Football: After listening to the advice, I became the strongest free man.

Since Diego Costa returned in the winter window, Atletico Madrid's starting lineup has become very stable.

The Spanish center who was suffering from a leg injury was included in the squad for this game, but for the purpose of protecting the players, Simeone did not send the Gunners nemesis. This directly led to Atletico Madrid's lack of a large group that can lead and drive. The frontline fulcrum of the counterattack.

Unable to rely on sharp counterattacks to relieve the pressure on their own defense, Atletico Madrid seemed relatively passive under the impact of Arsenal's fast pace.

[The Gunners’ advantage: three midfielders, the cornerstone of field control]

After the opening, both teams, which are good at pressing and counter-attacking, worked hard to cause their opponents to make mistakes.

Arsenal, who have always been known for their exquisite coordination of passing and cutting, have shown a stronger desire to win. They use their advantages in rhythm, speed and confrontation to compete for the midfield, boost morale by fighting for half a goal, and rely on mobility The extremely strong combination of wing and center is used to combat the shortcomings of Atletico Madrid's 442 system, which is weak in the middle of the midfield and has insufficient defense width.

The reason why Atletico Madrid fell to the Europa League as a two-time Champions League runner-up was mainly due to their poor performance in the two rounds of the group stage against Chelsea.

In both games, Conte chose the tactic of three defensive midfielders (3511 formation) to defend the counterattack. The Shenzhen Army was unable to make full use of the ball rights given up by the opponent. The inefficient positional attack not only failed to destroy the opponent, but also blocked its own back. A huge gap was exposed to the opponent.

Arsenal is not a team that is accustomed to giving up the ball on its own initiative and has the patience and perseverance to compete with its opponents. The schedule of first home and then away makes it difficult for them to be conservative in the first round. Atletico Madrid will play in different periods of time. It's no secret that you can selectively switch between high and low defenses. Being able to adjust your strategy in time according to your opponent's defense mode is the key to the Gunners' victory.

Wenger's ideal frontcourt quartet operation mode is a dual-core drive to pull the two shooters, Ozil controls the ball as the absolute core, Mkhitaryan takes part of the promotion and distribution tasks as the deputy, Aubameyang and Lacaze They are each other's horns, taking turns pulling in or thrusting forward.

Since losing to Tottenham in the North London Derby, Wenger has gradually given up the radical idea of ​​stacking four attackers forward. He usually adds the diligent Welbeck to the starting lineup when facing mid-to-upper teams, and uses three Midfield structure to balance the attack.

The deep impact and suppression ability that Welbeck can provide are indispensable strategic resources in the strong dialogue. The Englishman's cooperation with Lacazette's attack on Vrsaljko directly led to the Croatian's early retirement.

The structural principle of the three-midfielder is to complement each other's skills and support each other. Xhaka, Ramsey and Wilshere are all players with distinct advantages and disadvantages. They are easy to be targeted by opponents in a double midfielder system, but they can Learn from each other's strengths within a three-midfield system.

In the absence of full-time defender Elneny, the three players relied on active collaboration to complete the defense. During the transition from defense to offense, the two offensive midfielders took turns popping up to promote the rotation of the offensive module. Wilshe Er can send through balls and breakthroughs in the middle of the frontcourt to relieve Ozil's pressure. Ramsey can even serve as the second forward to cooperate with Welbeck and Lacazette to attack the penalty area, forming a three-forward offensive situation.

When the numbers are even, Atletico Madrid can use its two forwards to press the Gunners' deep midfielder Xhaka.

Since Griezmann needs to guard the wings during the 10-on-11 off-ball phase, Gameiro alone cannot complete the marking of Xhaka in the center. The Swiss can obtain a relatively loose space to handle the ball in the midfield, and the Gunners can With efficient rotation on the field, it is natural to play a continuous offense.

[Atletico Madrid’s contingency: switching from four defenders to five defenders, counterattack and betting on Griezmann]

Atletico Madrid in the Simeone era was a team that relied heavily on rear-wheel drive. Vrsalico, who is regarded as Juanfran's successor, is such a player who can create offensive width and depth on the wing and can pass through. A player whose impact from behind enriches the offensive level.

The Croatian has the ability to play both sides during his time in Sassuolo. He has a strong ability to find space and complete precise crosses. This kind of full-back with a good sense of rhythm and prioritizing crosses rather than breakthroughs is in line with Simon. Nepal’s military standards.

However, Vrsaljko also has an obvious weakness, that is, his current defensive ability cannot meet Simeone's requirements. The Argentine's system requires full-backs to actively attack and delay the opponent after settling in the half. The wide players advance, but Vrsaljko has a low success rate in one-on-one defense in open space.

He is often passed by or fouled by opponents due to improper timing of kicks and steals. This flaw is still too obvious in La Liga, where the overall rhythm and speed are slower, and it will be more fatal when facing Premier League teams.

After Vrsaljko left the field with a red card, Simeone quickly directed the team to complete adjustments.

The versatile backcourt Thomas Partey retreated to the right, Saul and Koke joined forces in the middle, and Griezmann came to the left midfielder position to protect Lucas Hernandez during the off-ball phase.

On the surface, Atletico Madrid's defensive formation is 4-4-1, but after Arsenal leads the ball 40 meters into the frontcourt, Atletico Madrid's defense will form a five-back station as it shrinks into the penalty area. position, this move can block the opponent's midfielder's insertion while sealing the penalty area.

Saul and Partey's positions on the right side of the ribs are relatively flexible. Both players' physique and confrontation ability can cope with Welbeck's impact.

While completing his defensive tasks, Thomas Partey also relied on offensive advances from behind to support the frontcourt many times.

Atletico Madrid's best sports scoring opportunity in the first half was Correa's powerful shot in the penalty area. This offensive opportunity came from the Ghana winger's forced advance and the ball. Relying on the excessive output of Griezmann, Partey and others, Atletico Madrid made up for the numerical disadvantage through forced running. The team's long-standing advantage in physical fitness was fully utilized in this situation.

Atletico Madrid's level and density in the central defense zone remains very reasonable, and the linkage between the three or four people in the wing area with the ball still maintains extremely high efficiency.

Their primary goal in defense was to limit the Gunners' ground penetration, and the blockade of outside crosses was not tight, which paved the way for Lacazette's goal and Ramsey's thrilling header before the end.

Arsenal completed four times the number of shots than their opponents (28-6) in this campaign, but they did not get many absolute chances.

After a series of unsuccessful attacks in the first half, which affected their confidence to a certain extent, Atletico Madrid's tight defensive deployment caused the Gunners to lose their direction at the beginning of the second half.

Wenger's strategy in this situation was to continue to push the formation forward, with Ramsey and Wilshere positioned closer to the penalty area, and Lacazette, who did not have an advantage in size, looked for opportunities at far points.

In the 61st minute, Arsenal finally broke the deadlock. Wilshere sent a cross from near the left baseline, and Lacazette beat Lucas Hernandez to score with a header.

Before this attack, Ramsey also completed a shot, and the changes brought about by the active participation of the two No. 8 players were obvious.

Atletico Madrid actively sought to counterattack when the score was behind, but it was not easy to score away goals in a 10-on-11 situation.

After Felipe's season injury and Carrasco's departure in the winter window, Atletico Madrid's wing attack has become less varied and layered due to the loss of the participation of attacking full-backs. The team relies more than ever on two forwards in the center. cooperation.