On the afternoon of September 12, Manchester City Stadium.

As soon as he returned to the locker room from the court, Gao Han received a message from assistant coach Brian Kidd, and Arsenal's starting list for this game made Gao Han look very incomprehensible.

Not only him, but also Brian Kidd next to him felt strange.

"What's wrong?" said Sergio Garcia, confused.

Gao Han casually stuffed the paper with the starting list in his hand and replied: "Wenger has changed formations. ”

When Arsenal played Manchester United two weeks ago, Arsene Wenger was in a four-three-three formation, including Bendtner, Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie up front, but he did so in this game.

The goalkeeper is Almunia and the backline is Klich, Gallas, Vermaelen and Sagna.

The most troublesome thing is the midfield four, Alexander Song, Diaby, Denilson and Cesc Fabregas, how will these four players be arranged? Will they adopt the traditional four-four-two that Arsenal have excelled at before, or will there be another arrangement?

The two forwards are Bendtner and Robin van Persie.

The central axis of Arsenal's entire squad is inextricably linked to Gao Han, Gallas is the reason why Gao Han left Chelsea angrily, and Cesc Fabregas and Van Persie were both dug and promoted by Gao Han.

Gao Han never doubted the strength of this team, but this game......

"Diaby and Denilson, the two youngsters have been cultivated by Wenger in recent years, and they have played many positions, but Alexander Song and Cesc Fabregas are basically fixed in the middle. ”

Brian Kidd's words made Gao Han nod slightly, "You mean, the two of them are pulling sides, with Alexander Song and Fabregas in the middle?"

"It's entirely possible. Brian Kidd nodded.

Neither of these players is a typical wide player, and Arsene Wenger has placed them on the pitch with the sole purpose of stealing possession from Manchester City while trying to squeeze City midfield.

"From the previous four-three-three formation that was more inclined to attack, to the current four-four-two formation that is more balanced in attack and defense, Wenger is still quite afraid of us, and they are no strangers to four-four-two. Gao Han smiled.

Brian Kidd nodded, "Last season, Arsenal's regular formation was four-four-two. ”

"That's different, they had Bam Adebayo up front, Rosicky and Theo Walcott on the wings, but this one they started Denilson and Diaby......

Gao Han suddenly smiled, "Isn't it a little too cautious?"

Everyone couldn't help but feel funny after hearing it, Gao Han's so-called caution was actually ridiculing Wenger for being conservative.

Bam Adebayor was Arsenal's main centre-forward last season, and the Togolese player was arguably one of the best centre-forwards in the Premier League last season.

However, after falling out with Arsenal and Arsene Wenger this summer, Bam Adebayor moved to Real Madrid to play under Jose Mourinho, which caused problems in Arsenal's forward line and many players had to readjust.

So far this season, Arsenal have scored the most goals in the Premier League, with a total of 15 goals scored in the first four rounds, but of those 15 goals, only two were actually scored by strikers, and the goal efficiency of key strikers such as Robin van Persie is even less efficient than midfielders such as Vermaelen, Diaby and Cesc Fabregas.

It is clear that Arsene Wenger's side will need to readjust to attacking without a top-class centre-forward, and Van Persie will need to re-adapt to his new role as a centre-forward.

Judging from the four games of the new season, whether it is Diaby or Denilson, the attack power is still there.

"Shall we make some adjustments?" asked Brian Kidd with concern.

Before the game, Manchester City thought that Arsenal would play a four-three-three formation, and now Wenger suddenly changed to a four-four-two......

"No, I don't. Gao Han waved his hand, "Everything changes, Wenger's style of play is the same, we still adopt the game strategy we formulated before, and then adapt to the situation on the field." ”

Brian Kidd couldn't help but nod and smile when he heard this.

He vaguely remembers that when Alex Ferguson was in charge of Manchester United, it seemed to be the same.

Although Brian Kidd has rarely been in contact with Ferguson since leaving Manchester United, he often learns about Ferguson's evaluation of Alpine from some friends and insiders, which is why he was willing to come to Manchester City as an assistant coach in the first place.

Now, he wanted to see if Gao Han was as magical as the legend suggested.

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Goalkeeper Peter Cech, the back three are Vincent Kompany, Xavi Martinez and Zabaleta, the midfield is still Javi Alonso and Mascherano behind, David Silva and Luka Modric are up front, and the front three are Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sturridge. ”

In the visiting dressing room, Arsene Wenger read City's starting line-up to all the players.

With the exception of Sturridge, the other 10 players have all started for Manchester City this season.

As for Sanchez, the reason why he will be placed on the bench is probably related to the fact that he played two World Cup qualifiers.

Everyone knows that Bielsa's team is notoriously expensive, Sanchez has traveled back and forth for most of the world, playing two full games in a row, and it is understandable that the cold will hide him and arrange the more physical Sturridge to start.

"The opponent of this game is Manchester City, and there are a lot of media and fans outside who are accusing Gao Han and bombarding Manchester City, but if you are paralyzed by this team, then I want to say that you are all wrong, and you are very wrong. ”

Wenger's tone was constantly accentuating, clearly hoping to get the attention of all the players.

"Yes, Manchester City has invested 400 million euros this summer, and the strength has increased dramatically, but if you think about it, in more than a month of training camps, to reintegrate a dozen players into a team and completely change the team's style of play, who can do it?"

Arsene Wenger's words left many of the players present speechless.

Anyone who is familiar with the laws of football knows that this is a very difficult thing to do.

"Are City's results poor?" Wenger sneered, "Winning all four games, scoring five goals and conceding one, they don't score many goals, but their defense is the best in the Premier League so far, at the start of the season a lot of people said they would be dangerous to play a back three, now what?"

The Arsenal players in the dressing room couldn't help but tense their nerves, and after listening to Wenger's words, they couldn't help but re-examine this Manchester City team, and indeed as Wenger said, the defense is the best in the Premier League.

"Gao Han has a very clear team plan from the beginning, he selects players according to his own plan, and if you think about it, the average possession rate in four games this season has been more than 60 per cent, and the whole Premier League can do that. ”

Everyone was in their hearts and they really felt the threat of Manchester City.

Arsenal are also a possession team, and each of them knows very well how difficult it is to reach an average of more than 60 per cent possession per game, but Manchester City, the newly formed team, has done it.

'So, in this game, we must not allow Manchester City to easily control the ball. ”

Arsene Wenger reminded all the players again.

"After Alexander Song, Cesc Fabregas is in charge of the midfield, you two have to pay attention to protecting the middle at all times, Diaby and Denilson have to play an active role on the wings, whether it is attacking or defending, but also be careful, always ready to rush to the middle and strengthen the defense in the middle. ”

Arsene Wenger's gaze swept over one player after another, and finally settled on Cesc Fabregas.

The Spaniard has been in excellent form of late, having just shone in his national team, and Arsene Wenger will be hoping to make a difference for Cesc Fabregas.

"Sesque, you have to keep an eye on the situation at all times, and in the case of making sure that the middle is solid, I allow you to attack aggressively, and the players on both flanks should pay attention to support. ”

Cesc Fabregas understood what Wenger meant and nodded heavily.

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When the players of the two teams, led by the referee, walked into the city stadium one after another, the whole audience burst into cheers.

Even Sky TV's live commentators were amazed by the atmosphere at Manchester City's home stadium this season.

"The arrival of Gao Han and a number of superstar players has greatly stimulated Manchester City's ball market, and we have seen that the last few home stadiums have been full and they are said to have sold more than 35,000 season tickets, which is the highest season ticket sales in Manchester City's history. ”

Manchester City have also started the season well, with four wins from four games and currently sitting third in the league table, behind Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. ”

"Tottenham Hotspur have been one of the most eye-catching teams in the Premier League this season, with Redknapp having just beaten Chelsea's Scolari and Manchester City's Alfare to be named Premier League Manager of the Month in August, while Tottenham Hotspur striker Defoe was named Player of the Month after beating Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. ”

"Many people are not particularly satisfied with Manchester City's start to the season, and many media fans have been accusing Gao Han of his conservative one-to-zero doctrine recently, but this game will be a wonderful matchup against Arsenal, who are good at passing and controlling play. ”

After the start of the game, the two sides played a little cautiously at the beginning, especially in the first five minutes, which were relatively restrained and made a lot of mistakes.

But after five minutes, the two sides began to get into shape, and the situation gradually became clearer.

Arsenal still want to grab the ball, and the reason why Wenger returned to 442 is to put pressure on a more balanced level, especially the two players in the front, to put pressure on Manchester City's back three, forcing Manchester City's backfield to be unable to pass and receive the ball fluently.

It can be seen that Wenger's change of formation is definitely not untargeted, but prepared.

But Gao Han has also done his homework, and is known as the best coach in Europe at pressing high positions, and he has asked his players to put pressure on Arsenal from the beginning, even on Arsenal's defense and even goalkeepers.

The most obvious is that in the ninth minute of the game, Arsenal passed back to the goalkeeper, Sturridge suddenly hit the penalty area, scared the Gunners goalkeeper Almunia directly cleared the ball with a big foot, but the ball was pushed back to Arsenal's half by Kompany just after halftime.

After receiving the ball on the left side, Cristiano Ronaldo used his skillful skills and excellent speed to catch a killing opportunity between Sagna and Gallas, but then in the middle of the cross, Benzema failed to understand and was a slow shot, resulting in the ball being cleared by Vermaelen's big foot.

But from this attack, everyone sniffed out Gao Han's strategy for this game.

Instead of grabbing possession with Arsenal, he pressed high and pursued offensive efficiency.

It also made Wenger's eyebrows tightly locked and his face gloomy.

On the other hand, Gao Han seems to have gained.

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