Chapter 546: Picking Up the Leak Again

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In fact, not only is the competition between the top two teams suffocating, but the battle for the remaining two Champions League spots is also hellish cruel. Tottenham, which was originally very stable in the third place, has only won two draws in the last two rounds due to injury suspensions and schedule problems, and Liverpool, who is fourth, has just lost again, which instantly gave the team behind it a chance to overtake.

By the end of the 27th round, the biggest point difference between Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United was only five points, and with eleven games left in the league, it was hard to say who would come out on top. As a result, Pochettino, Jurgen Klopp, Maurizio Sarri and Paul Scholes – the last of whom is still known mainly from his playing days, have also given the order to sprint in advance, and each team has almost begun to shift its focus back to China.

As a side effect of this state, it is difficult for other teams in the Premier League to pick up points from the six strong teams mentioned above, and even the second-tier teams such as West Ham United and Newcastle can only hope for a draw, which makes the polarization of strength and weakness in the Premier League table this season even more obvious.

However, because they pay too much attention to the gains and losses in the league, the investment of "big6" in other competitions will inevitably be weakened, resulting in a certain decline in their output in European competitions.

Since the knockout stages of the Champions League have one less round than the Europa League, the quarter-finals of the former are divided into four weeks, while the latter have to play two rounds in quick succession in the same period of time, and finally decide their quarter-finals in the same cycle. So in terms of schedule, the teams that participate in the Champions League will have an easier time than those who play in the Europa League.

But for England teams, the difference is not as big as in other countries, because of the FA Cup and League Cup finals, the schedules of several strong teams have been disrupted, and it is really not easy.

No, Tottenham and Manchester United, who played in the Champions League in midweek in February, failed to take advantage of the first leg, with the former losing 3-1 at the feet of Bayern Munich and hoping to play at home in two weeks' time. And the latter is even worse, losing 1-2 at home to Real Madrid, whose results have steadily improved after Guti took over, can almost be declared out in advance.

And in the Europa League quarter-finals kick-off on Thursday, the two surviving Premier League teams did not perform too well. The Gunners, who were in a good position to qualify, sent a large number of rotation players on their home turf, but they almost got away with it, conceding two goals in a row in the first half and being equalised by FC Zurich on aggregate. Fortunately, Li Mudi's adjustment was very timely, and the players also adjusted their mentality quickly, and also completed two goals after the rematch, ending the game with a 2-2 draw, and advancing to the second round of the knockout round with a final aggregate score of 5-3.

Chelsea's performance was even worse, as they suffered a narrow defeat at Spartak Moscow and had to play an extra time with the aggregate score of the two legs equal. Fortunately, the Blues still have the upper hand overall, and the players need to be more experienced, and they survived the unfavorable conditions in February, which were still very cold in Russia, scoring two goals in quick succession and successfully progressing to the round of 16 with an aggregate score of 3-1.

Then, the draw for the second round of the knockout round of the Europa League was released, and Arsenal were unlucky to meet Hoffenheim, a strong opponent in the top five leagues, and the schedule was also a little unfavorable. Chelsea, on the other hand, seem to have a much better prospect than their city rivals by drawing Romania's Bucharest.

However, it will be a matter of time to prepare, as the Gunners and Blues are set to embark on their next league campaign in two days' time, with the exception of Manchester City, Liverpool and their respective rivals being rescheduled for Sunday's Carabao Cup final, with the remaining eight fixtures set to take place on Saturday, which will be a huge challenge for some teams.

Fortunately, Arsenal's opponent in this round is Norwich, who have basically locked a relegation place, although they are going to play away, but the distance is not too far, and this additional cost can be directly ignored in the face of the huge difference in strength between the two sides. And most of the team's main players don't have to worry too much because they didn't play in midweek.

However, considering that next week's schedule is another two league games, Li Mudi still worked out a reserved starting line-up, allowing players such as Iwobi and Kalum Chambers, who have rarely played on the bench, to get consecutive starts. The team's formation has also changed to 4-3-3, so that while maintaining the firepower of their own attack, it is also possible to let the core players play half a game in several key positions to adjust the state for the next few tough games.

The result was such a nondescript Gunners who were not up to the league vice-captain Norwich, and after 90 minutes, the visitors returned home with a 2-0 victory, leaving only Carrow Road in mourning.

A day later, Manchester City won the Carabao Cup final at the new Wembley Stadium with a solid penalty shoot-out victory over Liverpool, and after a season they won the League Cup for the seventh time in the club's history.

The Reds have missed out on their first title since 2012 and are still empty-handed for eight and a half years, which is hard for them to accept after boasting they have returned to the top of their game under Jurgen Klopp. And the pressure on Uncle Scum is naturally not small, after all, the strength of the team lineup on paper is not inferior to other European giants, in the five and a half years since he became the owner of Anfield, he has won five or six runners-up, but he always lacks the luck to take the last step, whether the American boss behind the club will continue to maintain his previous trust in him, at least now it seems to be unknown.

Aside from the restrained celebrations of the Blue Moon, Arsenal's performance throughout February was actually commendable, and despite being out of the FA Cup, the European journey was relatively smooth. What's more, their winning streak in the league has been ferocious, with a win over Norwich City now on a five-game winning streak and is likely to extend that number in the future.

At the same time, rivals Manchester City have played a game less, bringing the gap between the two sides to seven points temporarily, making the Gunners' league title prospects look more optimistic.

It was in this positive external environment that Li Mudi and his team continued to consolidate their leading position in the standings by beating their little brothers Fulham at home in the 29th round of the league on March 3.

However, the good mood of the Gunners fans finally ended the day before Women's Day, and in the 30th round of the league on Sunday, the Premier League leaders visited Elland Road Stadium to face Leeds United, who were much weaker than themselves, but the whole game seemed to fall into sleepwalking. The efficiency of 6-of-27 shots allowed Li to make a rare two fires in quick succession at half-time and at the end of the break, but it didn't make much difference, and the Gunners would probably have lost at the feet of the promoted side had it not been for Golovin's cross that caused an own goal by the opposing centre-back Matthew Penington.

However, the 1-1 scoreline was clearly not satisfactory to Arsenal and their supporters, and with City's winning streak still unstoppable, Lee's side were only five points ahead of the latter with a game in hand, before the Blues could win the replay in midweek, and the distance between the two teams was at a point where a win could have turned it around.

The crisis reported in the media is anything but alarmist, and although the Gunners boss has once again issued a gag order to refrain from any kind of interviews for the time being, the outside world has found that the atmosphere in Arsenal's training is still somewhat oppressive through the photos taken by the paparazzi who have painstakingly taken secretly. Several strikers who wasted opportunities several times in the last game often had black faces, which gave outsiders infinite reverie, and some tabloids began to fabricate fake news such as infighting, which attracted the attention of many people who eat melons.

However, the momentum did not last long before it dissipated immediately, as United reversed their rivals 2-1 at home to their rivals in the Premier League replay on 10 March, continuing to push their way closer to Champions League qualification while helping their rivals Arsenal to resolve the crisis they had just encountered.

Li Muddy, who was in a good mood, also praised his former colleague Scholes on his personal social media, which was imitated by many gun fans, so in the next few days, there was a strange phenomenon in British football circles that has not been seen for decades, that is, Arsenal fans are actually thanking Manchester United for their selfless help, which makes many old fans who have experienced the era of gun demons feel crying and laughing.

The Arsenal, which relaxed their mentality, quickly regained their form, first using the home momentum to defeat the Bundesliga powerhouse Hoffenheim in the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinals on the 11th, although the score of 2-0 is not too good, but it is also a relatively safe lead, judging from the bookmaker's adjusted odds, the Gunners' promotion situation is obviously more optimistic.

The following weekend, the Premier League leaders won another crucial morale-boosting game as they beat their biggest rivals Tottenham Hotspur by a single goal on home soil, completing the double against the latter during the season and blowing up the whole of North London.

Although there was only one goal in this game, the process was far more fiery than the performances of both sides in last year's opener, as evidenced by the fact that the referee on duty, Joe Bolenson, showed a total of 11 yellow cards and two red cards.

Bellerin and Danny Rose clashed in the second half over a scramble and were sent off for their uncool actions. In addition, the two teams also formed two other gunpowder-filled confrontations during the game, but fortunately they were controlled in time.

At this time, it shows the advantage of Arsenal playing at home, with nearly 60,000 fans cheering on the scene, at least in terms of momentum, the Gunners have the absolute upper hand. Even though Tottenham has a number of active England internationals, Harry Kane is the captain and first core of the Three Lions, but in the competition between clubs, the status of the star of the rivalry can make him booed in huge waves throughout the game.

At the last minute, Ali and Ramsey also withdrew due to injuries and could not continue to hold on, adding a strong footnote to this fierce derby match.

Fortunately, the two big players of their respective teams have too much misfortune, Ali's knee ligament strain only needs about two weeks of rest to recover, and the Welshman's muscle injury is not very serious, at most only 20 days of rehabilitation, although it has an impact on the team's preparation, but can barely be overcome.

Four days later, Li Mudi led his team to Germany, where they lost 2-1 to Hoffenheim in the second leg of the Europa League quarter-finals, but eventually advanced to the quarter-finals with an aggregate score of 3-2. And in this away trip, Arsenal still have some reservations in terms of squad, this systematic rotation mechanism makes the players' fitness and competitive condition among the top six teams in the Premier League, providing a great boost for the final sprint at the end of the season.

The draw for the next stage of the European competition was also announced, and the Gunners met the big dark horse of the tournament, Solna AIK of the Swedish league, and their luck looked good. What is even more surprising is that Li Mudi also unearthed a reliable pillar centre-forward for Arsenal in two meetings with this opponent - Spaniard Chuma (nickname, full name Rafael González Rodriguez) born in 1997.

This high school striker, who was considered to be the infinite light of the future when he debuted in Seria, but because of his laziness and so-called personality, he faded all his aura in adulthood, and even fell to the point where he had no ball to play for half a year, which is embarrassing. Fortunately, he woke up in time to go abroad to find a new way out, and finally established himself in Solna AIK.

Although the potential should not be too high, the existing attributes are extremely reasonably distributed, and with a little tweaking, it is possible to become the next big Giroud. And there is not too much competition for teams at the moment, and the price will be relatively low, this kind of opportunity to pick up the leak is too rare, and the Gunners coach is in a good mood for a whole week.

After a secret bargain, Arsenal finally booked the former star in advance for a transfer fee of less than £3.2 million at the end of April, which few could have predicted at the time that would be one of the best evidence of Limdy's "diamond eye" in the transfer market.