Super Marshal

On the afternoon of September 12th, Manchester City Stadium.

As soon as he returned to the locker room from the court, Gao Han received an Arsenal starting list from assistant coach Brian Kidd, which made Gao Han very puzzling.

Not only him, but Brian Kidd next to him was also surprised.

"What's the matter?" Sergio Garcia looked confused.

Gao Han casually stuffed the paper with the starting list into his hand, and replied: "Wenger has changed."

Two weeks ago, when Arsenal challenged Manchester United away, Wenger had a four-three-three formation. The frontcourt included Bendtner, Walcott and Van Persie, but in this game he had a four-four-two formation. .

The goalkeeper is Almunia, and the defensive lines are Clichy, Gallas, Vermaelen and Sarnia.

The most troublesome is the four midfield players, Alexander Song, Diaby, Denilson and Fabregas. How will these four players be ranked? Is it to adopt the traditional four-four-two that Arsenal was good at before? Or is there another arrangement?

The double forwards are Bendtner and Van Persie.

The central axis of Arsenal's entire lineup is inextricably linked to Alpine. Gallas is the reason Alpine left Chelsea angrily. Fabregas and Van Persie were both dug and promoted by Alpine.

Gao Han never doubted the strength of this team, just this game...

"Diaby and Denilson are two young players that Wenger has cultivated in recent years and have played many positions. On the contrary, it is Alexander Song and Fabregas, who are basically fixed in the middle."

Brian Kidd's words made Gao Han nod slightly, "You mean, the two pull sides, and Alexander Song and Fabregas are in the middle?"

"It's totally possible." Brian Kidd nodded.

These two players are obviously not typical wing players. Wenger arranged for them to play. There should be only one goal, to grab possession of the ball with Manchester City, while trying to suppress Manchester City's midfielder.

"From the previous four-three-three formation, which was more prone to offense, to the now more balanced offensive and defensive four-four-two formation, Wenger is still very jealous of us, and they are no strangers to the four-four-two." Gao Han laughed. Tao.

Brian Kidd nodded, "Arsenal's regular formation last season was four or four."

"That's different. Before, they had Adebayor on the front line, and Rosicky and Walcott on the wing, but in this game Denilson and Diaby were arranged to start..."

Gao Han smiled suddenly, "Aren't you being too cautious?"

After hearing this, everyone couldn't help feeling funny. Gao Han's so-called cautiousness was actually mocking Wenger for being conservative.

Adebayor was the main center of Arsenal last season. The Togolese player is one of the most outstanding centers in the Premier League last season. Although not Arsenal’s scoring leader, this type of player often cannot be used. Measured by the number of goals.

But this summer, after Adebayor fell out with Arsenal and Wenger, he moved to Real Madrid and played for Mourinho. This caused problems with Arsenal’s striker and many players had to adapt again. .

So far this season, Arsenal have scored the most goals in the Premier League. A total of 15 goals have been scored in the first four rounds, but of these 15 goals, the striker really scored, only two of them. , Van Persie and other main forwards' goal efficiency is not even as good as that of midfielders such as Vermaelen, Diaby and Fabregas.

Obviously, Wenger's team needs to re-adapt to the offense without a top center, and Van Persie also needs to re-adapt to the new role of center.

Judging from the four games in the new season, whether it is Diaby or Denilson, the offensive power is still there.

"Should we make some adjustments?" Brian Kidd asked concerned.

Before the game, everyone at Manchester City thought that Arsenal would play a four-three-three formation. Now Wenger suddenly changes four-four-two...

"No." Gao Han waved his hand, "everything will never change. Wenger's style of play is the same no matter what. We still adopt the previously planned game strategy, and the specific situation will be adjusted according to the situation on the court."

Brian Kidd couldn't help but nodded and smiled.

He vaguely remembered that when Ferguson coached Manchester United, it seemed to be the same.

Although Brian Kidd rarely contacted Ferguson after leaving Manchester United, he often learned of Ferguson's evaluation of Alpine from the mouths of some friends and insiders. This is the reason why he was willing to come to Manchester City as an assistant coach.

Now, he wanted to see if Gao Han was as magical as the legend.

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"Goalkeeper Peter Cech, the three defenders are Kompany, Xavi Martinez and Sabaletta, and the midfielder is still Xavi Alonso and Mascherano. David Silva and Modric moved forward, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema and Sturridge in the front trident."

In the visiting team's locker room, Wenger read to all the players the list of Manchester City's starting lineup.

In addition to Sturridge, the other ten players are Manchester City's main starting team this season.

As for Sanchez, the reason why he will be placed on the bench is estimated to have something to do with him playing two World Cup qualifiers.

Everyone knows that Bielsa’s team is notoriously expensive. Sanchez traveled back and forth for more than half of the world, and played two full courts in succession. Alpine hid him in the snow and arranged for the more physically active Sturridge to start. It is understandable.

"The opponent in this game is Alpine Manchester City. There are many media and fans outside who are accusing Alpine and bombarding Manchester City. But if you are paralyzed by this team, then I want to say that you are all wrong. , And it’s so wrong."

Wenger's tone continued to increase, obviously hoping to attract the attention of all players.

"Yes, Manchester City invested 400 million euros this summer and its strength has greatly increased, but think about it, more than a month of training time, to reintegrate a dozen players into a team, completely change the team's playing style. Who can do it?"

Wenger's words left many players speechless.

Anyone who is familiar with the laws of football knows that this is a very difficult thing.

"Is Manchester City's performance very poor?" Wenger sneered. "They won all four games, scored five goals, and conceded one goal. Their goals are not many, but their defense is so far in the Premier League. Best of all, many people said at the beginning of the season that it would be dangerous for them to play three-guard defense. What about now?"

The Arsenal players in the dressing room couldn't help tensing their nerves. After hearing Wenger's words, they couldn't help but re-examine this Manchester City. Indeed, as Wenger said, the defense leads the Premier League.

"Gao Han has a very clear team plan from the beginning. He selects players according to his own plan. If you think about it carefully, Manchester City's possession rate in the four games this season has reached an average of 100 points. If it’s over 60, they can do it in the Premier League."

Everyone was shocked, and they really felt the threat from Manchester City.

Arsenal is also a ball-handling team. Every one of them knows how difficult it is to have an average possession rate of more than 60%. But Manchester City, this newly formed team can do it. Arrived.

"So, in this game, we must not allow Manchester City to easily control the ball."

Wenger once again reminded all the players on the scene.

"After Alexander Song was delayed, Fabregas was in charge of the midfield. The two of you should always pay attention to protecting the midfield. Diaby and Denilson should actively play a role in the wing, whether it is offensive or defensive, but also pay attention. , Ready to help the center at any time and strengthen the defense of the center."

Wenger's gaze swept across the players, and finally fixed on Fabregas.

The Spaniard has been in very good form recently and has just made a splash in the national team. Wenger also hopes that Fabregas can make a difference in this game.

"Cesque, you must always pay attention to the situation. While ensuring the stability of the mid lane, I allow you to actively advance in the attack. Players on the two wide lanes must pay attention to support.

Fabregas understood Wenger's meaning and nodded heavily.

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When the players of the two teams, led by the referee, walked into the city stadium one after another, cheers were heard from the audience.

Even the live broadcast commentator of Sky TV was surprised by the atmosphere of Manchester City's home stadium this season.

"Alpine and the joining of many superstar players have greatly stimulated the Manchester City football market. We have seen that the recent home and city stadiums are full of stadiums. It is said that their season ticket sales have exceeded 35,000. This has created The highest season ticket sales record in Manchester City’s history."

"And Manchester City has a good start this season. The Alpine team has won four games in four games and currently ranks third in the league standings, behind Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur."

"Tottenham Hotspur is one of the most eye-catching teams in the Premier League this season. Redknapp has just defeated Chelsea’s Scolari and Manchester City’s Alpine, and was elected as the Premier League’s best coach of the month in August. Tottenham’s forward Defoe defeated Cristiano Ronaldo and Rooney and was elected the Player of the Month."

"Many people are not particularly satisfied with the start of the season for Manchester City. Recently, many media fans have been accusing Alpine's conservative one-to-zeroism. But this game faces Arsenal, who are good at passing and controlling the game. I believe it will It's a wonderful matchup."

After the start of the game, both sides played a little cautiously, especially in the first five minutes, they were more restrained and made a lot of mistakes.

But five minutes later, the two sides began to enter the state, and the situation gradually became clear.

Arsenal still want to grab the ball. The reason Wenger returned to 442 is to put pressure on more evenly, especially the two players in the frontcourt put pressure on Manchester City’s three defenders, forcing Manchester City’s backcourt to fail. Pass the ball smoothly.

It can be seen that Wenger's four-four-two change is definitely not aimless, but well prepared.

But Gao Han also did his homework. He is known as the best coach in Europe who is good at high position pressure~www.NovelMTL.com~ He has asked the players to put pressure on Arsenal from the very beginning, and even on Arsenal's defense and even the goalkeeper.

The most obvious is that in the ninth minute of the game, Arsenal passed back the goalkeeper. Sturridge suddenly slammed into the penalty area, scaring the gunner goalkeeper Almunia to make a direct clearance with a big foot, but the ball was topped by Kompany just after halftime. Back to Arsenal's halftime.

After Cristiano Ronaldo received the ball from the left, he used his skillful skills and excellent speed to capture a murderous opportunity between Sarnia and Gallas, but then Benzema failed to pass in the middle of the cross. He understood, and took a slower beat, causing the ball to be cleared by Vermaelen with a big foot.

But from this attack, everyone sniffed out Gao Han's strategy for this game.

Don't grab the ball with Arsenal, but press high and press, and pursue offensive efficiency.

This also made Wenger's eyebrows locked up and his face worrisome.

On the other hand, Gao Han seems to have gained something.

(End of this chapter)

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