Chapter 508: I've Done My Duty!
Now Arsenal have to face a 'can't play in the final and vent all the frustration in the league'.
Braniff's technique at his feet was so good that his dribbling left Arsenal scratching their heads.
Braniff's excellence is nothing special to speak of.
Branifer belonged to the 'all-round' player before, after getting the follower effect of 'Words and Spirits', the ability to dribble quickly improved, that kind of improvement is the whole, it is based on the player's ability, and it is not like many players, what are the characteristics: for example, he is good at using his body and speed to pass others, he likes to lie the ball forward with his big feet, and then fight for speed with the opposing player, directly unreasonable and brutal, such as Kaka, C-Ronaldo are a little biased towards this type, their speed is very fast, and the body is also very strong, It's often hard to stop as long as you rush up, but of course, their skills are also excellent, and the above refers to most of the ways to pass.
Some stars are good at using ball control ability, that is, foot skills to pass people, such as 'alien' Ronaldo, Messi, or many South American players, have this characteristic, they firmly control the ball in front of them, can stretch out their feet to control at any time, the opponent wants to grab it, often can only tackle the ball decisively, and if you can't tackle it, it is a foul.
In addition, there is a pure 'master of control', their control of football has reached the level of 'play', often in the process of ball control, inadvertently completed the pass, among which the representative is Ronaldinho, Zidane and Pirlo and other stars.
It is difficult to say which one of Braniff's excellence belongs, he is close to all three, but the level of the three is not so extreme.
In terms of speed and explosiveness, he can't catch up with C-Ronaldo and Kaka; When it comes to the ability to control the ball, he can't catch up with Messi and Ronaldo; When it comes to real control of football, there is no way to compare it with Zidane and Pirlo.
Braniff's ability is very well-rounded, and he doesn't develop any personal characteristics, which means almost 'unbiased', but it doesn't mean that he is easy to defend, because he is still a lot better than most players.
When Arsenal players defend, even if they know that Braniff is going to pass, they don't know how the opponent is going to pass.
It's hard to keep!
After successive breakaways, the Arsenal players found that they could not 'steal the football', and with this mentality to defend, it was easy for the opponent to find opportunities.
Their mindset should be 'limit each other's speed'.
As long as the speed is limited so that the opponent cannot pass quickly, and the number of teammates who retreat increases, the opponent's rapid counterattack will lose the threat.
ββββ
Arsenal's response was decent, but to achieve results, it still depends on the players' performance.
Many of the Arsenal players on the pitch were eager to score, and only by widening the gap and determining the advantage of the game could they retain the fourth place in the league.
In this mentality, Arsenal is still a little negligent in defending.
In the 31st minute of the game, after Arsenal was tackled down the middle, Quaresma quickly and completely dribbled forward, crossed the halfway line and handed it to Braniff.
Braniff received the pass and rushed forward quickly, past Cesc Fabregas who was retreating back to the defence, and then past centre-back Toure before handing the ball to Weston in front of the defence.
Weston instantly 'possessed with aura' and fired a powerful shot that went straight to the bottom corner.
Goalkeeper Lehmann made a save, but by the time he got into position, the ball had already flown into the net.
βGooooalοΌοΌοΌβ
"The ball is in!"
"Curtis Weston! The youngster, who came through the Millwall Academy, scored the first goal for the team! β
Weston was very excited after the goal, he had very high expectations for his future, but the reality is that there is no competition between Bent and Vardy in the team, he has not scored for a long time, he has occasional appearances, and his performance is very average, every goal is very important to him, even if it is an inconsequential game, as long as there is a goal, it is equal to a performance, he can want to be listed as a 'useless player', so the only way is to leave.
Although Weston trusts Zhang Yang very much and feels that he has a good relationship with Zhang Yang, professional football is not a relationship, if he does not perform for a long time and does not contribute to the team, it is impossible to stay in the team all the time.
Weston didn't want to leave.
It's not just Millwall that is a good team, he came through the Millwall academy and has an unusually loving love for the team.
There's a familiar environment, and there are teammates who can get along with each other, and it's not a good choice to leave.
Now that he can score a goal, Weston is still quite satisfied, and he hopes that he will continue to improve slowly, and in a year or two, he may be able to become the main force of the team.
That's what he's looking forward to.
If Weston knew the mood of the flamboyant, he would not have been too optimistic about the goal.
Why did Weston score goals?
Say what you say!
That's the credit of Zhang Yang.
Arsenal's defense is indeed a little slack, but it is not easy to break the goal, Millwall put in the attack, most of the time there are only three players, Quaresma on the side is still pulling back, and Braniff can't rush too forward.
In such a situation, it is not easy to break down Arsenal's goal.
When he saw the best opportunity in the game so far, Zhang Yang decisively used his words, first to establish an advantage for the team, as for the rest of the game......
Ahem......
There's only so much Zhang Yang can do.
If the team can't win, there's nothing to do.
After Weston scored and the coach's bench finished a brief celebration, Zhang Yang also looked at the Arsenal dugout on the side, Wenger was frowning the media and looking at the game, as if he felt the gaze from the side, and Wenger also looked back.
Zhang Yang showed a friendly smile, and what he wanted to express was, "I've done it here, and I won't interfere if you win or lose next!" β
Zhang Yang is also full of sympathy for Arsenal.
Arsenal want to compete with Liverpool for fourth place in the league, given his personal relationship with Arsene Wenger, he naturally prefers Arsenal, but the game is the game, Millwall must think about themselves first, and when it comes to the game, he must also let the players work hard.
It's sportsmanship.
Of course, Zhang Yang's own ability is completely outside the scope of 'sportsmanship', and he does not interfere to ensure the fairness of the game, as for whether Arsenal can win, it depends on the next performance of Arsenal and Millwall.
Zhang Yang felt that he had done his best.
Arsene Wenger probably had a different understanding, with a wry smile on his face, and Millwall sent in a substitute line-up to find the Arsenal goal first.
What else could he say?
The flamboyant smile expression was also understood by Wenger, "We have released the water to such an extent, you are still behind the score, and I can't do anything." β
As a result, Wenger was even more dissatisfied with the performance of the players on the field, and he probably didn't know that the culprit of the goal was Zhang Yang, otherwise he would not have thought about Millwall's 'squad release'.
Arsenal were still a little too anxious next.
After two consecutive waves of attacks, he was caught off guard by Millwall's sudden fast attack, but goalkeeper Lehmann played steadily and saved Braniff's sudden shot to prevent Arsenal from conceding a second goal.
In the end, by the end of the first half, Arsenal could not equalize.
At halftime, Zhang Yang just asked the players to continue to work hard, and didn't talk about anything in particular, a set of eighty percent of the substitute lineup, it is quite good to be able to play like this, and he is still very satisfied with the performance of the players.
In the second half, Arsenal's attack was still very active, but it was obvious that they played much more consistently, no longer as impatient as in the previous half, probably because Wenger's reminder played a role.
A calm Arsenal is still difficult to entangle.
Millwall's squad strength, not to mention the overall disadvantage, but the disadvantage is still obvious, there is a gap between various positions and Arsenal, when Arsenal plays more steadily, it is a greater threat to the goal.
In the 71st minute of the game, Arsenal finally scored.
The goal relied on an assist from Cesc Fabregas, who linked up the middle and then played a traditional pass that took the ball straight to the right of the box, where Van Persie started chasing the ball and fired a clean volley.
The soccer ball goes straight to the near corner.
Goalkeeper Hislop has nothing to do about it, even if he is very experienced, in the face of this kind of time-scrambled shot, he can only stand in place and shrug his shoulders helplessly at his teammates.
"Arsenal equalise!"
"It's Van Persie! The Dutch striker has been fantastic and he works well with Cesc Fabregas......
The score became 1-1.
Arsenal couldn't help but let out a long breath.
For Millwall, it doesn't matter at all, but for Arsenal, it's a do-or-die game, like the final game of the Champions League group stage, and their situation needs to be watched not only for the game, but also for the opponent.
In the other match, Liverpool and Charlton played to a 1-1 draw.
If Arsenal lose to Millwall and the game ends there, Liverpool will tie the points and rely on two more goal difference to finish fourth in the league, and Arsenal will miss out on next season's Champions League qualification.
It's better to tie the scoreline now, or at least better, as long as Liverpool don't beat Charlton Athletic, they can take advantage of points and sit in fourth place in the league.
Manager Arsene Wenger also let out a long breath.
However, it is not yet time to relax, Arsenal's situation is still very tense, and it is very unrealistic to expect a draw or defeat from their rivals, and the opportunity must be grasped in their own hands.
Arsene Wenger hurried to the sidelines and told his players to keep working hard and try to overtake the score.