Early morning, Arsenal manager's office.

Sunlight shines into the room through the open window and penetrates the heat rising from the tea cup.

He picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, looking 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 backcourt and frontcourt areas 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.

number!

"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, leaving the midfield attack completely 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 ability is far better than that 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 you can't hold the ball, it's that once you enter the encirclement, the ball simply can't be passed.

Thinking of this, Wenger picked at his temples and turned his gaze 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 precise 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 level of championship contention, 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, so 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. Chen Mo retreats and 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 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 times like this, let alone a compatriot.

Needless to say, since the game against Chelsea, Chen Mo has taken Ma Ge 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, the hand holding the target guard would not loosen.

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 of the team. Wenger actually chose to sell Essien instead of Mascherano!

Suddenly the outside news media began to speculate wildly, such as [Argentine gang squeezed out Essien!], [Argentine gang will destroy Arsenal!], [the main core is sold to competitors, Wenger has given up on competing for the championship this season!],

Words like "Who is Modric?! We don't want little sheepherders" are everywhere.

The outside media began to generally speak ill of Arsenal, and commentators like Old Jack who consume 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!]

As soon as the league started and we tied with last season's champion Chelsea, guys like Old Jack started talking directly.

All I can say is that the meal must be cooked carefully!

You can see different interview words in newspapers every day, most of which are badmouthing Arsenal. However, the coaches of major clubs, including Mourinho, who always likes to promote hatred, did not speak out this time. They just expressed their nervousness.

The focus is again on the second round of the Premier League, the match between Arsenal and Manchester United!

August 21, 2005, 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 rivals 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 middle-aged white man with blond hair, greets with a smile: "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 obvious that they just experienced disintegration this summer, but as a result, Chelsea and Manchester United were defeated at the beginning of the league. Wow, 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 in an away game, 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? Use Essien in exchange for a 20-year-old Croatian midfielder? Modric? Who? Who is he? Me

Never even heard of his name before.

Look at his small frame, it would be a crime 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 a negative impact, regardless of whether it is facing

Whether it's Fabregas' dribbling, center Ruud van Nistelrooy's retreat, or winger Cristiano and Giggs' inward movement to get the ball, it's hard 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 as the strikers.

, Di Maria, the back line is Bale, Chiellini, Samuel and Maicon. As for the midfield, 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 wants Rooney to assume Bergkamp’s playing style of playing as a winger last season?”

"Maybe so. Okay, now that the players from both sides have entered the stadium, 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 and Arsenal took possession of the ball and attacked from left to right.
To be continued...