You still want to double-team me?"
At the beginning, Manchester United directly set the pace without hesitation. Chen Mo immediately moved his feet to block Ruud van Nistelrooy with his back. At the same time, he flicked his left foot and the ball bounced to Modric's feet.
"Don't even try to get the ball!"
Seeing that the thin Modric was about to receive the ball, Ronaldo immediately rushed to grab it.
He directly pushed his thigh against his butt, trying to give Modric a blow, but the moment he pushed his right leg, facing the rolling ball, Modric, who had his back to Ronaldo, pulled back his left foot to meet the ball, and the ball instantly passed from C Luo's crotch pass!
"HOOOOOOO! Crotch-piercing!"
"So flexible! Only five seconds into the game, Modric used his crotch to get past Ronaldo!"
"Hahaha, send Aveiro home!"
"Mr. Wenger's vision didn't miss it!"
"Well done, little one!"
The commentator became excited, and Arsenal in the audience was even more excited. Listening to the taunts in his ears, Ronaldo became angry and prepared to give Modric a shot, but Modric, who used his inertia to pass through Ronaldo's crotch, did not stick to the ball at all. The first time he got rid of Ronaldo, or before preparing to get rid of Ronaldo, he had already memorized the player's position in his mind.
He pulled the ball through his crotch with his left foot, and knocked the ball horizontally with his right foot. The path of the ball was exactly in the direction of Ma Ma's movement!
"So positive!?"
Just after receiving the ball, Ruud van Nistelrooy was already pushing behind him. Pony Ma frowned and subconsciously looked for Chen Mo in the frontcourt. When he raised his eyes, he only saw Chen Mo, who was double-teamed by Fabio and Keane, raising his right hand. Glancing from the corner of his fingertips, he discovered that Modric had run into the space on the left side of the center circle without knowing it!
"What a smart move."
Without hesitation, Mao Zedong directly blocked the ball. At the same time, Ronaldo and Davis, who were unhappy, immediately stepped forward to defend. However, the moment before they attacked, Modly faced the rolling ball. Qi once again distributed the ball with his right foot to Bell who came to meet him from the wing.
"Trouble!"
Great sound!
On the sidelines, watching Modric running on the court, Ferguson secretly clenched his fists. Modric had only three passes and three runs, but he could successfully pick out the ball every time he passed the ball. Movement can help teammates pass and catch the ball!
This is a must-have trait for a top midfielder!
And Chen Mo also has this quality!
What will happen when two organizational players who are super aware, not sticky, and also like to touch the ball meet? !
Worried that Modric would be nervous in the first game, Chen Mo did not go to the midfield and frontcourt immediately after the start, but stayed in the backcourt to provide support. But soon, as he discovered that Modric had a big heart, Immediately command his teammates to start pressing the formation forward, and at the same time push to the midfielder position immediately!
Chen Mo has strong ball protection ability and strong passing and receiving ability, but he suffered from the lack of a passer before and could not get the ball.
But Modric is here!
His ability to seize opportunities is very strong, and his passing is also very accurate, and the three passes he just made proved that it is difficult for one person to steal the ball from his feet. This makes it impossible for Chen Mo to be guarded by three people again, and once he is not With three people on defense, Chen Mo can get the ball!
Soon, in Ferguson's increasingly heavy eyes, in the eyes of Mourinho, Rijkaard, Ancelotti, Messi, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Guardiola and countless others watching the game, Arsenal Let’s dance!
Chen Mo gets the ball in the midfield, with Marco Ma in the back, and Modric is swinging around Chen Mo like a pendulum clock. At the same time, the front trident is sinking. Whether it is Henry, Giroud or Di Maria, they all have it. Good passing ability, and because Henry and Di Maria are so fast, Manchester United players don't dare to go around to defend!
Sun tactics!
With Chen Mo as the center of passing and cutting, the entire Arsenal moved into action, constantly running and passing!
Soon, Arsenal advanced their formation to the Manchester United half!
