Chapter 57: Arsenal the Winner

Arsenal's 4-1 win at home to AZ Alkmaar avenged their humiliating draw at the defending Eredivisie champions, and Arsenal won three and drew one of their four games in the group stage at home. However, what made them a little frustrated was that the temporary Arsenal could not qualify early, because those unlucky opponents in the same group did not cooperate at all.

After this game, Arsenal lead Group H with 10 points. In the other game in the same group, Olympiacos lost 0-2 away to Belgian Standard Liege in second place with six points, while Olympiacos and AZ Alkmaar won four and two points respectively. That is to say, theoretically, Arsenal lost all two games, and of course Olympiacos won all of them, so this is still based on the premise that Standard Liege also has to win all, so the Gunners may not be able to qualify from the group.

It can be said that the current Arsenal group qualification is certain, in the two rounds of Zuihou Arsenal only need to get one point to qualify from the group, or even only one point, they can also easily advance to the knockout stage as the group leader, which also avoids the competition with the other group leaders to the greatest extent.

In the fourth round of the UEFA Champions League group stage, Manchester United, Chelsea, Porto, Bordeaux, Lyon, and Sevilla advanced; The remaining ten places are also gradually becoming clear, and Arsenal has one foot in the round of 16; Juventus and Fiorentina are in a good situation, and AC Milan and Real Madrid are in good shape. In the most complicated Group F, Inter Milan, Barcelona and other teams still have their own opportunities, and their fate is still in their own hands...... The major giants are basically able to break through in groups, which does not seem to be too difficult.

It's just that Liverpool, who had one win and two losses and finished third in Group E, faced group leaders Lyon away. Liverpool, who had a poor record, were held to a 1-1 draw by home side Lyon after scoring the first goal, and their hopes of progressing to the round of 16 were shaky.

Lyon, who have won three in a row, have already picked up 10 points. One more point will advance to the round of 16; Fiorentina beat Hungary's Debrecen 5-2. Finished second in Group E with nine points. It is only theoretically possible for the "Red Army," which is five points behind, to catch up and overtake. For the "Reds", the only way to win the two battles is to hope for a comeback, and this is based on the poor performance of the opponent.

In fact, Xiao Qing really doesn't care whether Liverpool can qualify from the group, and even gloat over some giant teams falling out of the Champions League; Xiao Qing hopes to achieve good results in the Champions League, so those strong teams will be a stumbling block for him to move forward, so if someone in these teams makes a mistake, Xiao Qing will only hide behind and have fun.

However, Xiao Qing is a little depressed that Liverpool will actually play this role, because once Liverpool is out of the Champions League, then they will definitely sprint in the league; Although Liverpool are now ten points behind Arsenal in the standings. But when Liverpool are only left with the fig leaf of the league, they will definitely have an impact on Arsenal.

Arsenal have already knocked Liverpool out of the Carabao Cup, and now Liverpool are only left with the league and the FA Cup that has not yet started, and of course it is possible to participate in the League Cup after the Champions League, but there is no doubt that the league will be the front line for Liverpool. Although Liverpool's performance since the start of the new season has been poor, they still have a certain heritage, Arsenal and Liverpool have not played each other in the league, which is also likely to make Arsenal snipe with their full force.

"We've been steady. This season, the team looks to have gone from strength to strength, game after game. That kind of form and attitude can't be played in every game. Now we have to believe in the future. We have this and I trust the team, but it's up to the team to keep improving and keep it up. We've been in the semi-finals of the Champions League. We've been in the finals and I'm sure we'll win the title! 'Arsenal, who won at home, are in high spirits right now. Manager Arsene Wenger is also in high spirits right now.

Three wins and one draw in the Champions League group stage this season, and the Champions League qualifying round is also a two-game win, while Arsenal, who are unbeaten in eleven rounds of the league, is the only team that has not broken the gold in the new season of the Premier League, including two League Cup games; Arsenal has remained unbeaten in 19 games this season, and in addition to three draws in these 19 games, Arsenal has basically maintained a large advantage to win; Qualifying from the Champions League group is already easy, and he is also soaring in the Premier League, which is not surprising Wenger's high profile now.

Arsenal have been excellent since the start of the season and now they have reason to be proud; However, although Arsenal are in good shape at the moment, they still have to continue to work hard. The Champions League group stage may not be too worrying for the time being, but in the league, because it did not open up the gap with Manchester United and Chelsea behind it, Arsenal's league leader position is actually not secure; But it doesn't matter, now Arsenal's chance has come, and they can take advantage of the left-handed fishing for the time being.

Arsenal's opponent in the twelfth round of the league is promoted Wolves, but the focus of this round of the game is undoubtedly the strong dialogue between Manchester United and Chelsea, which is also a good opportunity for Arsenal, because they seem to have a chance to temporarily leave a team behind them, and even very likely to temporarily open up some gaps between the two teams.

As long as Arsenal can get three points from an away win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in this round, there is no doubt that Arsenal will be the biggest winners in the twelfth round of the league. The three most title-winning teams in the Premier League are Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, and basically this season's champions will be produced from these three teams.

The race for the Premier League title has never been more intense in recent years, with the three teams battling it out at the top of the table, and there is almost no gap between them, and they all have a chance to go one step further at this time. And now Arsenal seem to be in the driver's seat, not just because of their modest advantage in the table, but also because of the schedule for the time being.

Although it is necessary to play consistently in this long journey and get enough points against those weaker opponents to win the league title, of course, on the premise of avoiding their own mistakes, the team that wants to win the championship needs to beat those strong opponents, especially those who are qualified to compete for the title!

Manchester City, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur may have been the best of Arsenal's league opponents since the start of the season, but they are basically trying to qualify for the Champions League and have no chance of joining the title race for the time being. Arsenal have been doing well in each of these games, winning against these strong opponents, which is a key factor in Arsenal's ability to stay at the top of the table.

But that's not enough, it's more important to win the league than to beat the teams who want to win the title, because playing against those teams is not just about building a psychological advantage, it's also because those games are six-point games, and once you win the game, then the hope of winning the title will increase a lot.

Arsenal have played only once this season against the other three teams in the Premier League's traditional semi-finals, against defending champions Manchester United. Unfortunately, Arsenal were unlucky to draw with Manchester United in that game, which also made Arsenal miss the opportunity to extend their lead in the table.

And now Arsenal still have two league games with Chelsea and Liverpool, as for a summit showdown with Manchester United; In fact, the same is true for the other two teams, who not only need to win the league title against weaker opponents, but also win directly in the strong dialogue is a decisive factor in their league title.

Arsenal need not worry for the time being, because Manchester United and Chelsea will have a strong meeting in this round of games, and their point difference with Arsenal in the table is only one game; But now Arsenal's chance has come, and although there will certainly be a battle with these teams in the end, Arsenal can now take advantage of the fact that they are two tigers competing to extend their lead. As long as they can win this round, Arsenal will have the lead; Arsenal can breathe a sigh of relief if United draw with Chelsea, as they will be able to extend their lead beyond a game, which will also make them less likely to worry about making mistakes in the coming games as they will have at least one more chance to make mistakes than the other two teams.

Although they meet Chelsea at the end of the month, Arsenal have a chance to take advantage of a relatively favourable schedule and build a good foundation for the upcoming fixtures. More than a third of the way into the league and now Arsenal need to extend their lead and they need to build a solid foundation at this time to sprint for Zuihou's moment.

Xiao Qing and his teammates are preparing for Zuihou, and it is a good opportunity for them to challenge the promoted horses away, because the red and blue battle will allow Arsenal to take a certain lead at this time, and it is also very likely that Arsenal can take the lead to the greatest extent in the previous game.

Arsenal need to be a little more active, they need to be more able to take their chances; It's a rare opportunity for them, they need to be ready for the title and they can't afford to make mistakes for the sake of the title.

As for the red and blue match, Arsenal may not need to care, because Arsenal is the real winner! (To be continued......)