My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 146 Luck Coach

September 29, Emirates Stadium.

The sixth round of the Premier League.

Arsenal play Chelsea at home.

The players from both sides started to battle on the court. Chen Yao looked at Chelsea's coach from a distance, then turned back to chat with his coaching staff.
"The penultimate game. Coach." Lillo said.

He was talking about the test Chen Yao received from Tim Lewis more than half a month ago. In one month, four league games, ten points.

Arsenal have now won two games in a row and collected six points.

If he wins this game against Chelsea, a draw in the next round of the league will be enough for Chen Yao to have no worries about his position as coach.

No team in the Premier League will fire the head coach who has led the team to ten points in four league games and defeated the defending Premier League champion Manchester City and the defending Champions League champion Chelsea.

"From a utilitarian point of view, it's not bad to keep a draw in this game." Bergkamp looked at the schedule. "We will play West Ham in the next round. That game will be easier to win."

"Oh, Dennis, never have this thought." Chen Yao looked at the players walking towards the center circle, "We must think about victory in every game... let winning become a habit."

"By the way, coach." Bergkamp curled his lips, "Do you think the board of directors will really fire you immediately if we lose?"

Chen Yao was noncommittal, "Dennis, I don't have a choice..."

"Same." Bergkamp sighed, "That's why I don't want to be a head coach. There's too much pressure on you to fight for your position."

"Is not it good?"

"You will be forced to do a lot of utilitarian things, even if you know they are not good for you, the players and the club."

"What is your ambition, Dennis?" Lillo interjected.

"Me." Bergkamp scratched his head. Where there used to be flowing blond hair, now there is only a bald forehead. "I said that I want to be a bridge coach, communicating between me and the players, and also communicating with the ball." Team and players.”

"It's a good choice," Lillo said, "but I still want to personally lead the team to the finals."

He looked at Chen Yao, "Of course, coach, before that, I will help you achieve this goal."

"You're going to be the assistant coach with the best resume, Juan."

Chen Yao turned his attention back to the court, "The game has begun."

……

Chelsea coach is their legendary Roberto Di Matteo.

The head coach was appointed to take over the team at a critical moment, relying on his own prestige to quickly unite the demoralized and disintegrated Chelsea into a sincerely cooperative team, and even used this to win the 2011-12 Champions League championship.

Their opponent at the time was Bayern Munich.

Bayern surrounded Chelsea's penalty area and bombarded them wildly, but it was Chelsea who won the game and lifted the Big Ears Cup in the end.

For this reason, Lillo once asked Chen Yao doubtfully, "Can we get the Big Ear Cup we are pursuing like crazy just like this?"

Chen Yao could only tell him helplessly that sometimes, luck was also part of strength.

However, Chelsea had a hot start to the 2012-13 season. They topped the league with four wins and one draw, with a record of [-] points, so much so that public opinion exclaimed that Di Matteo was the one who led Chelsea's revival. "Well, but I think Roberto's biggest advantage is his good luck." In this regard, Chen Yao told his team members, "And luck will always run out. So, don't regard them as European champions. , or some strong team that you can't match. Believe me, you can definitely beat Chelsea."

Chelsea started with a 4-2-3-1 formation, which is a very popular formation in this era and is Di Matteo's favorite formation.

说是4-2-3-1，迪马特奥更多时候会让两个攻击型边路球员回撤的很深，和中场球员沉到差不多的位置，形成4-4-1-1的防守阵型。

The center forward is Drogba or Torres, and the one slightly behind him is Juan Mata.

Last season, Di Matteo relied on such conservative and cautious defensive counterattack tactics to lead Chelsea to a legendary victory in the Champions League.

In the summer of 2012, the Blues spent huge sums of money to introduce more talented attackers. Di Matteo had an attacking combination dubbed "Mazarca" by fans:

Mata, Hazard and Oscar.

This is the configuration of three attacking midfielders in Chelsea's upgraded 4-2-3-1 formation, with the golden boy Fernando Torres at the front.

Arsenal's starting lineup is also a familiar 4-2-3-1, with goalkeeper Szczesny, four defenders Gibbs, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Sagna, and double midfielder Arteta. And Jorginho, attacking midfielder Griezmann, Cazorla, Walcott, single arrow Giroud.

In Chen Yao's field of vision, the team's tactical proficiency has exceeded 85%. The apertures under the players' feet are all glowing with a comfortable green light. Their tacit understanding has continued to improve in recent games.

When Arsenal can put their proud offensive system into operation, Chen Yao believes that they can compete with any opponent.

But in this game, he did not ask the team to attack from the beginning.

The pace of the game after the opening was not fast. After having a new combination of attackers, Di Matteo was eager to get the team out of the boring defensive counterattack tactics, and to control the ball and press the offense.

He waved his arms widely, asking his players to press forward and feed the ball to the front four, allowing them to attack Arsenal's penalty area.

In sharp contrast, Chen Yao pressed his hands down to signal the players to calm down and not to tangle with Chelsea in the midfield.

In the initial stage of the game, Arsenal gave up part of the ball, and the players retreated to the half-court, compressing the space deeply.

Chelsea's players were not used to it.

In the 9th minute, Ramirez passed the ball to Juan Mata again.

Mata was confused after receiving the ball.

He didn't quite understand what he was supposed to do.

Even though he has attackers worth 3000 million like Eden Hazard and Oscar around him, and forwards like Fernando Torres in front of him, he is still a little confused.

Because Di Matteo didn't teach him what to do when faced with an opponent's defensive defense, and what to do with his teammates...

It's also possible that he taught it, but neither he nor his teammates were used to his ideas.

What Di Matteo is best at teaching is also the weapon that Chelsea players relied on to win the Champions League last season. In the final analysis, it is defensive counterattack.

When the possession of the ball was transferred to their feet, Chelsea's new players who had not yet completed their adjustment did not know how to dismantle the opponent's defense.

He accelerated slightly and tried to dunk past Arteta. Arteta did not block his breakthrough, but he also followed his position, forcing Mata to walk in the direction where Arsenal's personnel are densest in the middle.

After taking a few steps, Mata could see players everywhere, some from Chelsea and more from Arsenal, but... there was just no space.

(End of this chapter)