Arsene Wenger's fears were quickly fulfilled. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

In the last two Premier League games in 1999, Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Aston Villa and 2-2 away to promoted Maredding. After two draws, they not only relinquished top spot, but were also narrowed by Chelsea and Liverpool behind them.

Both draws look a bit of a pity, but there are clues to follow on closer inspection.

The first game against Aston Villa took place three days after the battle at the top of the table, and Arsene Wenger made a decisive move to avoid a repeat of the mistakes he made by using a large number of substitutes. Jumo, Bergkamp, Ashley Cole, Pire, Thierry Henry, the winners of the last game were all on the bench, and Wiltord, who returned from injury to the 18-man squad, did not play and watched the game with the first three of the aforementioned names.

Aston Villa's strength is not weak, but the style was overcome by Arsenal, and it was repeatedly defeated. This time in Highbury, their good ground offense, with abundant physical support, made the opponent's aging lineup very difficult to deal with. As they became more confident, they frequently used skillful interplay to tear apart the opposition's defence and create chances.

Fortunately, Arsenal still has Lehmann in high and low blocking, as well as Ball, Martin Keown, and Winterburn, the five old defenders are playing their residual heat, and after paying a lot of tuition, the finally somewhat enlightened Kolo Toure is checking and filling in the gaps.

The presence of these people may not be able to withstand higher-level attacks, but a team like Aston Villa in the middle of the Premier League does not have the best attacking means and attacking power. Even if they play well to keep Arsenal at bay, they often fall short when they take chances, and it's normal to end up with a point.

The 0-0 scoreline was not satisfactory to the fans, but what was more worrying was the depth of the bench for this Arsenal team. The winter transfer window is about to open, and it is a time when rumours are flying, so in the immediate aftermath of the game, all followers have their eyes on it, as if they were all experts, and quickly associate a bunch of names that have resounded in football with Arsenal.

Leaving it completely unattended and not forgetting any key issues.

Money!

A team that wants to build a team that costs up to £470 million on its own hematopoietic ability will not be able to reconnect with the "bigname" in the transfer market for at least five years!

Of course, the collective YY of fans and the media belongs to human nature, and there is no need to pay taxes anyway, and it is associative as much as you like.

In the second game, Arsenal played away to promoted Madedin, this time with almost all the main players, the attack played remarkably, but the old illness relapsed in defence, and the two goals conceded were caused by the lack of high points in the penalty area.

You Mo played as a midfielder in this game, and his performance was only average, and his form dropped back. Two goals were scored by Bergkamp and Andreas Pire, while Thierry Henry provided an assist.

After such a game, Arsene Wenger was the best person to carry the blame.

Youmo's skills at his feet have not yet allowed him to become an all-round midfielder, and in Vieira's absence, the team's attacking organising task is more often left to Wiltord, who has returned from injury. It was the first time that the two had partnered in two backs, and there was a lack of tacit understanding between them, and personal mistakes were more frequent than before, and the state problems were revealed.

In this case, it is obviously more appropriate to put Youmo in the central defender position, a team of Reading's level does not need him to wreak havoc in midfield, and air defense is the most urgent thing for the team.

As a result, the team's defensive problems have resurfaced, and the winter window is urgent.

Buy, buy, buy, after losing the top spot in two consecutive draws, the major media in London are already impatient.

In contrast, Manchester United, who also underperformed, suffered two consecutive defeats at Leeds United, but still easily won West Brom at home and finally regained the top spot by goal difference over Arsenal.

The Flying Bootgate incident didn't die down quickly, and if it weren't for Ferguson's high prestige and hard wrists, it would have been inevitable that the team would have been in turmoil. Despite this, after the defeat at Leeds United, the overwhelming criticism was directed at the old Scottish man, who felt that he was too aggressive and the players were under too much pressure.

Beckham was not present on the road, with Blomqvist taking the right midfield position and Yao Xia as a substitute.

These two are the beneficiaries of the Flying Boots Gate incident, but unfortunately the overall state of the team has declined significantly, and neither of them has the strength to turn things around, so they can only reap the bitter fruits with the team.

After returning to the home stadium, Beckham finally appeared in the stands at Old Trafford, his brow bone wrapped in gauze, and he looked a little lonely.

Like Ferguson, he also chose to remain silent in front of the media, allowing the tabloid reporters to jump up and down, but not to open Chrysostom.

This cold treatment gave the team a respite, and did not shake the morale of the army because of his presence.

Contrary to the previous game, this time Yao Xia took his place and started the game for the first time this season. As a result, the big-hearted little fat man was not frightened by the big scene at Old Trafford, in addition to his personal performance, his skillful cooperation with Lu Wei made all the audience's eyes shine!

It turns out that Manchester United can play like this!

In the original tactical system, Beckham's crosses occupied a high tactical position, but the Englishman's own breakthrough ability was mediocre and his speed was not fast enough.

Yao Xia is completely different.

The speed of the little fat man has nothing to say, he can run in 100 meters in 11 seconds, although the combination of man and ball technology is a little bit worse, but with a passing master like Lu Wei, the mission he wants to complete is not difficult. As long as his physical condition is up to standard, his side breakthrough is very sharp!

After Manchester United abandoned their famous 442 wing-flying tactics, Ruud van Nistelrooy was often the only one in the box to catch the fighter. Fewer people means it is more difficult to grab points, and in this case, no matter how high the quality of Beckham's crosses, it is difficult to guarantee the success rate, let alone direct assists to score.

Breaking through means creating chaos, and even if the quality of the cross is not comparable, passing in motion can create a much greater threat than passing at rest. Yao Xia knew this, and tried to choose a horizontal pass or an inverted triangle cross with low difficulty in the cross, and left the rest of the tasks to his teammates to solve.

It turned out to be good, with a direct assist from United's three goals and a chaotic cross that gave his team-mates an easy chance to pick it up!

Fight to fame!

In fact, to be honest, in such a difficult competition, Yao Xia, as a son of the Oriental Wind with a mysterious origin, is not worthy of special mention for having such a performance with the help of Lu Wei. However, the aftermath of the flying boots door is still there, and there are rumors about Beckham's negative departure are flying all over the sky, and it is normal to have an eye-catching performance in this situation and get a lot of popularity.

Fortunately, after experiencing enough ups and downs, Yao Xia gained a heart that was not commensurate with his age, and in the face of all kinds of beautiful words, his low-key humility won unanimous praise.

The last day of 1999 was spent in all kinds of strange rumors and warm blessings, and the new century opened its arms to everyone.

The Premier League continues to be a high-intensity affair, and just after the New Year's holiday, it is an FA Cup contest.

Arsenal face Birmingham City in the Championship and it was no surprise that Arsene Wenger once again fielded a squad with an average age of 27.6. The final result was not surprising, with Wiltord's goal just before half-time giving Arsenal a narrow 1-0 win and progression to the next round.

With three games at the end of the game, Arsenal's Christmas fixture is in its final fixture, and it will be the main event.

In the fifth round of the Champions League group stage, away to Benfica!

With the first leg at Highbury Stadium a 1-1 draw, the media was generally not optimistic about Arsenal's road trip. This lack of optimism is amplified especially when it comes to the apparent decline in form in the last three games and Benfica's impressive home record.

But fortunately, the previous two wins and two draws have laid a good foundation for the line, and even if this game fails to get out of the way, Ajax can still enter the knockout round by winning Ajax at home in the last round.

This psychological advantage brought some fresh air to the dreary dressing room atmosphere, and the long-lost laughter began to reverberate in the empty Stadium of Light as he settled into the venue the day before the game.

The 63,000-seat stadium, which once saw two consecutive Champions League victories, is still shrouded in the curse of Gutmann. Even Eusebio's prayers at his tombstone could not erase the sadness of not winning a single of the six European finals.

In fact, many laws, strange circles, and curses in world football are caused by coincidence + strength, and both are indispensable. But if you are burdened with a psychological shadow because of this, and you are burdened with the burden of wanting to win and being afraid of losing, then there is inevitability in the coincidence, and you can't believe in evil or not.

Of course, for the current Benfica team, which lacks well-known stars, it is already a super level to qualify for the Champions League group stage, and it is a bit too much to want to go to the end.

After four games, they have five points from one win, two draws and one loss, and are third in the group behind Lokomotiv Moscow due to goal difference. Behind them, there is an Ajax team that is one point behind, still working hard for the last hope.

With 8 points, 5 points, 5 points, 4 points, with two rounds remaining, any team could be the top team in the group, or they could go home after the group stage. Such an anxious situation is something that every team should not take lightly, and even if it is difficult to make it further in the knockout rounds, the huge prize money that comes with qualifying from the group is enough to make people salivate.

The qualification bonus of 12 million Swiss francs, or about 8 million pounds, is something that these four clubs with poor financial conditions cannot ignore. For this goal, the domestic league can be put aside for the time being and concentrate on playing these two games.

In terms of personnel, Arsenal did the same. However, successive large-scale rotations will obviously make the team's performance fluctuate, and even if all the main players are changed in this game, it will be difficult to repeat the grandeur of Old Trafford.

Arsene Wenger knew this and praised his opponents in his pre-match press conference.

“...... They were the first team to break Real Madrid's five-game winning streak and have produced a great star like Eusebio. Although they have not been as strong in recent years as they were in the sixties and seventies, their wealth of experience in European competition has always allowed them to perform well and become opponents that no team should look down on. ”

When talking about the opposing young manager Jose Mourinho, the Frenchman was not disturbed by the unpleasant memories and still replied with a smile: "He did a good job, he impressed me when I was in Barcelona. This should be his first time as head coach, but his extensive experience as an assistant coach will allow him to adapt to the transition quickly. ”

Since the age difference between the two is 15 years old, and the qualifications are incomparable, the tone of Wenger's predecessor is normal, and the reporters did not find fault, but just asked Mourinho at the press conference held afterwards to see what kind of answer will come out.

Naturally, they were overjoyed by the results.

Sure enough, young and vigorous, crazy enough, proud enough!

“...... Are you asking me what kind of manager Arsène Wenger is? Sorry, my answer is no. ”

"Why? Ok, I'll tell you the answer. ”

"Remember Nikola Anelka?"

"Yes, that's right, he was the world transfer record holder at the time, and Arsène Wenger raised him to become a top player. But it's a pity that even his compatriots didn't take the manager seriously, and he thought about how to leave after the team won the championship. ”

"That's not the point, the point is what happened later!"

"Maybe you know what made that move....... Yes, that's right, it was because another guy on the team was rough with him and broke his arm in the locker room. ”

'It's hard to imagine how much a manager has control over the dressing room.

"In contrast, I appreciate Alex Ferguson's approach."

As soon as such remarks came out, they immediately became the object of reprinting by major media, and they could indeed stir up a good topic when they were still in the aftermath of the flying boots.

How important is locker room control to a manager?

This kind of topic is a matter of opinion, and it is difficult to decide the winner in a short period of time.

However, for the Arsenal players, the atmosphere that has just been relaxed will inevitably become solemn.

Hot face on cold ass, this taste.......

"It seems that the effect has been achieved without us taking action."

The night before the game, Pat Rice came uninvited, swaggered in Youmo's room, and said to himself: "Arsène is still too kind, what kind of person Jose Mourinho is, he should know very well!" ”

"yes, maybe, still, I can't pull my face." You Mo was busy practicing handstand push-ups, his face was red and his neck was thick with tiredness, and he gasped for breath after speaking.

"What's the use of you practicing this?" Pat Rice approached to take a closer look, and after a while exclaimed, "This sense of balance...... No wonder your aerial moves look more stretched than your ground moves! ”

You Mo listened to the pain of the egg, and he couldn't reach it even if he wanted to rub it.

"Are you, are you, complimenting, me?" (To be continued.) )