My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 159 I don’t understand giving up
In front of the camera.

Charlotte carefully angled the camera, smiled at Chen Yao, and signaled that it was time to start.

Her two assistants quietly stepped aside and the room fell silent.

Charlotte liked this kind of one-on-one interview scene very much. She put the camera on the training ground, on the side of the court, and in the cafeteria. But only at this time could she dig into the hearts of the characters. This documentary Only then will there be a soul.

"Mr. Coach, cough." She cleared her throat and smiled sheepishly, "Mr. Coach, I want to ask you a question."

"Excuse me."

"Well, Arsenal's Champions League journey is not going well. It can be said that the moment the group results are announced, you know what you are facing."

"Yes, there will be a group of death in every Champions League. The only difference is which four teams encounter this."

"Have you ever thought about the consequences of the team losing?"

"I have thought about it. As a coach, I have to pursue victory but also consider failure. We are a young team and there is a gap between us and the top teams in Europe. We need to cope with the most intense football league in the world. But this It’s not an excuse, if we want to grow, we must experience and overcome all this.”

"So do you think your team did it?"

"Oh, miss, your question is a bit sharp." Chen Yao laughed in front of the camera.

Charlotte's eyes were also smiling, but she said nothing, waiting for Chen Yao's answer.

Chen Yao suppressed his smile.

"There were certain moments where I thought we didn't do it. It's my responsibility - I owe it to myself to bring experience and courage to my team."

"You think you didn't do a good job?"

"This has nothing to do with my evaluation. I am always responsible." Chen Yao looked at Charlotte thoughtfully.

……

February 10, Emirates Stadium.

Ajax led Arsenal 2:0 at halftime.

Ajax coach Frank de Boer didn't expect the trip to London to go so smoothly.

In the first two rounds, Ajax did not benefit from Real Madrid, and Klopp's Dortmund was even more ruthless, beating Ajax 4:0 at home.

De Boer is uneasy about the trip to London. Arsenal is making great progress in the Premier League and he is already considering whether to strategically abandon the Champions League.

However, the game went surprisingly smoothly.

The continuous double matches and national team match days have forced Chen Yao to rotate constantly, and the young head coach's control of player rotation and sports status has obviously not reached the silky smoothness and sophistication of the famous coach.

After determining the frontcourt quartet of Giroud as the axis, Griezmann interleaving, Walcott blasting, and Cazorla connecting, Arsenal's offensive focus is increasingly handed over to these players.

When the Champions League came, Zaha, Chamberlain, Ramsey and others replaced by Chen Yao showed a qualitative gap with the former in terms of status and tacit understanding.

In the second half of the game, Arsenal attacked without reservation.

Players wearing red and white jerseys flooded past halftime.

Chen Yao handed over the responsibility of the organization to Marco Verratti.

This season, Arsenal's regular midfield partners are Arteta and Jorginho. Both players are stable players with organizational talents. In Chen Yao's philosophy, he needs someone to deliver the ball steadily. At the feet of the front four.

Verratti's skills and talent are not inferior, but his size can easily make him a target.And it is unrealistic to send two players in their early 20s as the midfield hub at the same time.

Therefore, in the league, Verratti can only sit on the bench, but in the cup, he will get the opportunity to rotate.

Verratti received a pass from Vermaelen, and Christian Eriksen immediately stepped up to press him with his back.

Verratti is not tall, but his control of the center of gravity exceeds that of the 1.8-meter-[-]-tall Dane.

This is the skill that Verratti thrives on.

He lowered his body, pulled the ball with his right foot, turned around with his back to Eriksen, and left the tall Dane behind.

Eriksen chased after Verratti, and he was a little surprised. The little man's lower body was very stable. He tried to restrict Verratti's movements, but failed.

Verratti brought the dribble to the front of the center circle. He made a fake pass to the right, deceiving Eno, and passed the angle diagonally to Zaha on the left.Zaha stopped the ball with his chest, took a few steps along the sideline, kept changing his pace with his feet, shook away the center of gravity of Ajax's right back, and cut into the penalty area.

From the first time he met Zaha, Chen Yao told him that wingers have a lot to do besides passing.

In the past season, his biggest advice to Zaha was to ask him to look up and observe more after passing someone, seeking cooperation.

Zaha remembered and did a good job. This time, he looked up before passing.

He saw Ramsey in a good supporting position. After getting rid of the defender, Zaha wanted to complete a one-two with Ramsey, but...

There is no one there anymore.

Ramsey ran to the offside line, ready to plug in.

Zaha's movements froze, and he felt uncomfortable with this lack of tacit understanding.

He took a few steps vertically, moved the left center back Niklas Moisand's position, found the route, and passed the low ball across the goal.

"Wilfred's performance is good." Lily was slightly surprised.

Chen Yao nodded in agreement with his statement, "He learned to observe. Even if his teammates did not cooperate, Wilfred found a suboptimal solution."

"Aron, on the other hand." Lillo sighed, "He is very confused. And he has been for a long time."

Zaha's cross was in place, but both Ramsey and Vardy who intervened missed this opportunity. The ball leaked from their feet. Although Chamberlain got the ball on the right, it was the best time to score. missed.

Chamberlain made a pass and was cleared by Alderweireld.

Arsenal's players looked lost and frustrated.

This was Arsenal's best chance in the second half. In the 701st minute, their offense was weak, but Ajax's counterattack worked.

Eriksen struggled to defend Verratti, but in attack, his height became a weapon.

The long pass from the backcourt was caught by Eriksen while Verratti was under pressure. The tall Dane trapped Verratti in his position, raised his head to reach a point, and pushed the ball forward.

Sim De Jong burst forward from the midfield position, Vermaelen stretched out his hand to pull, but did not pull De Jong.

In the penalty area, De Jong scored Ajax's third goal of the game.

The Emirates Stadium became a stage for fans of the visiting team to cheer, and Arsenal's group ranking remained unchanged at No. 4.

……

locker room.

When Chen Yao opened the door and came in, the players were sitting lifelessly in their seats. He saw unwillingness on the players' faces, and of course confusion.

Chen Yao also had a rough time in the past five minutes. After shaking hands with De Boer, he accepted a brief interview with the media, and the media were very interested in Arsenal's vastly different performance in the league and the Champions League.

"I don't take the Champions League seriously, and the results the boys have achieved in the league are not just good luck. We haven't won a continental competition yet? That's true, but we will get it."

He ended the interview in a hurry and returned to his team.

Lillo and Bergkamp crossed their arms and stood in two corners of the locker room, waiting for him.

"Is that it? You just lost a game and don't want to continue?"

Chen Yao walked among his players, "Do you think that we have lost three consecutive games in the Champions League and it is impossible to enter the knockout rounds? Or do you think you are not qualified to be the opponent of those European giants?"

He walked up to a player who had his head buried deeply, that was Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman's shoulders moved and he did not dare to look up.

"Coach." Ramsey's weak voice came out, "Maybe I am not the same person I used to be."

"Oh, damn it, Aaron." Chen Yao slapped him twice on the back, "Are you asking me to give up on you?"

Ramsey said nothing.

"I don't understand the word quit. Now, hold your head up."

(End of this chapter)