Reborn Liverpool

Chapter 218 The Arsenal Who Dig Their Own Pit
The time soon came to March again, and the most intense stage of the Premier League has finally arrived.

Liverpool will face Arsenal at their home court in the 27th round. Klopp attaches great importance to Wenger's team, and still has the strongest lineup of the Red Army.

But at Anfield Stadium at 3:4 on March 17, Klopp couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the starting lists of both sides played on the sidelines.

The starting rosters for both sides are:

Liverpool: (4-2-3-1)
22 - Mignolet;

66-Arnold, 19-Matip, 4-Van Dijk, 7-Milner;
15- Chamberlain, 5- Wijnaldum;
12-Mbappe, 10-Zhang Mai, 9-Mane;

11 - Firmino.

Arsenal: (4-2-3-1)
1-Cech;

24-Bellelin, 20-Mustafi, 6-Koscielny, 18-Monreal;

34-Coquelin, 29-Xhaka;

14-Walcott, 17-Iwobi, 23-Welbeck; 12-Giroud.

The formations of the two sides are the same, with the tip of the needle facing the wheat, but the personnel configuration is very different.

Liverpool's main lineup is similar to the previous game, except that right back Klein was replaced by Arnold due to injury, and Arsenal's starting staff is very interesting.

Wenger, do you look down on Liverpool so much or did you voluntarily give up this away game?

Uncle Zha was still thinking hard about Arsenal's modest lineup, but Zhang Mai knew that Professor Wenger had no choice but to send out such a crippled lineup.

Liverpool's home game against Arsenal can be called the most important match of this round of the Premier League.

If we talk about the first round of this season, Arsenal directly "give up" the two main central defenders, and finally swallowed the bitter fruit of a 3-4 loss at home under the fragile defense;
So this round of being a guest at Anfield, Arsenal started without Sanchez and Ozil.

Taking Chinese chess as an analogy, if Arsenal lost two "shi" in the first round, then Arsenal undoubtedly lost two "rooks" this time.

The main midfielder Özil missed the game again due to illness before the game, and Sanchez with the other thigh was put on the bench again. The timing of this game is right, and Arsenal will not take it.

After many years, the Red Army's good opportunity to "double kill" the Gunners again in the season is coming.

It is not that Arsenal have never fought like this, or even won like this.

At the beginning of this season, Arsenal had a reserve of "six midfielders". It can be said that Arsenal is determined to solve this chronic problem for many years, but it has not been able to solve it so far.

Now look back at the "six major defensive midfielders": Wilshere thinks that he will reduce his chances to rent out, Cazorla suffered another serious injury at the beginning of the season; Ramsey's physical condition has been terrible after the European Cup, which is also an injury Stop and stop; Elneny was undoubtedly disrupted by the halfway Africa Cup of Nations, and also unfortunately encountered injuries.

Against Liverpool, Wenger trusts or can only trust the combination of Xhaka and Coquelin, but Xhaka is impulsive in defense; Coquelin seems to have changed his style since he was seriously injured last season, even that The bravery is gone.

Without Sanchez in the frontcourt, the "more direct" tactics failed, and the two midfielders in the midfield became the weakest points in the game. Coupled with the defensive line that has not been reliable this season, Arsenal can be said to have sounded the alarm on the third line. Once, it is still unknown whether Wenger and his gunmen can save the day.

When the starting lineups of the two sides were announced, Ozil may have been prepared for the illness and did not enter the squad. Sanchez was placed on the bench, which is really a surprising decision.

"Zhang Mai, it's understandable for Ozil to avoid you, but is Sanchez also afraid of being beaten?"

Mane on the field also joked about Zhang Mai with a smile. Arsenal's self-defeating martial arts made every Liverpool player feel at ease.

Zhang Mai was speechless and could only roll his eyes at the African striker.

Zhang Mai knew that Sanchez's placement on the bench was directly related to the blocked contract extension.

According to the "Daily Mail" news, Sanchez asked for a weekly salary of 25 pounds, while the price given by Arsenal was 18 pounds.

Now the contradiction should have been put on the table, and many British media have even reported that Arsenal has already set their sights on Sanchez's replacement, such as Dortmund's Reus, Lyon's Lacazette, and Porto's Andre Gomez etc.

Sanchez was excluded from the starting game in this game. It can be seen that Wenger and the senior management took the initiative to demonstrate to Sanchez.

Sanchez is now a man who only recognizes money, and his weekly salary of 25 pounds is indeed not a small amount (Azard, one of the best players in the Premier League, earns 20 pounds at Chelsea). In other words, the price will definitely be penny-pinching.

However, this amount of money has now become a necessary amount.With all kinds of temptations from the outside world, including the Chinese Super League, Sanchez's future seems to have drifted away from Arsenal.

The referee's whistle sounded, and the game officially started. After the opening, both sides tried to open gaps on the wing.

Liverpool took the lead in the 10th minute. Mane made a fast break and made a cross from the right side of the penalty area. Zhang Mai attracted the defense and missed it. Firmino, who was unguarded from far away, shot into the top corner from close range, 1-0!

A few minutes later, Zhang Mai swept in front of the goal again, but it was a pity that Firmino's heel shot from 12 yards was missed.

The lagging Arsenal, although possessing the possession advantage, could not pose a real threat.

In the 23rd minute, Mane counterattacked and passed the ball, but Firmino missed the opportunity slightly offside.

At this time Sanchez was called up by the coaching staff and began to warm up on the sidelines.

Arsenal already had several set-pieces, but the quality can only be described as appalling. Coupled with Liverpool's iconic rush, the entire Arsenal team can be described as devastated. Among them, the midfielder couldn't hold the ball. became the key again.

The combination of Xhaka and Coquelin has repeatedly missed simple balls in offense, and the care of the defense in defense can only be described as better than nothing.

In the 31st minute, Monreal made a mistake in returning a pass, Wijnaldum passed the ball, and Mbappe's strong shot from the edge of the penalty area was saved by Cech.

In the 38th minute, Arnold passed the ball, and Mane swayed away from the two defenses and then shot a curved ball from the edge of the penalty area on the right side and missed the far corner.

Liverpool expanded the score in the 40th minute. Milner, Zhang Mai and Firmino made consecutive crosses. Mane shot into the net from 12 yards on the right side of the penalty area, 2-0!At this time, the Arsenal fans who came to Liverpool with the team began to put up slogans against Wenger on the sidelines.

Arsenal's offensive is still not improving. The two conceded goals in the first half are all related to the inactivity of the defensive midfielder.

The offensive and offensive made up, but they could not be recovered. Both Xhaka and Coquelin had less than 30 successful passes in the first half, and they also repeatedly lost the ball in the transition between offense and defense.

In the 43rd minute, Chamberlain's long-range shot was blocked and then deflected. Mbappe's shot from 10 yards in front of the goal hit Cech's arms.

Before the end of the first half, Van Dijk's header went wide again in the corner kick scuffle with an assist.

In the second half, the two sides changed places to fight again, and Sanchez replaced Coquelin.

Sanchez, who played with a smile but not a smile, is indeed Arsenal's "thigh", and soon proved his worth, and the two teams began to attack and defend each other.

In the 48th minute, Monreal made a pass from the left, Giroud headed the goal and was saved by Mignolet.

In the 53rd minute, Mane passed the ball, Firmino passed Koscielny's shot and was blocked, and then deflected into Cech's arms.

In the 57th minute, Arsenal finally pulled back a victory. Sanchez made a direct pass. Welbeck shot from the upper left corner of the penalty area and passed the attacking Mignolet into the near corner, 1-2.

Far from proving that "it can do without Sanchez", Wenger further proved the irreplaceable importance of Sanchez to Arsenal.

The mess in the first half and the success in the second half proved Arsenal's need for Sanchez. Welbeck's goal came from the Chilean's assist.

Zhang Mai began to strengthen the marking of Sanchez in the midfield, and the Chilean, who had just received an assist, became much quieter.

In the 62nd minute, Zhang Mai cooperated with Mane and made a cross, which was cleared by Mustafi in close range in time.

In the 68th minute, Firmino passed the ball and Wijnaldum shot high from the edge of the penalty area.

In the 71st minute, Walcott and Lucas replaced Welbeck and Giroud respectively.

In the 76th minute, Chamberlain shoveled Walcott and was almost fined a second yellow card. Not long after, Xhaka was dissatisfied with the penalty and was given a yellow card warning.

In the 82nd minute, Milner made a free kick from the left. Origi, who had just replaced Firmino, hit the right post with a header and rebounded.

Liverpool sealed the victory in the 91st minute, Zhang Mai made a cross from the right, and Wijnaldum pushed from 12 yards to the bottom right corner of the net, 3-1.

At the end of the game, Liverpool defeated the visiting Arsenal 3-1 at home, achieving the first double play against Arsenal in 17 years. The Gunners suffered an away losing streak and were squeezed out of the top four by the Red Army.

After this battle, Liverpool continued to lead the Premier League with 75 points, and Zhang Mai also received two assists.

(End of this chapter)