The Young Lion

Wenger has a headache.

It's not because he wants to be a guest at the Lion King Stadium in the league. This game, let alone scheduled in advance, I am afraid that Wenger will be mentally prepared before the start of the season.

What gave him a headache was that Arsenal began to show signs of being unable to retain their core.

During the transfer period, Vieira, Ibrahimovic, Pires and other players in the Arsenal team are the protagonists in the whirlpool of scandals.

Arsenal's own limitations have two points, one is financial resources.

There is no doubt that the owner is rich. The names of Arsenal’s major shareholders can be seen on the Forbes rankings. However, the club’s business strategy is based on self-sufficiency. Against the background of borrowing money to build a new stadium, Arsenal is very strict with financial management. Strictly speaking, the largest club expense is player salaries. In other words, Arsenal cut expenses and squeezed the salary system, which made the salary cap of big-name players relatively low.

Can you give super high salaries to big-name players alone? Yes, but it is very risky. This will bury hidden dangers in the locker room. The salary system must be reasonable, and an old Chinese saying is more appropriate: don’t worry about scarcity, but worry about unevenness.

Vieira is a world-class player. It is normal for others to earn about 50% less than him, and everyone takes it for granted, but if Vieira is given 2 times, 3 times or even higher salary than the average main force, other main players will feel it. Willing to accept?

Arsenal has just renewed their contracts with the main players in the team. The salary that can be given by this renewal is already the limit of the club's recent financial budget. Wenger's headache is that after two or three years, if these big names ask for higher salaries, Arsenal may not be able to afford it. bear.

Quantitatively comparing Arsenal's salary system, Millwall's highest weekly salary is 70,000 pounds. pure wages. The average weekly salary of the first team is around 50,000. If bonuses are included, the average will exceed 60,000, and the weekly salary of many veterans in the team exceeds 100,000 pounds.

And who is the highest paid Arsenal team?

Campbell, the highest paid player in the Premier League, has a weekly salary of 70,000 pounds, and the extra 30,000 pounds is converted from the free transfer signing fee, which is paid according to the salary. transfer.

As for the salaries of other Arsenal players, the weekly salary is the highest. No more than £50,000!

You can imagine Wenger’s headaches. Even Anelka, who was transferred to his new club, has a weekly salary of more than 50,000 pounds. If a star of Vieira’s level is transferred, how much can he get? ?

The next time Arsenal raises the wages of players, it is estimated that it will be two to three years later, and then we will have to look at the financial situation.

Arsenal are not the only ones who have headaches for players' wages. Manchester United signed Veron in the summer, and 99% of the team's contract renewal work has been completed, but that 1% is the most important. Beckham rejected Manchester United's offer of about 80,000 pounds weekly salary contract. Manchester United's contract renewal with Beckham is still in protracted negotiations.

Another limitation is Arsenal's lack of honor over the years.

The two most important club honors are the league championship. Champions League champion.

Arsenal has never won the UEFA Champions League in history, and the last time they won the league title was in 1998.

Players don't necessarily say they have to play for championship teams.

Because it's not accurate.

The five major leagues, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga can't keep stars. England, Italy and Spain are the first stage, where stars gather together. Here, there is a lot of attention, a lot of money, and a high level of competition.

In England, Italy and Spain, plus the Champions League, there are only 4 championships per season, and three or four clubs can win the club's highest honor.

The champions also take turns. La Liga is now in troubled times, and it belongs to the gap between the two heroes. The champions of Serie A these years are like drumming and passing flowers. Everyone has a share, but in the Premier League, the Millwall family dominates the three consecutive games.

Players cannot predict which strong team they will play for next season to win the league championship or the Champions League championship.

It's possible to go to last season's championship team and end up with nothing for years afterward.

Therefore, there is an intuitive consideration of team competitiveness, and Arsenal are generally not bad at this point.

There is only one league title in each season. Arsenal seems to be in the top four every year, and at the same time they can enter the Champions League. This is more important than winning domestic cups, because the Champions League is the highest stage for European club competition. Performing in the Champions League is a proof of strength in itself. At the same time, maintaining state and improving commercial value is very important to play in the Champions League. Therefore, whether a team is qualified for the Champions League is an important factor in attracting stars.

For first-class stars, Arsenal is a good choice, but for world-class stars, it is always disheartening to not win the championship.

Wenger's rhetoric before the season was really not aimed at Millwall. He knew whether Millwall could overthrow Millwall's dominance. Not to tell Millwall, to make Millwall feel the crisis, but to tell Arsenal players: We have a chance to compete for the championship!

When it's time to play Millwall in the league, look at the standings, there is a gap of 13 points, and the league has only played 16 rounds!

It is almost an average of 1 point per round. According to this trend, at the end of the season, Millwall will overtake Arsenal by more than 30 points?

When Wenger came to the Lion King Stadium, he was frowning, like an old man suffering from depression, or thinking about national affairs with concern for others.

He has to admit that Millwall has established a dynasty and visualized and concretized its ruler status, which makes people feel chills when they hear this team, especially when they see Aldridge, the invisible pressure gathers overhead.

Aldridge still had the same demeanor, wearing a suit and leather shoes. He went to shake hands with Wenger before the game. Wenger seemed hesitant to speak.

Aldridge was confused by Wenger's attitude of hesitating for two seconds and obviously having something to say but didn't say anything.

Walking back muttering words, Aldridge started his favorite blind thinking again.

What exactly is Wenger trying to say?

After Millwall slaughtered Manchester United 7:1, Wenger also paid attention to the game, especially Aldridge's wild words after the game. It is said that other giants in the Premier League will have conspiracies.

He actually wanted to tell Aldridge face to face: Even if we really have a conspiracy. I was also forced by you!

Millwall is now the financially richest team in the Premier League. The strongest team, the most stable team, the most united team

Other teams are not as good as Millwall. In the long run, Wenger doesn't know about other clubs. Anyway, he is worried that some top stars in Arsenal's team will choose to stay away because they have no bright future in the Premier League and go to other leagues to find championship opportunities.

Wenger's worries are not unreasonable, in the Premier League. No matter how famous you are, if you don't play for Millwall, you can only play a supporting role. Looking at the scenery of Millwall and watching others win the championship, you have to be ravaged every season as the background. Your own club does not have strong financial resources. If Being able to spend as much money as a Serie A team, buying two or three big-name players in one transfer period to boost our morale, is a good day. Just by shouting slogans, who will believe it?

Only Manchester United. Liverpool is able to share some of Millwall's brilliance because they have England's international players supporting half of the England national team. Arsenal, with Adams representing a group of old international players entering the rhythm of retirement, this team composed of many foreign players , the style of play is good-looking, delicate, and skillful, but if you don’t win the championship, no matter how good-looking, it has become the object of ridicule on Fleet Street, especially Arsenal’s inability to take care of the European war. It will sweep over.

In the 17th round of the Premier League, Millwall is at home against Arsenal. This London derby is about to begin. The leader Millwall is 13 points ahead of the third-placed Arsenal. Even if Arsenal win away, they will not be able to close the gap. We hope that the situation in the standings will not affect the enjoyment of today's game. We hope to see Arsenal bravely challenge Millwall. Just like Wenger said before the season, they will try to Ending Millwall's supremacy, and a defeat here would hit Millwall hard because it would be their first defeat at the Lion King.

Yes, the result of the game will definitely have a continuous impact on the team's state. Millwall has a huge lead. If no team can attack Millwall before the end of the half, then it will be difficult for miracles to occur in the second half. Because in the past few years, it has become the norm for Millwall to play hard in the second half. Their players know that if they fight hard, they can enjoy the wonderful taste of the championship and then enjoy the holiday. Take a look at the starting lists of both sides, Millwall All the main players went into battle, and Arsenal also sent all the main players.

Arsenal starting 442.

Goalkeeper: Seaman.

Defenders: Lauren, Campbell, Keown, Sylvinho.

Midfield: Ljungberg, Parlor, Vieira, Pires.

Forwards: Bergkamp, ​​Ibrahimovic.

Since Arsenal did not have the historically rising Ashley Cole, Wenger kept Sylvinho in the summer, and recently tried to transform the new summer aid Van Bronckhorst to play as a full-back, but the Dutchman adapted to the Premier League It will take some time.

Ten minutes into the game, the fans in the stands were fast asleep.

Arsenal played their usual defensive counterattacks, Millwall did not speed up the pace, and did not use high-pressure pressing tactics. The relatively balanced 433, the offense did not change much, almost relying on the players to fight alone on the offensive end, but Arsenal took the initiative Defense, and being surrounded by a tough double midfielder, personal performance has been greatly restricted.

Wenger stood on the sidelines and looked at Aldridge at the same time.

Wenger spread his hands, with a helpless expression on his face.

Aldrich smiled casually.

Wenger was speechless.

Shame on Millwall.

The sharpest thing about Arsenal is the side counterattack. Millwall did not press up. Their counterattack fell into a circle after halftime. Millwall's defenders first cut the formation through their positions, and then pinched it. Pires and Ljungberg tried unsuccessfully to make contact with Bergkamp in the middle, and went directly to Ibrahimovic with the ball. Due to interference, the quality of the ball was not high, and the offense could not play a threat.

Millwall's side is similar. Both sides put four players in the front line of attack, and both sides have two strikes, but the positions are different. Arsenal has a double forward and a double forward, and Millwall has a midfielder and three forwards. , but in the changes, Millwall has a greater local advantage, because if Henry and Nedved lean to one side at the same time, there will be three people in the local area. On Arsenal's side, Bergkamp has a relatively active position, but Ibrahimovic is top. He basically does not move at the center position, he does not pull the side, Arsenal can only have two people at most in the local attack, unless the midfielder and full back assist.

When both sides are using a slightly static conservative defensive strategy, Millwall has another major advantage that has gradually emerged, and that is the role of Pirlo, a lagging organization.

Arsenal weakened the attack in the center and insisted on two forwards, while Millwall weakened the number of forwards in the penalty area and strengthened the midfield. Pirlo organized in the midfield. Dare to rush forward, if Ljungberg and Pires come to help defend, their positions will not be able to hold down Zambrotta and Schneider, if Bergkamp retreats, Pirlo and Gattuso can also Let his pressing come back in vain, unless Ibrahimovic comes back to participate in the defense.

Obviously, Arsenal's frontcourt defense is relatively weak, Bergkamp is also old, Ibrahimovic is very self-confident, he is a center forward, his task is to score goals, not to do dirty work.

Therefore, as long as Pirlo does not move to the midfielder area, it is easier for him to organize offenses in the midfield behind Nedved, and most importantly, stable!

After the opening, Pirlo frequently dispatched offensive transfers, left, right, left, right. Of course, Millwall did not kick back and forth like this, but each attack was directed in a different direction. He firmly launched an attack when he had the opportunity, making Arsenal's defense had to move back and forth.

Aldridge put his hands in his pockets on the sidelines with a calm expression, but he was secretly laughing: let you run for a while. (to be continued...) ()