Chapter 417: Can't guess the professor's intentions

When the league reaches the 28th round, the countdown to the season has officially begun. There are still 10 rounds left in the league, and the time is also March. The league and cup competitions are all over, usually in mid-to-late May, so the end of the season is only two and a half months away.

On the first day of March, the weather in Great Britain was much better. After months of rain and light snow and sleet, it's finally time for the 'offseason'.

Today's weather is good, the sun finally overwhelms the clouds, and it is rare to have a close contact with people.

In today's league, Arsenal will travel to Stoke upon Trent and will face Stoke City FC away from Sky City.

The Potters have had another season of wantlessness, with no relegation danger and little hope of qualifying for Europe.

So for this game, everyone is optimistic that Arsenal will win. After all, one is a mid-table team with no desire, and the other is a league leader who has not won a title for nine years and is currently the favorite and strong contender. And this season's Arsenal's ability to score points against weak teams is still quite impressive.

Before the start of the game, Arsene Wenger announced his starting line-up as usual.

The team's main striker, Li Zihan, was not in the starting line-up, but sat on the bench, and he was replaced by French center forward Olivier Giroud. In other positions, it also continues to be a workhorse and a mixed rotation configuration.

And Stoke City is naturally the main force to face the game, anyway, they are now out of the League Cup and FA Cup, and they have nothing to do with the Europa League, so of course they will not consider the physical problem for the final league.

Stoke City's style of play is somewhat more like that of a traditional English team, with defensive counter-attacks and long passes, and there is a tall man Peter Crouch up front, so they are also very advantageous in passing high balls.

The scoreline between the two sides did not change in the first half, and Arsenal's attack did not bear fruit in the face of Stoke City's solid defence. What's more, in the absence of Li Zihan, a strong attacker, and Ozil, a master of passing threats, Arsenal is back to the same situation as last few seasons

Soon the second half began, and Arsene Wenger made no substitutions. It stands to reason that in the face of such an opponent, it is the most important thing to go all out to get all three points, because Arsenal is now two points ahead of Chelsea in second place in the standings, and the competition for the league will soon enter the white-hot stage.

Although Chelsea's lineup this season is not perfect, but Chelsea is a giant killer!! Against top-six opponents in the league, Chelsea have all three points and have not lost a single one

No one could have known what Wenger was thinking, could he have planned something?

"Looking at Arsenal's upcoming fixtures, they are not a very strong opponent against Swansea in the league. This is followed by an FA Cup clash with the Toffees and a Champions League quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich. Could it be that the professor is now starting to save for Bayern's second game? Worried about being over-drained in the league and losing that game with key players once again affected by injuries, Arsenal's eternal enemy? But the current Bayern Munich, even if you play with all the main forces, it is unlikely to turn the tables at the Allianz Arena? ”

Arsene Wenger stood on the sidelines, the camera occasionally sweeping the grim face of the gray-haired professor, as well as Lee and Mesut Ozil on the bench.

The Arsenal players on the pitch certainly couldn't accept a draw anymore and the attack became more and more intense. Even the centre-backs began to dominate near the halfway line, and although the third line pressed forward, Arsenal also kept an eye on the opponent's 2.01m tall Peter Crouch in front of him to prevent the opponent's counterattack.

Olivier Giroud, Cazorla and Podolski couldn't get out of the back of the net with central midfielder Whelan and midfielder Nzonzi protecting their team-mates at the back. As a result, Flamini and Wilshere, who were cut forward, failed to get any good chances.

In the face of Arsenal's bombardment, Stoke City also did not change their faces and did a very good job of defending. In particular, the central defender Shawcross is in place both for clearance and blocking.

When the game came to the 70th minute, Stoke City had a chance to counter-attack.

Shawcross blocked Cazorla's shot with his thigh and the ball went to the feet of midfielder Nzunzi. The French midfielder drove the ball to the front court with a big foot, and it seemed to be a random big foot clearance, but in fact it was not a clearance, but a pass!!

The ball flew high and went straight to a teammate near the centre circle.

Koscielny was now concentrating on the threat in front of him.

In the face of the flying ball, Peter Crouch pressed Koscielny, who was guarding him, to jump. In terms of header competition and judgment, the traditional high school striker Crouch is slightly superior!

Crouch, who has played for strong teams such as Liverpool and Tottenham, will naturally not let go of opportunities, and the Englishman of 33 can also be described as experienced.

When Crouch and Koscielny were seen jumping, they had not yet waited for the two to decide the winner on the header. Li Zihan, who was sitting on the sidelines, suddenly felt bad, and then shouted to the court: "Thomas!" Back point!! ”

The Thomas that Li Zihan called is naturally not the veteran Thomas Rosicky sitting next to him, but the Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen, who started this game!

Coincidentally, Li Zihan spoke almost at the same time as Arsene Wenger, and he was called by the same person's name, and they were both making Vermaelen retreat.

Wenger glanced at Li Zihan in surprise, just a glance, and he quickly turned his head to pay attention to the court.

Crouch turned his back to the attacking direction and did not push the ball towards Whelan in front of him, but a header on the ball.

The ball grazed the top of his head and flew diagonally behind him.

At this time, the Austrian striker Arnautovic, who was ambushed by Crouch's tall back, suddenly attacked, using his speed advantage to rush past his teammate Crouch who had just landed and Koscielny who was defending Crouch.

Arnautovic only joined the club this season, having scored five goals and provided eight assists in 26 appearances for Werder Bremen last season. For an Austrian who was only twenty-four years old, Stoke City spent only three million pounds to bring him from Germany to Sky City, which has to be said to be a very good deal.

Arnautovic used his blistering speed to rush towards the ball that Crouch was sitting on, trying to hit Arsenal behind the opposition defenders before they had time to react.

However, at this time, I don't know if Vermaelen heard the shouts of Wenger and Li Zihan, or if he knew what he realized.

When Crouch headed the ball, he did not press forward to make an offside, but decisively retreated behind Koscielny's body.

When he saw that Crouch was making a header, he also ran quickly towards the point where the ball landed.

Arnautovic's speed is indeed fast, but he can't stop Vermaelen near the water. Eventually, just when Arnautovic was one step away from getting his hands on the ball, he chose to play the ball. Vermaelen had the first chance of getting the ball out of the line with a sliding tackle ahead of the opposition.

Arnautovic, who was scared, almost stepped on Vermaelen's body, but fortunately he finally reacted and finally dodged it with a jump.

"Well done!! Vermaelen !! ”

"The Arsenal captain has been reliable for the first time this season and there is no doubt that this decisive tackle was a meritorious achievement. Otherwise, if you are crossed by the opponent's Austrian striker, it will be a one-handed goal! Arnautovic, on the other hand, is not a top striker, but in his three previous years with Werder Bremen, he scored in all 10 solo goals, including against Bayern Munich's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and Borussia Dortmund's Weidenfeller. ”

Koscielny slapped Vermaelen hard on the buttocks, don't get me wrong, this is not to take advantage of tofu, but to encourage and cheer up.

Hutter throws in a throw-in and Arnautovic responds. Stoke City didn't put too much force into their attacking midfield, with the majority of the players still in central midfield

Arnautovic sent the ball down the middle before Gibbs made a steal, and Peter Crouch played the ball to Whelan in the middle.

And when Flamini made a steal in midfield, he was blocked by Whelan's body. So he didn't poke the ball when he got down, but kicked Whelan in the leg and directly put the opponent down.

Although Flamini repeatedly explained that he did not mean it and that he had kicked the ball first. However, the referee insisted on the decision, giving Arsenal midfielder Flamini a yellow card and Stoke City a direct free-kick in front.

At this time, Stoke City played a completely different rhythm than they played for 70 minutes, leaving only two full-backs to defend in the middle of the back, and the rest of the group ran into the opposition penalty area in full swing to fight for the header.

Nzunzi's free-kick took the ball and headed straight for Arsenal's box. After the free-kick, Nzunzi did not step forward to look for opportunities, but stepped back a little and formed a triangle defensive formation with the two full-backs who came close to the middle behind him, so as to prevent Arsenal from taking advantage of the emptiness of his own defense at the back after getting the ball and launching a quick counterattack.