Chapter 154: Encounter the Mortal Enemy Again
On 15 April 2010, the atmosphere at White Hart Lane was in full swing as Tottenham Hotspur would begin a major game in their franchise history. It's important for Tottenham to finish in the top four, but it's even more exciting to be able to beat the league trophy against the arch-rivals next door.
The Gunners players are excited because this group of young Gunners has almost no championship experience and they lack enough accolades. Now that they are getting closer to the league title, they are naturally more happy and excited at this time. Especially when the opponent in this game is their century-old rival Tottenham Hotspur, the thought of being able to touch the heat of the league trophy at the home of the arch-rival makes the Arsenal players tremble with excitement.
Although it was a victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the first half of the game, many of the main players of the Tottenham team at that time were missing; Although Arsenal have the absolute advantage in the history of both teams, it is clear that this game will not be easy, because Tottenham Hotspur will snipe Arsenal with all their strength in this game, and they will really give their best in this game. This is perhaps the most important game of the season for Tottenham, this is their turf, they don't allow Arsenal to be arrogant here, they don't allow Arsenal to almost win the league here!
In this game, Arsenal continued to be reckless, and serious injuries made the originally star-studded Gunners squad now enough to be cold, and the real top star is now only Xiao Qing, which is seriously inconsistent with the identity of the new Premier League champion. It can only be said that the current Arsenal is really painful and happy.
goalkeeper Almunia; Sarnia, Campbell, Vermaelen, Klich on the back line; midfielders Diaby, Denilson, Rosicky, Nasri; Twin forwards Xiao Qing and Bendtner. Although Xiao Qing's current state haode is surprising. But Wenger still thinks that Xiao Qing needs to share the pressure; Although Xiao Qing is outstanding. But you can't rely on Xiao Qing's performance in every game, this is an excessive consumption of Xiao Qing's combat effectiveness, which is definitely not a good thing for Arsenal.
Van Persie, who has recovered from injury, is sitting on the bench, and he is likely to return to the pitch after five months of serious injury, which is the most crucial moment for the team to win the championship, and he is also likely to be a wonder player in the team's sprint moment, because although Arsenal is now winning the league title, too many injuries are also a big and small crisis.
Van Persie sat on the bench. He looks likely to be back on the pitch after a five-month absence; Apart from Van Persie, the other headline is Campbell, the former Tottenham captain last visited White Hart Lane as a Gunners player in October 2005, but in the nearly five years since then, Tottenham fans have never stopped scolding him as "Judas".
Last season, Campbell was a guest at White Hart Lane for Portsmouth, and the police arrested about 10 radical fans who publicly insulted him in the game, so this time Tottenham Hotspur also called on fans to stop causing trouble against the former captain, and Tottenham even issued an announcement in advance, but obviously such an appeal did not have much effect. Because Campbell is a Tottenham Hotspur fan, he is arguably the most hated and unpopular player.
As a former Tottenham captain, Campbell 'defected' from White Hart Lane. He even joined Tottenham's real rivals Arsenal, which is definitely something that Tottenham fans cannot forgive; Campbell, in particular, has done a great job at Arsenal, he was at the heart of Arsenal's defence, and he helped Arsenal win the league title. Now, Campbell is back at Arsenal and has helped the Gunners a lot in their most difficult times; It can be said that the firefighter Campbell has definitely exceeded his imagination this season, and perhaps no one thought that the firefighter who was brought in during the winter break would play a very important role in Arsenal's road to winning the title.
Campbell's appearance was covered with wild boos and fierce abuse, Xiao Qing originally thought that he was already a rather unwelcome and hated player among Tottenham Hotspur fans, but he could never be compared with Campbell, because the degree to which Tottenham fans hate Campbell can be said to be truly hateful.
Campbell's face is not good-looking, but the 35-year-old veteran is a very professional and calm player, and he has experienced too many winds and waves; While it is true that these personal attacks on him may make it difficult for him in this game, the veteran is confident enough to overcome them because he knows how to play in difficult situations.
Arsenal have some intention of playing in the middle of the game, but Tottenham Hotspur can be said to be almost strong, goalkeeper Gomez; On the back line, Hector, Dawson, Ledley King, Bale; midfielders Kabourg, Huddlestone, Modric, Danny Rose; On the forward line, Pavlyuchenko and Defo. Although this may not be Tottenham's strongest squad, the current set of squads can indeed bring some trouble to Arsenal, and it is relying on this set of core lineup that Tottenham is now in a more advantageous position to finish fourth in the standings.
Tottenham's most recent win over Arsenal was in the 2008 Carabao Cup semi-finals, when they won 5-1 at home; However, the most recent league win was a decade ago, when Tottenham won 2-1 at home in November 1999. Although this is Tottenham's turf, the Gunners are confident enough to take a win at this stadium and they are confident that they will be able to win the league title after beating their arch-rivals at this crucial moment!
Judging from the preparation of both sides, Arsenal are completely at ease, because three days earlier, Tottenham had just been beaten and eliminated by vice-captain Portsmouth in the FA Cup semi-finals; Arsenal are in high spirits as they have qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions League with the league title within reach; As for Tottenham Hotspur, their current double game a week is a big drain on their energy, and it is also due to the frustration of being knocked out of the squad and losing the FA Cup title.
There was no need for any emotional mobilization in this game, the players of both teams were ready for the game before it even started, and the players of both teams were also quite hostile to their opponents; They are full of fighting spirit and they are determined to win this game. Therefore, the game quickly entered the white heat at the beginning of the whistle, and the two teams launched a ferocious attack directly at the beginning of the game without any temptation.
Arsenal took the lead in kicking off, Nasri broke through on the side and sent it across, and Xiao Qing cleverly inserted and swept in the small penalty area; However, the heart of Tottenham's defence, Ledley King, made a sliding tackle to kick the ball off the line. Nasri whipped in a corner from the left, Campbell fired in the box, and Tottenham defender Héctor narrowly blocked the ball on the goal line, and Asen narrowly missed the first shot.
Immediately after the exclamation, the White Hart Lane stadium burst into crazy boos and invective, and the Tottenham fans were really upset, because Campbell was unusually unpopular in the first place, but now it was the person they almost hated the most who almost scored the first goal in such an unusually critical game!
Xiao Qing was very calm and high-fived Campbell, who also looked calm, this time the offensive opportunity was actually very good, but Arsenal's luck was not good. However, although they failed to score, such a dangerous shot also scared Tottenham Hotspur, and with such a high-quality attack from Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur really need to be careful.
Now almost all of Arsenal's opponents know that Arsenal's attacking ability is the best in the Premier League, and even in the offensive match with Barcelona, Arsenal laughed Zuihou. Xiao Qing is undoubtedly Arsenal's most threatening player, but now Xiao Qing has not shown his fierce killing chance, but Tottenham Hotspur was almost breached, which is definitely a considerable blow to the Tottenham team, which does make Tottenham more vigilant, because Arsenal has not yet broken out the biggest threat.
Arsenal's attack did startle Tottenham, but Tottenham did not back down at this time; It's a notoriously strong attack at Arsenal, but it's no secret that Arsenal are lacking in defence. Tottenham Hotspur can't afford to back down in this game, they have to rise to the occasion and they need to strike a fatal blow to Arsenal when they need it most, when they need it most.
Xiao Qing is gearing up, Xiao Qing is waiting for more opportunities; At the beginning of the game, both teams had no reservations, although the offensive and defensive rhythm on the field was fast, but I have to admit that the current two teams are playing a little chaotic; Especially for Arsenal, after losing such an excellent midfield commander as Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal's current attack seems chaotic enough, especially when Tottenham continue to speed up the tempo, which is naturally not good news for Arsenal.
Xiao Qing has a little headache and distress, his teammates don't know how to pass the ball to Xiao Qing, and the Arsenal players don't want to take advantage of Xiao Qing's strongest point; It's just that the current offensive and defensive rhythm is very fast, and Arsenal, which lacks sufficient organizational ability, is really difficult to form decent tactics now, and it is really difficult for them to send the ball to Xiao Qing's feet steadily.
Arsenal's attack is a bit chaotic at the moment, which is naturally a better chance for Tottenham Hotspur; Tottenham's attacking prowess is really good, they are confident enough to break through their arch-rivals in the game, and the opportunities they are looking for are slowly appearing. (To be continued......)