From the first minute, Arsenal put on a defensive position, and when they kicked off, only one midfielder, two strikers ran forward, the rest of the players were slow, and the football passed back and forth in midfield, and finally the wing was snatched up by Maxey.

At the moment of being cut off, Arsenal collectively ran back.

They didn't hesitate defensively, and even the two forwards, Robin van Persie and Hleb, were thorough in their defense, and they all ran back into their own half.

At that moment, it felt like Millwall had suppressed Arsenal strongly, leaving the opponent powerless at home and struggling passively in their own half.

The Millwall players on the field felt a little confused, "We haven't done anything, why did the opponent retreat to defense?" ”

"It's Arsenal!"

"Arsenal should play against us!"

“……”

Arsenal told the Millwall players that "we just want to defend", and they defended solidly, as if they were blocking the goal with crowds in the first minute.

Millwall also 'took the opportunity' to attack for three minutes in a row, but it didn't make any sense, because there were almost no holes in Arsenal's backfield, and such a dense defense was certainly not something that could be broken in a short period of time.

This kind of offense and defense, the two sides compete with patience.

Most people would not have imagined that Arsenal would defend wholeheartedly at home, and they have abandoned their traditional style of play and completely turned into a rigid defense, or even a 10-0-0 extreme tactic to play with the opponent to waste time.

The Millwall players were at a loss, they didn't know what to do for a while.

The fans in the audience did not feel very good, and the media said before the game, "This game will be a classic offensive battle in the Premier League!" Arsenal are traditional attacking teams and they are the banner of the Premier League's attacking football! ”

"Millwall, an emerging and rising team, whether it is 451 or 352, plays very beautifully offensively!"

"It's definitely a classic battle that ends in a big score!"

And then......

The situation on the field now, not to mention how different it is from the pre-match report, the fans' senses have been turned upside down.

Arsenal fans are a little dazed, unlike Real Madrid fans, they don't have too much to pursue attack, but the team has been playing attacking football, which also makes them feel very proud.

For manager Arsene Wenger, the fans have absolute trust.

When they saw Arsenal playing defensively and the game was not very good, they were still able to watch it patiently.

If it's ugly, it's ugly!

Arsenal are second in the league table right now, and if they win at home to Millwall, they will be in the top spot!

No. 1 in the league!

Since the 2003-2004 season, Arsenal has not touched the 'first in the league', whether it is at the beginning of the season or at the end of the season, their ranking is basically third, fourth, fifth, even the second can not be squeezed in, this season the team has a big adjustment, a large number of players have been eliminated from the team, even the leading scorer Henry, have left Arsenal to go to Barcelona, fans are full of confusion about the new season, but Arsenal has played an excellent result, so see the defense is nothing, the result is the most important.

The fans don't care, Zhang Yang cares a lot.

The game was not what he imagined, and now he is glad that the team did not have time to prepare, otherwise they would have been ready to play against Arsenal, and as a result, there was a dense defensive game, and the players would definitely not be comfortable.

It's good not to be prepared.

Zhang Yang couldn't help but look at the Arsenal coach's seat, and the old man Wenger was also looking over, the two glanced at each other, and the old man Wenger smiled gently.

Zhang Yang gave a thumbs up to that side, "You're amazing!" ”

Arsene Wenger, indeed!

Millwall's new formation, 352 style of play is completely born for the offensive battle, fast-paced play, fast forward passing, and tough fighting in the midfield, which can give the team more opportunities than the opponent, and will also make the opponent feel uncomfortable.

It's not the same when you break down dense defenses.

It is safe to say that the 352 style of play is not suitable for breaking dense defense, because the speed cannot be reflected, the advantages cannot be played, and the rhythm is not rhythmic.

The opponent plays a defensive counterattack, and 352 is not as good as 451.

Arsenal's tactical style of play, which does not pay attention to the inherent style at all, is aimed at Millwall.

The situation in Millwall is not so rosy.

Even if football is under Millwall's control most of the time, it is quite a problem to not pose much of a threat to the Arsenal goal, not to mention that Arsenal are not defending all the time, they are playing defensive counter-attacks.

Defend, there is a counterattack.

Arsenal's counterattack is very fast, they don't even have to be like a small club, send a striker in front, when there is an opportunity, it is immediately the overall fast press, they are also good at playing fast attack, the power of the overall press, but it is much stronger than the impact of a single player.

Ten minutes into the game, Millwall experienced two crises.

One was in the fourth minute, when Arsenal broke the ball in midfield and launched a quick forward attack, with Van Persie shaking off Livermore and dribbling the ball in front to team-mate Hleb, who squeezed Darren Ward to volley.

The second time was ten minutes when Arsenal attacked from the back and played up front in less than ten seconds.

You know, the stadium is only more than 100 meters!

A player who attacks and sprints at a speed of 100 meters can't stop the football, only the players in the middle and back have the opportunity to intercept, as long as they don't run back quickly at the first time, they basically lose the opportunity to defend.

This wave of counter-attack was too fast, Millwall was caught off guard at the back, and finally gave Van Persie a one-handed chance, but fortunately, Graham made a decisive attack and made a very accurate save to prevent Van Persie from completing the goal.

Arsenal regretted not scoring, but Zhang Yang knew better that he gave Graham a "lucky blessing", and the nearly five-fold luck attribute is not a joke, otherwise it is hard to say whether he can save the ball.

In ten minutes, one ability was used up.

Zhang Yang knew that the game could not go on like this, otherwise Millwall would be too passive, he walked to the sidelines, called Braniff, and temporarily explained, "Play steady, don't attack too fast, and don't go too far ahead!" Hold steady! ”

Braniff nodded in understanding.

Zhang Yang was not at ease, so he called Sneijder, the captain on the field, and told him the same thing.

In this game, Morris did not play, Sneijder and Livermore partnered in the double back, and after thinking about it for a long time, Zhang Yang made Sneijder the captain of the field.

The decision was somewhat hasty.

Sneijder's time in the team is too short, but without Morris on the court, Sneijder is the most suitable candidate and can satisfy others, others, such as Braniff and Simpson, are a little unconvincing, Livermore can convince the public, but it makes no sense to be the captain with his IQ.

Vardy is not in the range, he shows off his IQ, just don't do anything stupid in the game.

Zambrotta is very suitable, but the full-back as the captain always feels weird, or the back and the forward are the captain, which is more reassuring, and it is easy to command the team in the center.

Sneijder is the most important player on the pitch.

In the 352 formation, Sneijder is also the core of the backfield, the hub of the transition between attack and defense, he is not a forward defender who organizes the attack, but has the task of defending and controlling the tempo.

The work of rhythm is done by Sneijder.

Other players depend on the position of the core, the movement of the core, and the performance of the core players is related to the whole team.

In front of Blaniff, Braniff is responsible for organizing the attack, in terms of type, Blaniff is more good at individual play, rather than leading the whole team to attack, he is the kind of player who is centered on individual performance, Sneijder and Blaniff are the front and back core, and Sneijder has more pressure on the overall work.

These are all reasons to support Sneijder as captain.

Sneijder did a good job either, his English wasn't too good, but the downward pressure on his teammates was a reminder of what to do next.

Millwall also played a little more steadily.

The team still has a lot of experience, using the 352 formation, it is easy to meet the team that is focused on defense, mainly because Millwall is too strong, but in any case, the players know how to play, it is the best news, Millwall is stable, the attack is not as sharp as before, but it is easy to create opportunities with calmness, and Arsenal has a lot less space to counterattack.

Millwall played slowly around Arsenal's half.

This kind of competition is a contest of patience.

Millwall's eagerness to attack will give Arsenal a chance, on the contrary, Arsenal is impatient and prone to vacancy, which is Millwall's chance.

When it comes to patience, Millwall seems to have an innate advantage.

Because, Emirates Stadium.

The Emirates Stadium is Arsenal's territory, Millwall is not in a hurry to attack, just keep passing the ball on the periphery, Arsenal can only go to the front to grab, so Millwall's style of play, some tend to Barcelona, on the periphery constantly inverted, "seducing" the opponent to come over strong, and so on the back of the defenders, a few rushed up, Millwall immediately passed the ball forward.

It's a good idea.

Unfortunately, Millwall is not Barcelona, they can't hold the ball for long periods of time, mimicking Barcelona's style of play, and the result is an increase in turnovers.

Arsenal also took the opportunity to play two waves of counter-attacks.

It sounds like the two sides are still fighting fiercely, in fact, the game scene is lethargic, Arsenal's two waves of counterattacks, with an interval of up to five minutes, Millwall's wave of attack, sometimes can play for three minutes, the fierce place between the two sides is still in the midfield, and Arsenal even if they grab the ball, the front court is not enough to invest troops, it is difficult to play a decent threat.

Time is spent in boredom.

Until the end of the first half, the game was played in this mode.

Both sides were helpless.

At the end of the first half, Zhang Yang made a helpless shrug gesture at the camera lens, meaninging, "We have done our best!" ”

On the other side, Arsene Wenger was completely unimpressed.

When he arrived in the locker room, Zhang Yang immediately adjusted his tactical play, and if he continued like this, it would be actually unfavorable to the team, Arsenal had been defending, maybe there would be a sudden attack in the second half? That would definitely catch the team off guard.

This must be prevented.

Either way, the team can't afford to lose the game, and a draw away from home is no big deal and an acceptable result.

So Zhang Yang began to arrange the defense.

First of all, the formation must be changed, fortunately, the team has not done targeted training, and it is still very easy to add a defender to the 451 formation, the only thing is that Sneijder has to go to the front and stand parallel to Braniff.

In addition, Zhang Yang is also constantly emphasizing defense and compressing the formation.

"We want to be conservative!"

"More conservative!"

"How conservative and how to play! If they don't attack, we don't attack either! ”

"Don't plug in the backcourt players, just defend and don't give them any chance!"

“……”

No matter how Arsenal plays, the team has to defend, and only when it is safe to do so, will they take the initiative to find opportunities.

How to find opportunities?

Long shot!

"David go up! Boom their team! The wings, the midfielders, all hang the ball forward! Let Tony fight for the point! ”

Zhang Yang's arrangement explained the style of play, and everyone understood it.

Because...... It's so easy!

Offense is all about quick counter-attacks, long-range shots and long passes, shrinking up when there is no chance, and desperate defense that doesn't give the opponent a chance.

"We're not in a hurry, it's an away game, it's acceptable if we don't score!"

Zhang Yang gave the players a settling shot.

————

Arsene Wenger probably wouldn't have imagined that Zhang Yang would make such a tactical arrangement.

In the second half, Vardy was substituted and Arbeloa was substituted, but it was not unexpected, and the Frenchman had long expected that Millwall would adjust the formation to 451, which is their style of play.

The "dual-core" parallel position is remarkable.

But when the game started, Wenger couldn't calm down, because the game was completely unexpected, Millwall didn't press at all, they were not in a hurry at all, the formation was pulled further back, and even the middle line was reluctant.

Arsenal don't go up and they don't plan to come up.

So there was a strange scene in the game: Millwall players were constantly passing the ball at the back, occasionally passing the ball to the front, and most of the Arsenal players also stayed in their own half.

The two teams seem to be playing a tacit game and wasting time.

At the beginning, the media and fans didn't care, and the caution of the game was always correct, and after ten minutes, they realized that something was wrong.

Where is this competition!

Both teams are doing relaxation exercises on the field!

"Sky Sports" commentator Paul Skoll couldn't help but complain with the corners of his mouth, "Arsenal doesn't take the initiative, Millwall doesn't take the initiative either, I don't know what to do in such a game, the two sides seem to be playing a draw." ”

"It's true that a draw is acceptable, but if the game goes on like this, time runs out...... Probably the fans won't be satisfied! ”