Chapter 202: The Moment of Truth
In the fifth round of the league, Arsenal won 3-0, although they did not continue to score in the second half of the game, but for Arsenal there is really nothing to care about, because they removed the absolute attacking core including Xiao Qing and Arteta in the second half of the game. For Arsenal, it's good to win the game now, and now they are catching up with the teams in front of them.
Arsenal's first back-to-back league win is news to watch and a sign of Arsenal's return to winning trajectories. However, in the fifth round of the game, Arsenal are definitely not the team that has attracted the most attention.
In this round of games, Manchester United, who sit at Old Trafford, played an efficient attack, beating Chelsea 3-1 to win five consecutive league games and continue to lead the Premier League standings, while also allowing Villas-Boas to get his first defeat since joining the London Blue Lions. Manchester United also continue to occupy second place in the table with four wins and one draw at this time, but their chances are still good as a red-hot Manchester City side look to be in some trouble.
In this round of fixtures, Manchester City travel to Calvin Farm to take on Fulham. Sergio Aguero opened the scoring in the first half from Silva's brilliant pass and scored twice with a volley just ten seconds into the second half, but the tenacious Fulham relied on goals from Zamora and Murphy to equalise the scores. Manchester City were held to a two-goal lead by Fulham to draw 2-2 and secure their first Premier League draw of the season, ending a four-game winning streak in the league. They are now only at the top of the table on goal difference over Manchester United, who have played five games since the start of the new season. Manchester City are the league leaders. It's certainly something to be proud of. But City need to be careful now as their rivals start to push and because City are looking struggling to keep their momentum going.
An excellent victory in a game can make the Arsenal players feel relaxed, and the Gunners also feel that they can really breathe a sigh of relief now, because compared to some of the previous gaps, Arsenal is now slowly narrowing the gap step by step, and the gap between them in the standings is getting smaller and smaller, and now Arsenal is starting to catch up with the gap with all their might.
Arsenal are doing really well at the moment. gradually got out of the embarrassment of a bad start in the league, and also made a good start in the Champions League group stage; The Gunners are moving on as Arsenal comfortably eliminated fourth-tier League Two side Shrewsbury Town 3-1 in the Carabao Cup.
The Gunners are really getting better and better now, and Arsenal are now moving towards a higher goal in the standings step by step; The Gunners are starting to break out and they put a lot of pressure on the teams in front of them in the standings, as the Gunners are now completely back on their normal trajectory, as Arsenal are now completely finding the winning feeling, their squad run-in has been largely completed, and Arsenal have started their excellent performances.
In the sixth round of the league, Arsenal fielded all the key players who were rested, and Arsenal beat Bolton Wanderers 3-0 at home. Although the first half was a 0-0 draw. But in the second half Arsenal broke out strongly; Less than a minute into the half, Van Persie broke the deadlock and gave Arsenal the lead with a volley after receiving a through ball in front of Xiao Qing's penalty area.
Then Bolton was struck again. In the tenth minute of the opening of the second half, Ramsey went straight to the plug, Xiao Qing formed a single knife in the middle but was dragged down by Bolton player Witt from behind, and the referee directly showed a red card and sent Witt off! Xiao Qing also scored an easy penalty to help Arsenal extend their lead.
The Gunners have won three league games in a row at home, with Alexander Song's late late goal helping Arsenal make it 3-0 with a comfortable home win over Bolton; Arsenal have scored three goals in three consecutive games, and they have been understated in the course of those games to achieve the final victory. Arsenal look really good and scary now; Their potential in attack has exploded again and again, and although there may not have been more goals, Arsenal's three goals in these games are incredible, because Arsenal's form in attack looks terrible, and they really look unstoppable in the game.
The Gunners are getting better and better, and they are looking stronger in the game; At this time, Arsenal proved that although they left some important players in the summer, although at the beginning of the new season, Arsenal encountered a lot of setbacks and challenges; But now the Gunners are back in the game, they are once again the most competitive, and they have proven once again that Arsenal are still the best team, they are one of the most competitive teams.
Xiao Qing and his teammates are in a very good mood at this time, although Arsenal still has a gap of one game in the standings, but it is only a gap of one game, Arsenal believes that they will use a more stable and strong play to make up for some of the gaps now; Arsenal believe that Manchester City cannot always be without making mistakes, and Arsenal believe that although teams such as Manchester United and Chelsea are very experienced, the Gunners can still be the final winners, because Arsenal will be more competitive, because Arsenal will try to win the final victory in the direct confrontation between the two sides.
Arsenal's opponent in the seventh round of the league is Tottenham Hotspur, which is a good opportunity for Arsenal; Arsenal were in poor form at the start of the season, losing first to Liverpool and then to a draw with Manchester United; Arsenal started the game in a passive situation of chasing and a large part of the reason was due to their poor record in this strong dialogue.
As Arsenal's century-old rivals, this north London derby is really a crucial game for both teams; Arsenal have managed to get out of the doldrums and they need to continue working hard at this point in the table, and they need to try to consolidate their results in the table, preferably by squeezing forward.
Tottenham Hotspur, who have won four and lost two of their previous six games, and are even one point behind Arsenal in the standings, with four wins, one draw and one loss, have every chance of overpowering their north London rivals, and the winner of this game can temporarily gain some initiative in the standings.
Tottenham Hotspur have won three in a row in the league, but they have had a 3-1 win over Liverpool, a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United and a 5-1 defeat to Manchester City. No one can deny the strength of Tottenham Hotspur, although they are now appearing in the League Cup again, but it can only be said that the overall strength of the Premier League is too good, so that Tottenham, which has a chance to play in the Champions League, can only compete in the League Cup again and again.
This time the north London derby will definitely be quite fierce for the two teams to meet, because they both want to be able to suppress the opponent in the game, the meeting of these two teams does not need any emotional brewing, even if it is just the most chicken cup match, when it is Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur standing on the field, such a game is destined to be a game of gunpowder and inspiration, because this is a game between mortal enemies, there is no mercy, only-for-tat and fighting.
However, Arsenal may struggle ahead of the north London derby, with a busy schedule and they need to prepare for a Champions League group stage game ahead of the north London derby. In the second round of the group stage, a major event was played at the Emirates Stadium, with Arsenal hosting Greek giants Olympiacos. This is good news for Arsenal, at least they don't have to go back and forth, and the players' fitness can be guaranteed to the greatest extent possible; Although Arsenal wanted the north London derby to be postponed, Arsenal's application was not approved and Arsenal needed to play Tottenham Hotspur in a tight north London derby with two games in a week.
This may be a big challenge for Arsenal, Olympiacos is really not an easy opponent to beat, this Greek giants are still capable of causing some problems for Arsenal in the game. They have the quality and experience, and if Arsenal are careless, then maybe Arsenal will have a lot of trouble in the Champions League group stage.
The Gunners are determined to win the group, and they must take the top spot in the group; The Champions League will certainly be more challenging for Arsenal in the new season, and the Gunners will need to fight for a better position for themselves at this time. After beating favourites Borussia Dortmund in the first round of the group stage, Arsenal will now be able to essentially take the initiative into their hands if they can continue to win at home to Olympiacos.
It's a challenge for Arsenal right now, as they need to face tough opponents in a row when they don't have more opportunities to adjust; Even in such a game, Arsenal has no choice at all, they must win the game, because these two games are largely related to Arsenal's situation in the future, and Arsenal cannot have any carelessness at all! (To be continued......)