Although George adopted rotation tactics as early as March to cope with the intensive schedule during this period, more than a month of long-distance travel and double games a week have still caused Tottenham players to accumulate a considerable degree of fatigue, and their spirits have been under strain. In a tense state, there is simply not enough time to release and relieve these physical fatigue and mental pressure.
therefore. After returning to London from Anfield, George only arranged a simple recovery training for the team in the afternoon before the second round of the Champions League in the next three days, and the rest of the time was given to Players have free reign!
This is not George popping the champagne at halftime, thinking that Arsenal is completely incapable of harming the team, and that Tottenham can easily advance to the final even without making any pre-match preparations. Instead, it is done after fully considering the scientific evaluation and medical advice given by the team doctor. The decision made: If there is no way to let the players relax, then the team will have a high chance of collapsing in the final stage of the season due to too heavy game tasks!
Of course, George did not deny that he chose to give the players a holiday at this point in time, largely because Tottenham's opponent in the next game is Arsenal. For Tottenham now, compared with Liverpool and those opponents in the Premier League who are bound to fight for a place in the FA Cup final, Arsenal, which has already suffered a disastrous defeat in the first round, is obviously the most suitable target. .
With the departure of five veterans of the defense, Vieira and others, Arsenal under Wenger can still play gorgeous football that makes people shine, but the iron-blooded spirit left over from the Graham era has also been exhausted. . This can be seen from Arsenal's contrasting home and away records this season, as well as their weak performance in headwind situations.
When we meet on a narrow road, the brave wins. Wenger and Arsenal, who overly focused on the improvement and evolution of technical and tactical levels but neglected to improve the mental level of players, have already suffered this bitter pill. Of course, if they don't learn their lesson and pay attention to it, then Arsenal in the future can only be called a strong team at best, not a giant at all!
George's decision paid off. After two days of rest, the mental state of the players has been greatly improved. At least judging from the performance during recovery training, top players such as Robben and Cristiano Ronaldo appear to be very motivated, and the fatigue that originally existed between their brows has also weakened a lot.
Compared with the last time they played against each other, Wenger made only one adjustment to the starting lineup: Reyes became the Gunners' starting left winger in this game, and veteran Pires was placed on the bench. superior!
Although Reyes's competitive form plummeted after that nightmare game and his performance became mediocre, for some reason, Wenger chose to believe in this Spanish winger who spent tens of millions of pounds in this life-and-death battle. Look forward to him regaining his proud demeanor when Zidane called him "playing football on a motorcycle".
But having said that, among the high-priced signings Wenger has made at Arsenal over the years, it seems that only Henry has become a world-class star. As for other transfers, such as Van Bronckhorst, Reyes, Wiltord, Jeffers, etc., they either start high and go low and can only be used as a member of the rotation lineup, or it is difficult to even gain a foothold in the first team. It became one of the typical cases of hurting Zhongyong.
To put it bluntly, Wenger does have world-class standards when it comes to spending small money to do big things. Without him, there would be no Arsenal today; and when it comes time to make a decisive decision and spend money to do things, the decision made by the professor will often appear to be Not so wise. There are many deeds in this regard. In addition to the players mentioned before, those players who are rumored to be "temperature difference picks" but have become popular in other teams can also prove this point of view from some angles.
Returning to Tottenham, with all the personnel in place, George also did not rush to perform any major surgery on the starting lineup that defeated Arsenal 4-1 in the first round: replacing the youngster Baines with Evra. The only change he made to the starting lineup.
With little change in the starting lineups and game strategies of both sides, Tottenham players, who have the advantage of home court, are extremely familiar with Arsenal's playing style and various tactical routines, and have been fully rested before the game, played in the White House. It is no surprise that Deer Lane completed a clean victory against Arsenal.
Among this group of elite players, Robben, who performed the best, was eventually named the best player of the game after the game. The Dutch Peter Pan first created a space for cutting in and hitting the goal through cross-running with his teammates, and decisively broke through Leman's ten-finger barrier. Then he used his personal abilities in the 32nd and 48th minutes of the game. He tore apart Arsenal's defense and assisted Ronaldo and Gerrard to score!
With Robben's outstanding performance, Tottenham defeated Arsenal 3-0 at home and took the lead in getting a ticket to Paris with a total score of 7-1!
"Thierry, do you still think that you can get everything you want by staying here?" Walking to Henry, who was feeling sad about being eliminated from the game, Pires patted his friend's shoulder and came closer. whispered.
"...I don't know." Hearing Pires's whisper, Henry was stunned for a moment, and then fell into silence after saying only one sentence.
Thinking that Tottenham, who were shown to be the new overlords of the Premier League, had three kills in a single season, and that a week later they would have their fourth North London derby of the season, which would most likely end in failure, Henry couldn't help but feel filled with melancholy and disapproval. Club dissatisfaction.
Being saved by Wenger at the lowest point of his career and becoming a world-class star at Arsenal, Henry is extremely grateful to Wenger. But the reality is cruel. Gratitude cannot be eaten as food, and Henry cannot ignore that Arsenal is gradually falling behind in the championship team. It cannot even get a place in the Champions League. It is extremely stingy for veterans over 30 years old. Brutal truth!
If Arsenal were willing to be more lenient with meritorious players, then Parlor would not have left the team, Ashley Cole would not have had an affair with Chelsea last year, and Pires' contract renewal negotiations would not have been dragged on until Now.
The policy of resolutely implementing a one-year renewal policy for veterans over 30 years old and significantly reducing wages is one of the most criticized points of Arsenal under Wenger. It is also the reason why most players are unwilling to continue to stay after their performance. One of the reasons for Arsenal.
The income is not comparable to other teams, and there is no heavyweight championship trophy. Who would be willing to waste their limited peak period on such a club?
"Believe me, Arsenal is not a club worthy of your entire career... If you don't seize the opportunity now to win a few more championship trophies, it will be difficult to improve people's evaluation of you after you have passed your peak in a few years. What's more, you are about to turn 30, so you should think more about your life after retirement..."
"Okay, Robert." Henry finally came to his senses at this time and quickly stopped Pires who was about to continue. "Let's go back and find a place to talk in detail. This is not the place to talk about these things."
Finally, they glanced enviously at the Tottenham players who were still celebrating their victory on the sidelines. The two left this sad place side by side with full of regrets - no matter how unwilling they were, the Champions League journey for them and Arsenal had been completely announced. At the end, I can only watch as a spectator as my mortal enemy Tottenham continue to make great strides on the road to defending the Champions League!
