Who will replace Modric?
At the stadium after the heavy rain, the midfielders in the team were all nervous, their eyes fixed on the small book in Wenger's hand.
Although it is just a training match within the team, even if it is a training match, it actually represents their starting position in Wenger's heart!
An atmosphere of anticipation and tension lingered on the court. At this time, Wenger raised his eyebrows and glanced at Flamini: "Chen Mo, Mascherado and Flamini."
Flamini!
Hearing the name, Flamini unconsciously clenched his fists, and several of his close friends in the team also raised their eyebrows in celebration.
Both Nasri and Alexander Song's eyes darkened slightly.
To be honest, one of them is Chen Mo's substitute, and the other is Ma Ge's substitute. In terms of style of play, it is difficult for him to be qualified for Modric's position last season. But I know that I still have some expectations in my heart. It's a pity.
Both of them were disappointed, but Rakitic next to him didn't have much negative emotions. He was a little excited and immediately started to move his body.
"This kid has a good attitude."
Seeing this scene, Wenger's eyes flashed with admiration, but Wenger didn't notice that while he was secretly observing Rakitic, Chen Mo was also observing him.
"It seems that the old man values Rakitic more."
Chen Mo put on the red vest and smoothed his hair with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
His teammates all thought it would be a good thing for someone to be assigned to the same group as Chen Mo in the training match in advance, but in Chen Mo's view, it was actually the opposite.
The defensive intensity in scrims was very low.
Especially on the defensive end, in order to prevent players from getting injured during training, training matches are often very sparse, let alone tackles, even with all-out physical confrontation.
The defensive intensity is not high, and Nasri's offensive ability is not as good as Chen Mo. If he and Chen Mo are assigned to a team to play against Nasri and the others, Rakitic will not have much room to play.
The same goes for the offensive organization. Because the defensive intensity is not strong, Chen Mo's organizational ability will be further amplified, and even Ma Ma can resist some of the organizational effects.
To put it simply, in training matches with Chen Mo in the same team, Rakitic did not have a stage to show his strength.
But it would be no problem to play in the same team as Nasri.
Nasri is not as good as Chen Mo in terms of offensive organization, and Rakitic will get more opportunities to get the ball.
Moreover, Nasri does not have Chen Mo's defensive ability. In this case, Rakitic will get more opportunities to display on the defensive end.
"His running ability and enthusiasm are fine. I watched the video before and his defensive awareness is also OK. Next, we have to see whether his ability to protect the ball and escape from the ball can adapt to the Premier League level."
Waiting for the training match to start, Chen Mo had the ball at his feet and kept thinking in his head.
Wenger still wanted to buy Rakitic even though he had Flamini, a fellow Frenchman, in the team. The key reason was that Flamini's feet were too rough.
Even in one-on-one situations, it is difficult for him to control the ball when the opponent presses him, and he has almost no ability to escape.
These two points are very fatal for Arsenal who play ground passes and cuts.
Although Arsenal's passing and cutting is not as extreme as Barcelona's 70-80% ball possession rate every game, it still requires a lot of possession and relies on passing to mobilize the opponent's defense and create opportunities.
If the ability to protect the ball is not good and you will lose the ball when others force you, then how can you talk about ball possession rate?
The ability to protect the ball is key at Arsenal, and in addition to the ability to protect the ball, the ability to escape is equally critical.
Passing and cutting is to seize the opponent's defensive loopholes and immediately launch a mercury-filled fast break.
The core element is speed.
You have to run fast and pass even faster!
You need to "swish" the ball to the opponent's core area to cause damage.
But to achieve this speed, you don't just need to press the pass button like in the game.
Most of the time, offensive players will be surrounded by defensive players.
At this time, one has to either rely on ghostly movement to get out of the space for catching and releasing the ball before catching the ball, or one has to get rid of it one-on-one after catching the ball, otherwise the speed will not be achieved at all.
Of course, getting rid of one-on-one does not mean that you have to get past the defensive player. Sometimes, you can suddenly stop and reverse the ball, and flash out of the passing lane and passing space.
In short, Arsenal needs the kind of player who can protect the ball during the possession phase and can quickly get the opportunity to pass and receive the ball when the offense is launched.
Thoughts were racing in my mind, and not long after, the training match started quickly under Wenger's instructions.
There was naturally no coin toss in the training match. As Wenger, who was wearing a gray sportswear and holding his hands behind his back like an old man doing morning exercises, blew the whistle, Henry passed the ball back to Nasri in the center circle.
There was no hesitation. Even if it was a training match, Chen Mo rushed to Nasri as fast as he did in the official match. However, he did not raise his body to resist and lower his feet to poke like in the official match. He just suppressed Nasri and prevented him from turning around.
"This guy didn't slack off at all during the offseason?!"
Feeling the huge pressure coming from his back, Nasri's eyes suddenly widened with helplessness in his eyes.
Chen Mo was one league championship and FA Cup away from a career Grand Slam, and he had just won the America's Cup. Under such circumstances, Chen Mo did not slack off during the offseason, and his physical condition was still so good!
Be more talented and work harder!
Faced with such a competitor, Nasri felt a chill in his heart.
However, he was still playing a training match at this time, so he didn't have much time to think. He swung left and right and found that Chen Mo's physical condition had not declined but was getting stronger. Nasri immediately passed the ball back to Rakitic.
"Xiao Mo is really self-disciplined."
Not only Nasri felt Chen Mo's state.
On the sidelines, the assistant coach also showed emotion. Wenger, with a whistle on his chest, smiled: "Not only because he is very self-disciplined, but also because he has a beast beside him that is not inferior to him at all."
"You mean"
"Yes, Messi. The two families are together almost every off-season,"
The assistant tilted his head slightly, Wenger nodded with a smile, and then showed a look of great regret: "Hey, speaking of it, it would have been nice if the club had given me another five million euros. As long as that five million euros more, Let me buy Messi, and I will even have the confidence to catch up with Real Madrid’s nine Champions League titles!”
"Haha, boss, stop dreaming. But let me tell you, Barcelona should be having the same troubles as you right now."
The assistant coach laughed, but he was right.
At that time, Wenger did have a slight chance to spend 5 million euros in the release fee to lure Messi. After all, Barcelona's treatment of Chen Mo made Messi very unhappy.
It's just that Arsenal was very poor at the time, and to be honest, Messi was only sixteen years old at the time, and no one knew how far he could grow in the future.
Not to mention Messi, Chen Mo was denounced by many media when he first landed in the Premier League at the age of sixteen.
But as time goes by, Messi realizes his talents step by step, and his value soars, making Arsenal more and more miserable.
Arsenal is in pain, and Barcelona is in even more pain.
After all, Chen Mo stepped on their corpses twice to reach the top of Europe, and the reason was just that Laporta was unwilling to sell players at low prices to make room for Chen Mo.
The best way to make an unhappy person happy is not to comfort him, but to let him see someone who is more unhappy.
Thinking of Barcelona's discomfort, Wenger suddenly felt less pained. He smiled and shook his head: "What you said is right. Okay, let's not consider these things anymore."
"Yeah, but Rakitic is really good. It feels like we won the lottery again this time!"
Looking at Rakitic taking the ball on the court, the assistant coach's eyes flashed with appreciation.
Not just assistant coaches.
"This guy's playing style is a bit like my old self."
When the defensive area was once again expanded to shovel out Rakitic's short pass to midfielder Diarra, Chen Mo stood up and patted the water-stained grass on his butt, and glanced at La Li with interest. Kitich.
The training match lasted for about thirty minutes, which was not long, but to be honest, Rakitic left a very good impression on him.
Although Rakitic does not have the ability to protect the ball and get rid of the ball as well as Modric, he is still passable, and his passing vision is very good, his ability to play the ball is strong, and he is very active.
I never saw him stop and wait, he was running almost all the time.
Very active, coupled with excellent passing vision and ball production ability, these three attributes weaken the shortcomings caused by his poor ball protection ability.
This was the case with the goal just now. The red team's attack on Chen Mo's side failed, and the blue team launched a counterattack.
As soon as the goalkeeper picked up the ball, Rakitic had already run out of the open space to receive the ball, and then rushed to take the ball before Flamini could close it and passed the ball to Diarra in the open space.
However, Diarra was not aware enough and did not run two steps forward to catch the ball but waited for the ball on the spot. In the end, the ball was intercepted by Chen Mo.
This is actually very similar to the way Chen Mo played when his feet were not good enough.
Use a more positive attitude and abundant physical fitness to avoid close combat with opponents, and then use excellent passing vision and ball intelligence to pick out the ball.
"The awareness is not the best, but it is enough. And he is only 19 years old. If he can improve his ability to protect the ball, he will indeed be a good partner."
"Is this the suppressive power of a world champion!"
Chen Mo admires Rakitic somewhat, but Rakitic has a completely different feeling.
He shrugged his shoulders and wiped the sweat off his chin, and glanced at Chen Mo who had returned to his position not far away. His eyes were full of shock.
Chen Mo was observing Rakitic, and Rakitic was also observing Chen Mo!
Although he had watched Chen Mo's matches on TV countless times before, after the actual kick, there were only two words left in Rakitic's mind - so powerful!
Not only can he find other people on the offensive end who can't see the offensive route, he can't win one-on-one when protecting the ball, and his running position is very ghostly and often disappears from the mind's field of view. More importantly, Chen Mo is in The defensive end is also terrifying!
There is no counterpoint.
Rakitic couldn't feel Chen Mo's physical pressure, but Chen Mo's awareness of filling in positions turned him into a little fanboy.
Consciousness is completely covered!
In the past thirty minutes, because they played more relaxedly and the offensive and defensive rhythm was faster, their blue team had many opportunities to counterattack, and Rakitic was able to run out of space to receive the ball, but!
Can't hit the ball!
Unless Chen Mo intervenes in the penalty area to participate in grabbing points, Chen Mo will be followed every time Rakitic finds the best spot for the ball!
It's very painful to kick!
But in fact it was not just Rakitic who was having a hard time playing.
Flamini is even more uncomfortable than Rakitic!
After playing as a substitute at Arsenal for three seasons, how could he not know what kind of players Arsenal are lacking now?
Can get the ball!
Can hit the ball!
The defensive coverage area is large!
Rakitic's ball-taking ability is still lacking, but he does a very good job in terms of ball-playing ability and defensive coverage area!
I had a bad feeling in my heart, but there was no way out at this time.
Soon, under Chen Mo's watch, Flamini began to play more and more seriously, and the physical confrontation against Rakitic became stronger and stronger.
Full of gunpowder!
However, neither Chen Mo, the captain, nor Henry, the big brother, nor head coach Wenger said anything.
Whether it is for the team, Rakitic or Flamini himself, competition is a good thing. After all, the field of football still depends on strength, and healthy competition will make players grow faster.
The two vying for the starting spot became more and more heated, but Wenger on the sidelines stopped paying attention to the two of them after observing them for a while.
He put his hands on his chest, his eyes constantly wandering on left winger Bell, left back Marcelo, and right midfielder Chen Mo, and then wrote and drew in a small notebook.
After observing and writing and drawing for about ten minutes, he stopped the game.
"How did you feel just now?"
“It’s okay, but”
The sun was shining brightly, and Wenger walked up to him with a small notebook. When he heard his question, Chen Mo, who was squatting on the ground drinking water, raised his head: "Our left side is probably going to be a big problem."
Arsenal’s current left wing combination is Marcelo Gabel.
Marcelo is a Carlos-style offensive full-back with a strong ability to get in the attack.
Bell's breakthrough ability is also very strong.
This left wing combination looks great, but the problem is that there is no organizer on the left side.
Last season, although Modric on the left was lagging behind, he still shouldered the organizational tasks on the left, but now Modric has been replaced by Flamini, and Bale, who is only 19 years old, is far less powerful than Henry. .
This immediately led to the embarrassing situation of two supercars on the left but no fuel.
Hearing Chen Mo's answer, Wenger smiled and nodded: "You are still as sharp as ever. Indeed, we currently lack organizers on the left, so next season I plan to let you move more to the left. How about it?"
"Let me go to the left?"
Chen Mo raised his eyebrows, but there was no surprise in his eyes.
He is a right-footed player and is more lethal when he cuts inside on the left side. However, because Henry was on the left side last season, there is actually little need for him to increase the firepower on the left side.
He more often helps Di Maria relieve defensive pressure on the right side in order to achieve a lethal pulling effect on both sides.
Now Wenger asked him to play on the left side.
Thinking of this, Chen Mo took a sip of water: "It's okay if I kick the left side. But boss, will our right side explode if this happens?"
Arsenal's left side does not lack offensive firepower. After all, the wingers and full-backs are players with strong offensive abilities. The weakest is the organizer, but Arsenal only has Di Maria on the right side.
Di Maria has grown rapidly after the competition in the past few years, but the problem is that the offensive ability of right back Klich is not strong. Di Maria alone cannot form dominance on the right.
"I know, but there is no way. There is no cheap and easy-to-use top right back on the market now, and Henry's body can hardly support him for the whole season. So... I hope that when Henry does not play this season, you Gotta show more aggression!”
"More aggression?"
Chen Mo raised his eyebrows, and Wenger nodded seriously: "Yes, be more aggressive. I want you to play like Ronaldinho did two years ago. I hope you can become the best player in the Premier League this season. "
(End of chapter)
