The Champions League semi-finals are coming!

Arsenal are ready to fight.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Arsene Wenger said with confidence: "After a long and hard work, Arsenal have come to the most critical moment in the league and in the Champions League, I trust my lads, they are ready to win glory for Arsenal and prove to the world that Arsenal are quality, we will not take any opponent lightly, we are looking to do our best!" ”

Arsene Wenger spoke to all of Arsenal's players.

Maybe at the end of the season, they will have mixed feelings, anticipation, excitement, nervousness, gains and losses, but all this is normal, now all they have to do is to be the best version of themselves!

Difficult times are more likely to inspire team cohesion, and Arsenal, no matter what difficulties they have experienced this season, have made the team more united than ever!

It is this unity that makes the whole Arsenal team twist together and work together to get through the difficulties!

Ashley Cole and Campbell are still not back in the starting line-up, their form is still recovering, the key game is just around the corner, Wenger will not rush to add pressure to the players and the whole team, sometimes he does lack the spirit of adventure, but this is not the time to take a risk!

On the night of the game, Highbury was unprecedented, with countless fans holding up homemade slogans and banners in the stands, with the memories of the stars, the moments of the great game, and the support for the stars, and the most mixed feelings for the fans were the fans' show of love for Highbury!

I have a deep attachment to this stadium.

Arsenal have announced that they will move into a new stadium next season!

Farewell to Highbury entered the countdown.

As far as the Champions League is concerned, today will be Arsenal's last European game in Highbury!

An era. The end of a long memory is coming!

Qin Xiong followed Henry's line into the field. He hadn't reached that kind of unforgettable affection for Highbury. He's only been here for two years, and for him, Highbury, or next season's Emirates Stadium, hasn't yet condensed the urge to "live and die".

However, when you look around the stadium and see the Gunners fans' attachment to Highbury, he will touch a slight heartstring.

Highbury was his first step into the heart of European football.

Over here. He was recognized, transformed from a supernova to a first-class star, and maybe in two years, as long as he maintained his performances for both seasons, he would be the undisputed superstar!

Retracting his gaze, Qin Xiong's battle intent was majestic, and his expression was majestic, like a god of war.

For the Champions League semi-finals, Arsenal naturally attaches unprecedented importance.

Villarreal are on the road today and are unable to field their strongest squad due to injury. This is Arsenal's chance, a godsend for Arsenal to advance to the final and take the lead!

It must be grasped. If you can't establish an advantage at home and go to the away stadium, who would dare to say that the battle at the Love Song Stadium will be easier than the battle at the Bernabeu?

"The first leg of the Champions League semi-finals is about to begin, Arsenal and Villarreal, who have reached the semi-finals for the first time in history, have not reached the Champions League semi-finals before, no matter who stands in the end and who lies down, both teams have already made history and deserve our applause and high respect!

Such a breakthrough is an admirable achievement.

Arsenal have been plagued by injuries this season, and fans must have been impressed by Qin Xiong and Thierry Henry's repeated performances in the middle of the season, and it was the individual performance of the two key stars that allowed Arsenal to hold on to the end of the season not only to be at the top of the league table, but also to complete a new breakthrough in the Champions League!

Things are now improving for Arsenal, with Campbell and Ashley Cole back from injury, but Arsene Wenger has put two key players on the bench for the sake of caution.

Villarreal's situation is the opposite, as they come out on the road.

With goalkeeper Patrick Vieira suspended, Gonzalo leaving the season with his preferred centre-back partner, and Bolivian international Pena suffering a knee injury against Barcelona, the absence of these three defenders is simply fatal!

The only concern for Villarreal today was at the back, but will they be able to withstand Arsenal's frantic and incisive attack?

Arsenal started today 451.

Goalkeeper: Lehmann.

Defenders: Eboue, Toure, Senderos, Flamini.

Midfielders: Ljungberg, Cesc Fabregas, Qin Xiong, Silva, Pire.

Striker: Thierry Henry.

Villarreal started 442.

Goalkeeper: Barbosa.

Defenders: Venta, Alvarez, Arsu, Arrua Barena.

Midfielders: Tachinadi, Senna, Riquelme, Sorin.

Forwards: Jose Mari, Forlan.

The game starts soon, and Arsenal will kick off first! ”

Villarreal can be said to have relied on the South American gang to go from a La Liga promotion team to the stage one step away from the top of Europe in less than 10 years.

Riquelme is the core, Fran, Senna, Sorin, Arua Barrena and others are all from South America, including their head coach Chilean engineer Pellegrini, this may be a gamble for Villarreal FC, but it has created unprecedented brilliance!

Due to the problems at the back in this game, Pellegrini's lineup is actually very defensive.

For example, Sorin on the left wing, he is a wide player who can attack and defend at the same time, and he also played as a full-back when he was in the Argentine national team.

Manuel Pellegrini clearly pays attention to the protection of the wing position, Senna sits in the middle of the defense, Tacinadi is by his side, focusing on the help in the penalty area, but in fact, there is no opposition to defend Pire, but the main pass of the wide player cutting inside.

After the start of the game, it was Qin Xiong who was opposite Riquelme.

Arsenal made a tentative attack after the opening kick-off.

Qin Xiong originally cared about Riquelme in the midfield, at least he would care a lot when attacking.

Because if he has a frontal impact, his opponent is a midfielder, but once the opponent has a defender-oriented central midfielder or even a forward player like Frank Lampard, Gerrard, or Scholes, and harasses Qin Xiong behind him, it will definitely make him extremely difficult when impacting head-on.

However, to Qin Xiong's surprise, Riquelme would hardly interfere with him.

The other party would symbolically follow a few steps, and after Qin Xiong ran nimbly, Riquelme simply did not follow.

Qin Xiong didn't know that Riquelme belonged to a classical forward midfielder, lacking speed and explosiveness, and his physical fitness was not particularly strong, and his enthusiasm for defensive participation was really limited.

This discovery made Qin Xiong have a higher grasp of the game! (To be continued......)