Football feast, starting from the acquisition of European clubs

Chapter 79 We Have an Advantage

In Chen Ran's memory, in this season's League Cup, it was Middlesbrough who upset Arsenal and finally won the first important championship trophy in the club's more than 100-year history.

Why is Arsenal now promoted?

Could it be caused by his own butterfly flapping its wings indiscriminately?
What Chen Ran didn't know was that it was because of him that he caught Wenger's attention and lost his temper in a rare way in the team.

For the Arsenal players who have always set their goals on the Premier League title and the Champions League title, a League Cup title is really not in their eyes.

In their eyes, the championship that Chen Ran had to fight for here was just a waste of energy.

It's just that because of Wenger's anger this time, the Arsenal players had no choice but to work hard, and pressed Middlesbrough, who wanted to stand up and call the shots.

"Hey, there's one more game to play."

"I'm exhausted."

"The boss didn't even let the League Cup go, it's really greedy."

This is the voice of the Arsenal players.

The Arsenal players who fought in the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, and League Cup have now reached their limit. They are exhausted physically and mentally, and they are all supported by one breath.

Chen Ran was puzzled, but he still had to make preparations.

Facing the strongest team in the UK at present, Crystal Palace is full of energy from top to bottom.

Guardiola, who has now fully entered the role of assistant coach, specially found the videos of all recent Arsenal games, and personally conducted editing and analysis.

In this era, the division of labor of football coaches is far less detailed than in the future.

Such positions as video analysts, not to mention the small club of Crystal Palace, even those big clubs don't have a few dedicated ones.

Looking at the familiar faces in the video, Chen Ran knew that his strongest opponent since time travel had appeared.

Although Chelsea's staffing was also very strong before, they have too many newcomers who just arrived in the team this summer, and they are far from well-adjusted.

Coupled with the fact that "Tinker" Ranieri doesn't seem to be very good at commanding big-name players, this makes Chelsea's actual combat effectiveness far lower than its paper strength.

But Arsenal is different. Wenger has been coaching for many years, and he is convincing in terms of ability, record and prestige, which allows Arsenal players to maximize their strength.

"Boss, we are very familiar with Arsenal's two main forwards, Henry and Bergkamp."

"Especially Henry, he has scored 17, 17, 24 and 24 league goals in the last four seasons."

"Especially last season, Henry not only scored 24 goals, but also had 23 assists, which is a very scary statistic."

"So far this season, he has scored 20 goals. It is not a problem for him to reach a new high, and he is very likely to win this year's Premier League Golden Boot."

Having said that, Guardiola stopped, looked at Chen Ran and asked:

"Boss, what shall we do? Are we still using a four-back formation?"

Although not stated clearly, it is clear that Guardiola lacks confidence in Southgate and Vidic defending against Henry and Bergkamp alone.

Chen Ran stroked the stubble on his chin, and turned to look at Southgate.

"Gareth, you played against Arsenal a lot in the Premier League before, I want to hear your opinion."

"Boss, frankly speaking, I can't guarantee that I can defend against Henry or Bergkamp. Their abilities are indeed very powerful."

Southgate spread his hands, it wasn't that he was convinced, but that his opponent was really too strong.

"Ok, I see."

Chen Ran nodded, feeling confident.

Southgate has always played for the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League in his previous life. Although he was selected for the England national team, he is not the absolute main force.

It is indeed a bit difficult for him to defend Henry, who is currently at his peak.

"Well, let's make some adjustments in this game. Let Vidic be responsible for marking Henry, and Thiago Silva will be responsible for defending Bergkamp. Gareth, you play a free agent. Once they make mistakes, you have to be in time. Make up for them, understand?"

"clear."

Hearing Chen Ran's arrangement, Southgate breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew very well in his heart that, among other things, he would never be able to keep up with Henry's speed alone.

Don't ask him how he knew it, it's a lesson learned.

"Boss, what about the midfielder position? Or should I partner with Modric?"

When Simeone heard that he wanted to add a free man, he immediately asked.

"Modric's body is too thin. I'm afraid he won't be able to withstand the impact of the Premier League championship team. This game will be you and Yaya Toure as starting partners."

"Boss, if this arrangement is made, what about our offense?"

Simeone was a little confused, and the usual midfield organizers Modric and Fabregas didn't use either?

"If there is a chance to counterattack, you have Diego to organize it. The most important thing is to tighten the defense first. Do you understand?"

"Understood, boss."

Seeing that Chen Ran had finished explaining the arrangement, Guardiola continued to introduce the characteristics of Arsenal's players in combination with the video.

Left midfielder Pires, right midfielder Ljungberg, two midfielders Vieira and Gilberto Silva.

Left back Ashley Cole, two centre-backs Campbell and Kolo Touré, right back Lauren.

Goalkeeper Lehmann, and the main substitutes Wiltord, Reyes, Edu, Parlor, Van Bronckhorst, Senderos, Kanu and so on.

From the main force to the substitute, they are all famous players in today's football.

The more Guardiola introduced, the more ugly the faces of the coaching staff became.

After finally waiting for Guardiola to finish his introduction, Chen Ran coughed.

He had to say something, or the battle would be lost.

"Everyone has heard Josep's introduction. Yes, Arsenal's strength is very strong, at least far stronger than the current Crystal Palace."

"But a football game is not just about the strength of the players. If this is the case, everyone should stop playing the game, and take out the players in their hands and compare the statistics to determine the winner or loser?"

"Gareth, you should be very clear about Middlesbrough's situation. Compared with Arsenal, who is stronger?"

"Of course Arsenal are stronger."

Southgate answered very simply, without the slightest hesitation.

"You see, since even Middlesbrough, which is far inferior to Arsenal, can beat Arsenal away. So why can't we beat Arsenal at a neutral stadium?"

"What's more, compared to Arsenal, we still have a huge advantage. As long as we make good use of this advantage, it is enough for us to beat Arsenal."

"We have an advantage?"

Southgate, Guardiola and Simeone looked at each other and asked in unison.

(End of this chapter)