Chapter 256: The Group of Death

The accusations against Lee Zihan, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United didn't last long, as journalists immediately found new hype. Maybe it's the happiest time of the year for journalists, because they don't have to go to great lengths to create topics and stories, because these two months will come to them on their own initiative.

In Zurich, Switzerland, the draw for the Champions League group for the new season began. Prior to the draw, UEFA presented awards to the best Champions League players from last season. Cristiano Ronaldo won the top scorer, and Bayern Munich, who won the treble, certainly did not let it become the biggest winner. They won the best goalkeeper, best team, best right-back, best coach, best midfielder and many other awards. And the title of the heavyweight Champions League player of the year did not go much to Bayern Munich's leading winger, Scarface Frank Ribery.

The seeded teams with the higher UEFA points are placed in Pot 1, followed by Pot 2, Pot 3 and Pot 4 below the seeded teams, with four teams in a group.

The Red Devils Manchester United, Ukrainian Super League giants Shakhtar Donetsk, Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen, and La Liga's Real Sociedad were placed in Group A. In this group, although Manchester United is a bit "endocrine disordered" this season, almost everyone is optimistic that they can win a promotion place from the other three teams. The remaining three teams are miserable, because they are relatively close in quality.

Super giants Real Madrid, European giants Li Zihan's old club Juventus, Turkish Super League giants Galasataray and Zuihou's Danish giants Copenhagen were placed in Group B. This group doesn't have a lot of pressure for Real Madrid, but it's a bit of pressure for Juventus.

Portuguese giants traditional European powerhouse Benfica, Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain, Greece's Olympiacos and Belgian giants Anderlecht have been drawn in Group C. For the current Grand Paris luxury line-up, there is no problem with qualifying. The "bricks" have said that Benfica and Anderlecht will compete for the remaining position, of course, a slap in the face or something is a later story.

The rest of Bayern and Manchester City are in a group; Chelsea and Schalke 04 have been grouped together by Swiss Super League giants Basel; Porto, another European powerhouse in the Portuguese Super League, is in a group with Atletico Madrid and Zenit, which is known as the European black shop; Super giants Barcelona once again "met" AC Milan, along with Eredivisie giants Ajax and Celtic, one of Scotland's super doubles.

Ahead of the group draw, all the media and football legends were suggesting that there would definitely be a group of death in this season's Champions League. Because the seeded teams in the first tier are not to be mentioned, and in the second tier of the teams, there are old giants such as Juventus and AC Milan, as well as traditional European regulars such as Schalke Zero, Marseille, Atletico Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, and of course, the indispensable Ligue 1 giants Paris. Among the teams in the third tier, there are strong teams such as Manchester City and Dortmund that have risen strongly in recent years, and at the same time, Ajax is not a soft persimmon. There may not be as many strong teams in Pot 4, but there is one team that should not be underestimated, Napoli in Serie A

Although the Group of Death was almost expected, everyone couldn't help but take a long breath when the Group of Death really appeared.

The Premier League giants Arsenal, the traditional European powerhouse French Ligue 1 Marseille, Dortmund, who swept the Champions League and the Bundesliga in recent years, and Napoli, the rising powerhouse of Serie A.

When the four teams came together in Group F, the corners of everyone's mouth twitched, and everyone knew how difficult this group was. These four teams may not be as close to giants as Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bundesliga giants Bayern, but in terms of strength, these four teams are the closest. No team is stronger, and no team is weaker. The fighting power of these four teams can be equated with each other, and a tough battle is about to begin.

Of course, the representatives of the other teams looked at the representatives of the four teams gloatingly, and the CEO of the club, Ivan Gazidis, who attended the draw on behalf of Arsenal, had a rather ugly face, and of course the other three teams did the same. When the camera swept over Dortmund's representative CEO Watzke, you could clearly see his frowning brows.

The next day, the media began to sing the praises of Arsenal. Because Arsenal is in the most trouble in this group, although Gotze "jumped" to Bayern, but Reus, one of the twin stars of Dortmund, is still staying, and Lewandoski, one of the hottest strikers in Europe who played a big four against Real Madrid last season, is still there. Napoli hired a veteran coach this summer, with former Liverpool decorated manager who won many league titles, as well as the Champions League and UEFA Cup, and led Chelsea to the UEFA Cup last season. At the same time, Napoli also brought in Real Madrid veterans such as Callejon and Higuain, and also loaned experienced Spanish goalkeeper Reina from the Reds Liverpool, and also included players such as Hamsik, Pandev, Insigne and Cannavaro Jr. who stayed from last season.

And what about Arsenal? In addition to Li Zihan, who spent 20 million to introduce, and the veteran Flamini, who didn't spend a penny, what other effective reinforcements do they have? Could it be Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gibbs from the Academy?

Moreover, Borussia Dortmund were runners-up in the Champions League last season, and they eliminated Real Madrid. Prior to last season, they had also interrupted Bayern's monopoly on the Bundesliga. Marseille are also long-established Champions League regulars, although there are no big names in Ligue 1 who don't have much attention. But no one can deny that this team is a tough bone to gnaw in Europe, they are the team that once monopolized the glory of the Ligue 1 title, and at the same time, they are rarely seen absent in Europe.

So the pressure on Arsene Wenger came again, and the house leak happened to rain overnight. The problem of reinforcements and Li Zihan has not passed, and the haze of the home shock loss in the first round of the new season has not yet dissipated. With such unfortunate news coming from the Champions League, perhaps it is not God testing the loyalty of Arsenal fans, but the vitality of Arsenal FC and Arsene Wenger's managerial position

Faced with such a group that can no longer die, Arsene Wenger also said in an interview that it is difficult to play in Europe. However, he was not as pessimistic as the media had suggested, telling reporters that Arsenal's chances were still very high. It's not easy for Arsenal to win, but is it easy for the other three teams to win? And the transfer window hasn't ended yet, and we still have 50 million to draw.

It's good that Wenger didn't mention this, but even the reporter couldn't help but roll his eyes when he mentioned this.

'Damn, your 70 million transfer funds have been hyped for two months, and they have long been hyped. Now even our media is rare to ridicule and attract attention to this broken topic, you are good, for fear that everyone will forget, keep mentioning 70 million. Malegobi's, there are really 70 million you TMD to spend, is it possible that the money can't be spent? There's no money to spend.'

Although Li Zihan trained in a closed manner, this does not mean that he has not been exposed to the news of the outside world. He also watched the draw for the Champions League, and he was going to cry when he saw Arsenal in such a group. Although he likes challenges, this challenge is too TMD, this is obviously sadistic!

If possible, he would really like to switch places with Chelsea or Atletico Madrid, which are relatively easy to match. It is estimated that Schalke can cause a little trouble for Chelsea, but there are two places. On the Atletico Madrid side, it is estimated that the only thing that can affect them a little is the European black store Porto, and of course, Zenit should not be underestimated.

In Li Zihan's view, even if it is a reversal with Manchester United, although Leverkusen and Shakhtar Donetsk are not soft persimmons, Real Madrid society also has a bit of "strength", but it is better than Dortmund, Napoli, Marseille and other groups.

The league has suffered a heavy blow, the lineup has not changed much, the recruitment is not strong, and the Champions League has suffered a death group, all kinds of signs indicate that perhaps this season's Arsenal will encounter the embarrassing situation of "all four empty".

If Arsenal can't win another title this season, even the League Cup. Otherwise, it has nothing to do with nine years, a giant has not won a championship in nine years, can it still be called a giant? Maybe it can only be called "fighting for the four crazy demons".

Some die-hard fans, in order to show their support for the team and their support for Arsene Wenger. They began to shout a bizarre slogan: "What about nine years without a crown?" It's a big deal to sharpen a sword in ten years! ”

Li Zihan couldn't laugh when he first heard this slogan.

Nima, what do you mean? Is it the Arsenal fan or the fan opposite? This is the legendary selling teammate

Arsene Wenger was furious at such "propaganda" by unscrupulous media, and he angrily rebuked them: "What do you mean by that? Could it be that the season is now coming to an end? I weishenme hear someone already singing for the champion? Yes, we've had a tough season, but that doesn't mean we don't have any chances. There are only three rounds of the league and thirty-five rounds left, so what happens can you decide? And although the Champions League group is not good for us, but not a single game has been played, you know that we can't qualify? I watched the game go down, and everyone stopped playing, so we just sat at home drinking coffee and watching movies. I won't play football anymore, and the title of each season will be decided by you media, and the league champion and the Champions League will be voted the most, and the bottom vote will be relegated.

After saying this, Wenger brushed his sleeves away, leaving behind a group of reporters who looked at each other.

Wenger has long been angry with these guys and wants to scold his mother, "Paralyzed, I recruited you or provoked you, and I actually targeted Asen like this." ’

Wenger's temper and cultivation have been angry like this, you can imagine how 'enthusiastic' these 'uncrowned kings' have been for Arsenal recently!

[Recently, I watched a football game, and it was quite fun to play football lottery. Spent two oceans to play, a few days ago "made a fortune", won an eight-string one, or the first time to guess so many games, the first time to win so much money, equivalent to Xiao Qi's one-third month of full attendance. Hey, I can't afford to eat full attendance, and I can't even qualify for the subsistence allowance This week, Liverpool vs. Manchester City's Tianwang Mountain, classmates come to guess the score, leave the score you think is in the book review, and the first one to guess the old way gets ten yuan of vertical and horizontal coins, okay, Xiaoqi is poor, and Mu is rich. International convention, the home team in the front, the away team in the back! If someone participates, Xiaoqi will save again, and add an extra tea egg for breakfast]