After winning three in a row, York City also strengthened their lead in the standings.

This is mainly due to the fact that the Scanthop team, who have been chasing closely behind York City, has dropped the chain.

They have lost back-to-back matches against Bolton Wanderers and Sheffield United in recent rounds and have even dropped to fourth place in the table!

York City currently sit first with 16 wins, 8 draws and 1 loss with 56 points, while Sheffield United is second with 16 wins, 5 draws and 4 losses with 53 points, followed by Bolton with 50 points and Scanthorpe with 49 points.

League One is like that, if you're not careful, you'll fall!

And Pan Yi also saw the downward momentum of York City, and introduced Alonso in time, which strengthened his strength and stabilized the morale of the army, and finally he was not really killed.

Thanks to the fact that it happened to be January, and the winter window was also open, Pan Yi started in advance to get Alonso so quickly.

As a result, Pan Yi has more ideas for the next FA Cup third round match against Arsenal......

After the whole team started to London, Pan Yi also stopped by Chelsea Football Club to visit Arteta and chat with him.

A few days ago, Chelsea were beaten 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur to end a 13-game winning streak.

But even so, Chelsea continue to lead the Premier League table and are five points above second-placed Liverpool.

So Pan Yi didn't say too much tactical things to Arteta, just chatting with good friends and catching up on old things.

Since he can lead the team to 13 consecutive wins, it means that he now has a methodology for playing against enemies from all walks of life;

The current defeat to Tottenham is a setback in the practice of his methodology – sometimes for the simple reason that Pochettino has been targeted, and Arteta has not been aware of it or responded to it in time.

You must keep improving in the midst of setbacks in order to make yourself more progressive!

Pan Yi believes that Arteta has the ability to study and solve such setbacks, and only in this way can he break through his own bottleneck and reach a new level!

Pan then returned to York City's makeshift training ground in London to watch the players train with Scaloni.

For the current York City, playing a strong team like Arsenal, there is almost no suspense in the lineup.

The strongest eleven are already in the battle!

The only variant is the formation, whether to play 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2.

This can't be helped, York City is not a big club after all, there is no squad depth, when you have to fight with the opponent, you can only play the main team.

"Do you really want to take out Arsenal and keep going in the FA Cup?" Scaloni asked Pan Yi suddenly.

Pan Yi laughed: "You don't want to? ”

Scaloni laughed too.

yes, who wouldn't.

That's a good thing to do.

No matter how well you play in League One, the attention you get is limited.

This is like Graham Potter leading a Swedish team, no matter how good he is, no one can notice, but he only needs to beat Arsenal once in the Europa League and he will be known immediately.

Now the same is true for Yorktown.

If they can beat Arsenal in the FA Cup, it will give the team a bigger boost.

Others have heard of Yorktown before, just because their boss is Pan Yi;

And if this team can still beat Arsenal, then everyone will look at them even more differently: "It turns out that they are really such a strong team!" ”

In this way, it can also attract the attention of more players, and the difficulty of Pan Yi to find someone in the future will also decrease.

At the same time, York City's commercial value will continue to rise, and Director Horta will be able to put his business talents to good use in the market.

- It's a bit like Deadpool coming to Wrexham, and everyone pays attention to it just because of the boss. Only when Wrexham really play their strength will everyone pay more attention to their strength itself.

And for Scaloni, it's the best moment to prove his ability!

Defeating the world's famous coach Arsene Wenger is really a great proof of strength!

"Actually, it's not impossible." Pan Yi said, "Arsenal are not in very good shape in the Premier League right now, and although Arsene Wenger is very interested in the FA Cup, he should have reservations. After all, we're just a League One team! ”

Scaloni nodded.

In the current Premier League standings, BIG6 is entangled, while Arsenal are in fifth place.

Although there is only a point away from Manchester City and Tottenham in front of them, it is clear that it has now reached a critical moment in the fight for the top four.

Especially after the FA Cup, Arsenal is going to have another London derby, away to Chelsea at the top of the table!

In this case, under the guidance of Arsene Wenger's "four first" mentality, it is bound to make a certain degree of rotation in the FA Cup competition.

In this way, York City has a chance.

After all, although Arsenal is strong, the bench can only be said to be average.

'I would still recommend playing 4-4-2, defending and waiting for the opportunity to counter-attack. Pan Yi said, "The emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, even if Wenger is on the bench, the strength is stronger than ours." ”

"I think so too." Scaloni nodded, "I'll have a small meeting with the players and talk about the relevant points of attention." Do you want to do a pre-game mobilization or something? ”

"Haha, that's a must." Pan Yi laughed, "I want them to know that their boss is not ready to give up this game, so no one is allowed to give up this game!" ”

Scaloni listened and immediately laughed along.

——

In the conference room of the hotel, all the players were silent, they were all looking at their bosses.

Just now, Scaloni has already said all the tactics that need to be said, and now it is Pan Yi's turn to speak.

"In the past few days, from Yorkshire to London, everyone I have met has told me that I don't have to play in the FA Cup against Arsenal, I can just give up."

As soon as Pan Yi spoke, he was very direct: "I think about it, how can we be a League One team, how can we win against Arsenal?" Anyway, there is no shame in losing, so forget it if you lose. ”

As he spoke, Pan Yi stopped and looked at the players.

These young lads did not speak, but their eyes revealed a hint of indignation.

"No, we can't throw in the towel in any game!" At this time, the vice-captain Westman stood up, "If admitting defeat becomes a habit, then we will never be able to become a real strong team in the future!" ”

Pan Yi nodded with satisfaction.

It seems that it is still important to install a "drag" among the players.

"Well, as anyone who knows me knows, I never have the word 'towel' in my dictionary, even against Arsenal."

"The whole world thinks we're going to lose, so we're going to play a good game and show them!"

'In the FA Cup, anything can happen. In the 2012-2013 season, Luton Town, who were still in the fifth tier at the time, beat Norwich City 1-0, and Luton became the first amateur team to knock out a Premier League team since the Premier League era. ”

"In the 2003-04 season, Shrewsbury, who are in the fourth division, broke out the biggest upset of the FA Cup with 2:1 Everton."

"In the third round of the FA Cup in 1990-91, Woking, who were in the fifth division at the time, eliminated West Bromwich Albion in the top flight 4-2......"

"There are a lot of teams like that. So, as a team ranked first in the third division, can't we really beat Arsenal? ”

As he spoke, Pan Yi spread out his hands and asked all the players in front of him.

Everyone raised their heads and stared at Pan Yi with red eyes.

"No, we can win!" De Ligt was the first to stand up and yell.

"Yes, we can definitely win!" Alphonso Davies shouted.

"Win! Win! Win! Thomas Armand chimed in.

Finally all the players in the room stood up and shouted, "Win!" "Win!" "Win!"

"Well, since you have faith, I have more faith. Tomorrow, we'll play well at the Emirates Stadium and tell everybody that we're York City and we're not afraid of any opponent! Even if it's a super team from the Premier League, we can beat them down because we have nothing to fear in York City! ”

As Pan Yi's speech ended, everyone's blood boiled.

Everyone is looking forward to tomorrow's game! ——

7 January, Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal and York City players stood in the aisles, with the boiling fan stands above them, listening to the tsunami cheers coming from the stands.

Arsenal's captain today is Olivier Giroud, who is at the front of the queue alongside York City captain Westerman.

The two of them weren't very familiar with each other, so they just shook hands and looked ahead.

Alonso, who stands in the middle of the York City team, is obviously the most familiar player among the Arsenal players, and everyone has greeted Brother Long.

As the referee and assistant referee took the lead out of the tunnel of the players, the audience immediately erupted in even more enthusiastic applause and cheers, but also boos.

Obviously, part of this is for the home team Arsenal, while the other part is "for" the away team York City.

In total, nearly 3,000 fans from Yorkshire came to support the team.

Even though they didn't think the odds were good and the distance – a four-hour train ride from York to London – they came.

"The player is out! Viewers, we are now seeing one of the third round of the FA Cup in England in the 2016-2017 season, with Arsenal hosting York City! ”

Sky Sports is also very concerned about this game, and specially arranged Lineker to comment on the scene.

'Let's start with Arsenal's starting line-up, which is still Arsene Wenger's usual 4-2-3-1. Compared with the Premier League in midweek, Arsenal's starting line-up for this game has made a big rotation, Ospina started the game in the goalkeeper position, and in the backline, teenager Niles played at right-back, Gabriel replaced the injured Koscielny, and the other two defenders were still Mustafi and Monreal. ”

In midfield, Aaron Ramsey and Xhaka formed a back two, Sanchez was rested and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaced Sanchez as a left winger. Alexis Iwobi continued to play in midfield, with Lucas Perez on the right winger and Olivier Giroud captaining the pitch. It is worth mentioning that Welbeck, who has been out of injury for eight months, returned from injury and came to the bench in this game. ”

"This kind of rotation may affect Arsenal's performance at both ends of the pitch to a certain extent, but Arsene Wenger is clearly confident in his squad."

"After all, today they were playing against a team from League One. Although York City just brought in Spanish star Xavi Alonso not long ago, the total value of their entire team is still not as good as Sanchez in the Arsenal team. ”

Speaking of this, Lineker said with a smile: "Of course, we all know that the most important reason why Alonso is willing to play from the Bundesliga to League One is that the owner of York City is Pan Yi. ”

"It can also be said that the reason why the York City team is what it is today is because their owner is Pan Yi. Due to the existence of Pan Yi, York City has attracted countless players and coaches to vote, and has also attracted a lot of capital injection. ”

"We also know that Pan Yi beat Arsenal when he was coaching. So, when he becomes owner, how will his team perform against Arsenal? ”

"As I said just now, the value of the two teams is not at the same level at all, presumably it will be extremely difficult for Pan Yi to take advantage of Wenger this time......

On the pitch at this time, the referee had already put the whistle to his mouth, and soon blew the whistle for the start of the game.

From the first minute of the game, York City's players were in a desperate scramble, including the strikers dropping back into midfield.

York City used a 4-4-2 formation today, but both Armand and Baker were closer to their own midfield and close to Alonso and Rice.

This also minimises space to limit the transmission of Arsenal's midfield.

Everyone knows that Arsene Wenger's side are the best at making the most of the space on the pitch and then making the team play fluidly!

And now in the Arsenal team, Swiss star Xhaka, who just joined the team in the summer window this season, is now the absolute main force of the team.

Physical, ferocious and aggressive, he is like a bulldozer on the pitch, making up for Arsenal's defensive shortcomings in midfield.

Under his active scrambling, York City's side was a little out of control.

Compared to him, Little Rice's physical fitness was as thin as a piece of paper, and he flew away as soon as he flicked it.

And what about Xavi Alonso? He is about to prepare to retire as a veteran, how can he be able to withstand such a bulldozer? Not to mention that Xhaka also has "Death" Ramsey by his side to assist.

Arsenal soon took control of the midfield.

Five minutes later, Xhaka interrupted the ball in a scramble before passing diagonally to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left.

Chamberlain's speed was fast, and he tried to make a feint in front of Tomiyasu, and after shaking off his opponent, he went straight to the bottom and passed a low flat ball.

Westermann cleared the ball before Giroud could grab the spot, throw-in!

"Tomiyasu, don't rush too forward, pay attention to the position!" Westerman reminded Tomiyasu behind him.

Tomiyasu turned back to him and nodded in agreement, but the whole person stared at Chamberlain nervously.

This guy is extremely fast and has excellent physical fitness, so the impact is also very strong, as long as he relaxes a little, after being shaken, he can't catch up even if he shoots the horse.

When he was in League One, Tomiyasu had never encountered such a tough opponent!

"Don't worry, Tomiyasu, and us!" Full-back Kulusevski also retreated to help Tomiyasu defend himself.

Compared with Tomiyasu Kenhiro, although he is also young, Kulusevsky has seen the world no matter how he says, and his mentality will be more stable.

At this point, Arsenal threw the ball out of bounds and Ramsey immediately deflected the ball to Lucas Perez on the right.

The 28-year-old Spanish midfielder has also joined Arsenal this season and has spent almost €20 million on Arsene Wenger.

However, he still struggled to play his value in the team, so he was mainly used as a rotation player.

Now when he got the ball, he saw the opposing left-back Alphonso Davies coming forward, so Lucas Perez wanted to use his speed to eat Alphonso Davies.

He had only accelerated two steps before Alphonso Davies caught up and shoved him off the touchline with a ferocious tackle.

When it comes to speed, Alphonso Davies really hasn't been afraid of anyone!

It was a brilliant defense!

"At the beginning of the game, it was very hot. Arsenal player Lucas Perez got up from the ground and stared at the opponent's left full-back with an indignant face, as if he was still muttering something to the referee, he should be complaining that the opponent's action was too big, but the referee just signaled the game to continue! ”

The fans at the Emirates Stadium immediately booed in dissatisfaction with the referee's decision!

"Well done, Alfonso!" Scaloni stood right in front of the dugout and shouted encouragement to Alphonso Davies.

In this game, York City obviously has the upper hand in absolute strength, so it is necessary to play with spirit to have more chances.

And a tackle like Alphonso Davies is obviously a morale booster!

At this time, Pan Yi, who was in the stands, also applauded gently.

He could see that the young players in the squad were a little uncomfortable facing a strong team from the Premier League for the first time.

It's about having a newborn calf like Alfonso Davis who is not afraid of tigers!

And with this tackle, the game has entered a fast-paced attack, defense and scramble almost from the beginning, and even the scene has become very hot.

Although York City's overall strength is much more than that of Arsenal, in the first ten minutes of the opening game, he relied on his tenacious fighting spirit and fierce scramble to fight with Arsenal, but the situation was still firmly controlled by Arsenal.

But there will be a mistake in the hundred.

In the 20th minute of the game, Arsenal backfield Mustafi made a long pass directly to Giroud, who headed the ball a little, Iwobi received the ball and directly hit a through ball, and Oxlade-Chamberlain immediately cut diagonally into the box.

Westerman's slowness was magnified in the moment, and he didn't even have time to drag Oxlade-Chamberlain, only to watch as the fast England star sent the ball into the York City goal.

1:0, Arsenal ushered in their first goal of the day!

At this moment, "Zhang Wuji" incarnated as "Zhang Jinchu", and he scored!

Amid the cheers of the Arsenal fans, Scaloni immediately called the players on the sidelines: "It's okay, guys! We've done a good job, remember, keep playing according to our plan, you know? ”

The players said yes in unison.

Facing a strong opponent like Arsenal, conceding the goal first was something that the York City coaching staff could have expected before the game.

And after conceding a goal, you have to stabilize your mentality and defend better to avoid being taken advantage of by the opponent to score again.

Assistant coach De Zerbi also kept shouting from the sidelines, allowing the players to quickly organize their defensive formations.

However, after Arsenal scored the first goal, morale suddenly became more high.

The situation on the field has become even more one-sided, and York City is almost pressed in the half and cannot get out, so they can only continue to clear and steal.

In response to Arsenal's bombardment, Scaloni even pulled striker Baker back into the backfield, and the four midfielders also retreated to the edge of the penalty area, leaving the fastest Thomas Armand cruising around the midfield, making York City's on-field formation look like 9-1-0.

Seeing York City's posture, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger also made some tactical tweaks, that is, to strengthen long-range shots to break York City's iron bucket formation and strive to kill the game early.

Such adjustments have proven to be effective.

In the 35th minute of the first half, Giroud took the ball with his back and gently pushed the ball in front of him before Westermann and De Ligt were about to scramble him on either side of him, and Xhaka in midfield rushed up with a clean volley!

York City goalkeeper Isakson's vision was blocked, and by the time he could see where the ball was coming from, it was too late to make a save.

The ball is in, 2:0!

It was almost a goal that could have given York City an early death sentence.

Because of the disadvantage of trying to recover two goals at the Emirates Stadium, I am afraid that even Chelsea and Manchester City will be difficult to do, let alone just York City.

The Arsenal fans in the stands burst into cheers again, shouting the names of Giroud and Xhaka.

And after this goal, Arsenal also deliberately slowed down the tempo.

After all, they have a crucial FA Cup tie against Chelsea in three days' time, and the FA Cup game can be won without a heavy hand.

In this way, the score of 2:0 remained until the end of the first half.

At halftime, when Scaloni and De Zerbi returned to the locker room with the players, Pan Yi was still sitting in the stands, thoughtful.

It seems that with the current strength of York City, it is really difficult to compete with Arsenal head-on.

"But they still have weaknesses." Pan Yi stood up, "As long as we can grasp this weakness, it is not impossible to get the score back......"