My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 129 Sky City and Countdown

The post-match press conference for the first round of the league was very brief.

Chen Yao only answered three questions in total. Everyone could see that the young head coach was extremely dissatisfied with this unexpected defeat.

It may be unexpected for him, but for many reporters present, this is not a shocking result.

A reporter from the "Evening Standard" asked him what he thought of the conceded goal. Chen Yao replied expressionlessly: "When we control the ball in the high post, we have to be wary of our opponents attacking the space behind us. We failed to do so early. Got the lead and paid the price.”

A reporter also asked about the suspected penalty kick that occurred in the Sunderland penalty area. Chen Yaoxuan smiled and replied: "If you go back and watch the replay carefully, you will know whether it was a fair penalty. "

"So, you're saying the penalty is unfair?"

"No, I mean this sentence is absolutely, completely, and unquestionably just."

But his expression looked like he was mocking.

……

There are still seven days until the second round of the league.

The next day, Chen Yao found Dick Law early in the morning.

He looked like he hadn't slept well, with dark circles under his eyes and a pale complexion, which startled Dick Law.

"In order to deal with transfer matters, I often stay up late." Dick Law made him a cup of strong tea, "But Chen, I have never been as pale as you."

Chen Yao smiled, took the hot tea, and took a few sips.

"Thank you, I feel better." He put the cup on the table.

"Come to urge me to promote the transfer of Antoine Griezmann?" Dick Law sat back at his desk and put on his reading glasses.

"I need this player, Dick."

"But you are not willing to pay liquidated damages directly."

"I am willing to accept liquidated damages, but..."

"You still want to lower the price, don't you?" Dick Law shook his head helplessly. "Real Sociedad are not fools. Besides, there are still two weeks before the transfer window closes. They are not in a hurry."

Chen Yao lowered his head and cursed something, and said to Dick Law: "One week, if an agreement cannot be reached within a week, we will directly trigger liquidated damages."

He estimated the exchange rate and found that Griezmann's liquidated damages would not exceed 500 million pounds. This was not an unbearable expense.

"It's up to you," Dick Law agreed.

"However, Chen, I have to remind you." He changed the topic, "If you complete this deal, we will break the transfer fee record twice in a season."

"I understand and I can handle the pressure."

"……That's good."

Dick Law buried what he wanted to say in his heart.

He originally wanted to say that if Chen Yao could not keep his coaching position, these expenditures would become a drag on Arsenal's future.

It's cruel, but it's the rules of the game in the Premier League.

The subsequent coach must pay for the previous coach. Once the previous coach overdraws his resources, the subsequent coach will have to find his own way out, which may drag the club into a trough for years or even decades.

But Dick Law swallowed these words, and he felt a little ashamed.

He thought of the beginning of their cooperation a year ago and everything that happened to him during this year.

Dick Law felt that Chen Yao deserved a chance to make a bet.

I shouldn't be so distrustful of the coach in front of me, and I shouldn't use the team's future to force him to make sacrifices.

That's it, Dick Law sighed, found the phone number of the Royal Sociedad Club, sorted out his emotions, and dialed again with a shy face.

……

At noon, Chen Yao, Lillo and Bergkamp had lunch together in a corner of the restaurant.

We said we were having lunch together, but none of the three of us ate much.

"Your face is not very good-looking." Bergkamp picked up the meal, "I can feel your pressure, but this is only the first game, it doesn't explain anything."

"I'm fine, Dennis."

Chen Yao looked up at the nearby dining table, and the players who finished training also sat around in twos and threes and began to eat.

To his relief, the team's tactical proficiency and tacit understanding value have increased visibly, and his badge has played a role.

15% tactical learning efficiency bonus, 15% training effect gain, plus other badges provide a total of more than 50% efficiency improvement.

The Arsenal players are learning and improving their abilities rapidly, and in order to make the badges work, Chen Yao personally participated in a large number of training activities.

It was tiring for him, but he worried it wasn't fast enough.

Lillo, too, glanced back at the players. "They're improving, Coach. I can guarantee that."

A look of worry flashed in his eyes, he knew how tired Chen Yao was from participating in so many training details, and he also knew how eager the young head coach was for a victory.

"I feel it." Chen Yao smiled, "Don't worry about them, we can win."

"Yeah, we can win."

……

On August 22, Arsenal played Stoke City away.

Before the game, Per Mertesacker was a little unwell, so Chen Yao had to remove him from the starting lineup and replace him with Thomas Vermaelen.

Vermaelen's jumping ability is good, but facing Stoke City, Chen Yao was still a little uneasy.

The team, which plays its home game at the Britannia Stadium, is nicknamed the "Potters" and is regarded as the oldest football club in the world after Notts County.

They also have a nickname, "Sky City."

Stoke City's manager is Tony Pulis.

Chen Yao glanced at the Stoke City coaching bench. Tony Pulis was wearing his baby sports cap and sports coat as always, chewing gum in his mouth.

And he and the members of the coaching staff all wore shirts and ties. This is the tradition left to them by Arsene Wenger, and they treat football events with the attitude of treating ceremonies.

The fans who came to the Britannia Stadium did not make any discordant voices. Facing the Premier League opponents, the small number of Arsenal fans tried their best to encourage the home team and also sent support to Chen Yao.

But these sincere wishes turned into unwillingness and silence after nine or ten minutes.

Arsenal lost [-] to [-] away to Stoke City.

Compared to the previous one, the scene of this game was better.

Although Tony Pulis maintained his usual cautious attitude, after all, he was in front of the home fans. He did not choose to shrink absolutely, but pressed forward appropriately.

Arsenal's players love this kind of space-opening game.

No. 20 In the second minute, Jorginho predicted Charlie Adam's passing intention. The two had faced off against Liverpool last season.

Chen Yao told Jorginho before the game that Stoke City's offensive routine is to pass the wide ball to the wing, and their midfielders have very few outlets. Players like Charlie Adam who can't get along in Liverpool are just one of them.

After intercepting the pass, Jorginho played a through ball to Santi Cazorla, and the Spanish midfielder broke through Stoke City's weak midfield with a stop and went to the left halfway for Zaha.

Zaha made an inverted triangle cross. Giroud, who followed up, faced the opportunity that was close at hand and grabbed the center post. Walcott, who followed up, made a supplementary shot from a small angle.

When leading one to zero, Chen Yao felt relieved.

But in the second half, Stoke City scored two goals.

A ball was crossed from the wing, and Crouch directly pressed Koscielny and smashed into the goal.

The other goal was the "grenade" tactic of a throw-in. Tony Pulis did not give up the traditional art of Stoke City. A group of tall and strong men huddled together in the Arsenal penalty area, and then Crouch used Scored twice in the same manner as the previous goal.

The aerial deficiencies brought about by the absence of Mertesacker have been hit hard by Stoke City, which is proficient in high-altitude balls. Tony Pulis will not be careless enough to ignore this shortcoming.

Two consecutive strikes completed within 7 minutes destroyed Arsenal's morale. In the remaining time, the team got several opportunities, but facing Stoke City who retreated across the board, Giroud's poor ability to seize opportunities was exposed. undoubtedly.

A disappointed Chen Yao approached the players and comforted them amid the cheers at the Britannia Stadium.

Olivier Giroud was sweating profusely and squatting on the ground in embarrassment.

He knows that he wasted too many opportunities, which is intolerable in this position.

Santi Cazorla hugged his waist, gasped and shook his head. He did not expect that his start to the Premier League would be so difficult.

After comforting the defense, which was traumatized by Stoke City's high ball, Chen Yao ran to comfort the two new players.

"It's all my fault, coach." Giroud shook the sweat off his head, "I should have kicked the damn ball in."

"It's really your problem that you can't seize the opportunity, Olivier." Chen Yao was not polite.

"I see."

"However, Olivier, it is my responsibility to prevent you from showing your own characteristics." Chen Yao patted Giroud on the shoulder. The 1.9-meter-three Frenchman is much taller than himself, "Not too much Blame yourself, let's find out the best way to play for you."

In fact, Chen Yao knows what is the most suitable style of play for Giroud, but in addition to his own guidance, he also needs the French's own comprehension.

"Santi, very good performance." Chen Yao praised Cazorla.

"We lost, coach. I would rather exchange my performance for three points."

Chen Yao saw a little confusion in Cazorla's eyes.

When Cazorla was persuaded to join the team, the Spanish midfielder was not very firm, but he adjusted his mentality and accepted Arsenal's invitation.

But the seeds of hesitation were always planted, and the two-game losing streak at the beginning of the game aroused Cazorla's anxiety about traveling to England.

His wife gave birth to a child just last year, and it was not an easy thing for the family to leave Spain, where they had lived for many years, and come to London.

"We will correct all this, Sandy, trust me." Chen Yao said.

Cazorla looked at the coach and smiled: "Don't worry about me, coach. I chose Arsenal because I trust you and the team. I only care about how to help you."

……

After returning to London, Chen Yao felt the suffocating atmosphere of North London.

When he returned to his residence, he tried to go to the White Horse Bar.

As soon as he opened the door, Chen Yao felt several eyes focus on him.

Without hesitation, he immediately closed the door and left the bar.

It seemed that he could vaguely hear a few swearing and swearing from the bar.

Walking on the street, he would often meet an old man with a dog and a newspaper, and the old man would look at himself thoughtfully.

That day, when Chen Yao hurriedly passed by the old man, he heard the old man mutter, seemingly unintentionally: "Don't hurt this team, bastard."

All these things made Chen Yao feel that Arsenal was already a part of community life, and if he couldn't make this part shine, he would be hostile by the community.

"It's the culture here," the apartment manager would tell him, "so no coach lives here like you—I mean, you're the head coach now, why don't you think about changing houses?"

At this time, Chen Yao will tell him that first of all, he is only a temporary, six-month probationary head coach.

……

Dick Law eventually managed to cut the price a bit.

Intense discussions between Arsenal and Real Sociedad continued until August [-]th.

Antoine Griezmann exerted influence not very willingly. He informed the management of Real Sociedad that he was willing to join Arsenal, but if the club refused to accept the offer, he also respected the club's choice.

Real Sociedad officials are wise to realize that twisted melons are not sweet.

Although Antoine Griezmann's statistics last season reached seven goals and four assists, after all, Real Sociedad is only a mid-to-lower team ranked No. 12 in La Liga, and considering only the current strength, his market valuation is only about 800 million. EUR.

The two sides finally gave in and reached an agreement on a price of 900 million pounds (about 400 million euros). Arsenal's compromise was that Real Sociedad added 10% of the secondary transfer share.

But for Arsenal now, being able to reach an agreement is the most valuable thing.

Dick Law had been working on this for two months, and when the window was about to close, the old gentleman made himself a pot of hot coffee, and devoted himself to drafting the final terms of the contract with vigor.

Arsenal's transfer operations are also being checked and filled before the closing window.

Two other key figures who were saved by Chen Yao from Gazidis' change plan, chief scout Steve Rowley and senior scout Cajigao, also provided Chen Yao with an opportunity five days before the closing window. list.

This is a document listed by the scouting team after summarizing the many objects they have inspected. The first page is the players highly recommended by the scouting team, and the following pages are the complete list.

Chen Yao just glanced at the players listed on the first page and skipped them.

He has heard of these names, but he knows that Arsenal at this time cannot have the money and ability to negotiate these transfers.

The attached list covers hundreds of players, all of whom are linked to Arsenal's scouting network.

The two scouts did not recommend Chen Yao to check the detailed list. They thought that the results of their work had already been summed up on the first page, but Chen Yao still planned to check it out by himself.

He passed over players who played abroad because of time constraints and adaptability issues, which made them not suitable for picking up leaks at the last moment.

When he came to the domestic players section, Chen Yao quickly scanned the list and then focused on a name.

He realized he had forgotten a very good player, but he wondered why the name was still on the list.

He picked up a pen and underlined the name, and after a few more glances to confirm that the name was correct, he called Steve Rowley.

"Steve." Chen Yao counted the serial numbers of the name, "Help me check a player. It's No. 11 on the ninth page of the file you gave me...yes."

"Is that his name?" Raleigh asked.

"Yes." Chen Yao confirmed again, "Jamie Vardy."

(End of this chapter)