Chapter 89: Play every game well
'It's a special night and we're going to be a special team.' Arsene Wenger, who led the team to victory, was very happy, the team took a 2-0 lead in the first leg, and Arsenal was more sure to break through in the Champions League quarter-finals, although Inter Milan was very good, but Arsenal once again proved that they were better, and Arsenal was very sure that they could beat Inter Milan to continue to defend the Champions League. 'Compared to last season, we haven't been affected by the absence of a number of key players due to injury, and the players are a year older, so playing against big rivals makes you more mature.
"We never give up, and that spirit helped us win the first round." Arsene Wenger was full of pride after the game: "It was undoubtedly one of the most exciting nights. We are confident that we will continue to play well in the next games, for Arsenal we need to beat every strong team, we are aiming to defend the title and we need to be competitive enough. ”
At the post-match press conference, Inter coach Leonardo commented on the game: "We saw a good matchup, both teams had a lot of chances, unfortunately Inter lost, but we know that Arsenal are also a very strong team, they are fast and very threatening, it is normal for something like this to happen on the football pitch. ”
Leonardo is still confident in the prospect of returning to his home stadium and he is not disappointed by the defeat. 'It's definitely not a good feeling to lose, but it's a knockout game in the Champions League and we know the quality and level of the opponent. Now we can only make adjustments as soon as possible. Return to the home stadium and try to reverse the promotion. Of course, this also requires the help of the fans. I have a lot of trust in the players at Inter, they have been consistent over the years and have proven themselves countless times. Let's see what happens in the second leg and although we lost today, the fact is that we created more chances than we did last year at the Emirates Stadium, but the attacking efficiency was a little bit worse and I don't really know what we did wrong. ”
There has been a noticeable change in Inter's style of play, and since the arrival of new coach Leonardo, Inter's style of play has become more open. It's just that it is clearly inappropriate to play attacking at the Emirates Stadium and Inter Milan. Although Inter Milan insisted on defending and counterattacking in this game, they still underestimated Arsenal's attacking ability; Maybe there will be some changes for Inter in the second leg, because now they are two goals down and they have to attack.
The win over Inter Milan also gave Arsenal's players more confidence, and although there is still a second leg, the Gunners are also confident about the upcoming trip to the Meazza Stadium; It's true that Inter Milan are strong, but Arsenal are undoubtedly better. With the advantage of two goals, Arsenal also have more initiative in the second leg.
A 2-0 lead is a delicate advantage, and Inter will have to go all out to score in the second leg, scoring at least two goals to secure a chance of qualifying. And once they were breached at home by Arsenal. Then it would be a disaster for Inter Milan because that means they need to score four goals!
Now Arsenal can make the most of these advantages. Now Arsenal is completely in the tactical initiative; For Arsenal, they don't need to worry about attacking problems at all, with the three terrifying tridents of Xiao Qing, Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal are confident of breaking through any team's goal. Although Inter Milan's defensive strength is very strong, in the second leg Inter must put in the attacking energy, this is Arsenal's advantage!
Arsenal can play to their strengths, and when Inter Milan lose their defensive power, this is the best opportunity for Arsenal, at such a moment, Arsenal can get more chances at the Meazza Stadium, and a 2-0 home win for the Gunners will give Arsenal the initiative to advance.
Xiao Qing and his teammates are full of confidence in the second leg in a week, although the curse of the defending Champions League champion not being able to defend successfully is indeed the pressure on the Arsenal players, but in the end this is just a trumped-up rumor, and Arsenal will not lose confidence because of this rumor.
The current Arsenal is in very good shape, and the current Arsenal's strength is steadily improving; Arsenal's momentum this season has been great and Arsenal are getting stronger and stronger now. Although Arsenal's overall squad is still relatively young, the momentum of young people is also a big advantage for Arsenal, and the young Gunners are eager to show themselves more and they want to challenge for more glory. So now Arsenal don't have to worry at all, although their players won the double last season, although Arsenal have achieved very good results this season, but they are not satisfied, they want to do better, they want to be able to get more glory in the next games.
Having won the first leg in the Champions League, Arsenal are now also holding the initiative to qualify; Arsenal are also in good form in the league, and their lead in the table this season has left the title race largely out of contention.
Although Arsenal has not yet won the championship of Zuihou, Arsenal can be said to occupy enough psychological advantages. It's been 26 league games now, but unbeaten Arsenal still have a double-digit lead at the top of the table and are likely to win the league title about four games ahead of schedule. For the current Arsenal, the current league is already entering the countdown, and the success of the current Arsenal title defense is just around the corner.
With the knockout stages of the Champions League just around the corner, they will face a much more brutal situation than in the Premier League. So far, Arsenal are the only team in Europe that is still competing for four titles: the league, the Champions League, the FA Cup and the League Cup.
Arsenal are at the top of the league table, and the only one who can slow down Arsenal's title winning process is Manchester United, but it is only delaying Arsenal's time to win the title, and no one expects them to reverse and win the title at Arsenal's hands. In the FA Cup, Arsenal have reached the fifth round against Leyton East, and even if they play away, Arsenal have a good chance of reaching the quarter-finals. The Carabao Cup final will be played at the end of February, which is Arsenal's earliest chance to win the trophy.
But the toughest test is in the Champions League. In the Champions League 16 games, Arsenal will meet a strong opponent Inter Milan. Although Arsenal took the lead in the first leg, it was not necessarily a guarantee of foolproof; And Arsenal will still encounter more strong opponents in the next games, and whether the young Gunners can successfully pass the test may be related to their trend this season.
'February is a decisive month, a trophy will decide who goes and the Premier League table will be finalised. At the end of the month, we'll know where we stand. History tells us that fighting on four fronts is extremely difficult, but it is also very difficult to say to my teammates, 'Let's not fight for this event now'. We don't have to make trade-offs, we want to fight for everything! Xiao Qing is very satisfied with the team's results so far this season, and he believes that the team can achieve more in the next games; Although Arsenal may have a headache due to the fourth-tier battle, with a group of young players and their never-say-die belief in their hearts, Arsenal has taken the first step.
'I'm very happy because it's probably one of the most questionable aspects of the team, but that's what has been the most convincing thing for us lately. Today we played almost 10 games in a month and we showed that spirit every time. We don't admit defeat, we want to win, we keep improving. With such a spirit, the new Gunners will be invincible, and Xiao Qing also believes that the team can achieve more victories.
Although the second leg of the quarter-final clash with Inter Milan is imminent, the Arsenal players are not afraid of the challenge and want to keep moving forward under pressure. Although they all know that Inter Milan will definitely fight back like crazy in the second leg, these are not problems for Arsenal.
The second leg will be a tough one, although Arsenal hold the initiative in the first leg; But Inter Milan, who are hungry for something to win in the Champions League, will surely fight back like crazy. Inter Milan are still very good and once they go all out to score at home, it will be a big problem for the Arsenal defence.
Although there will certainly be a lot of challenges in the next games, it will not be a problem for Arsenal. Xiao Qing believes that the team will definitely be able to pass steadily, and Xiao Qing believes that the team will definitely be able to win one victory after another. The most important thing for Arsenal now is to stay in shape and all they need to do now is play every game they need to play.
Arsenal need to win, Arsenal are hungry for glory, although the current Gunners have produced very good results, although the current situation of Arsenal in all competitions is very good; But in order to be able to get the honor of Zuihou, it is important to take every step well.
Of course, Arsenal will not be complacent, he is happy to accept the next challenge, and he is happy to achieve more victories. (To be continued......)