My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 181 The Starting Point of Recovery

2013 1 Month 31 Day.

Lu Ling almost stayed up all night. This is the last day of the winter transfer window. Now, hundreds of thousands of fans are following her updates on social media.

Her phone vibrated. Lu Ling glanced at the lit screen and then looked away.

As a football journalist, she gradually built up an extensive network of sources.

Most of them are very unreliable, a small part can be accepted half of them, and the remaining extremely rare part is a trustworthy source of information.

To this day, there is only one source of information that Lu Ling trusts.

And this source has not disclosed transfer news to her for a long time.

Lu Ling often thinks of the summer of last year, when her career took a qualitative leap.

She will not deny that Arsenal is a team with a broad fan base. If it can attract the attention of fans of this team, it can make the career of any media person a step forward.

Now, there is an emerging self-media person, Robbie Leal. This guy hosts a program called AFTV. He often interviews fans returning from Arsenal’s home games.

In the early part of the season, when Arsenal was in the best shape, Robbie Leal's show was tepid, and every fan he interviewed was full of praise.

In the middle of the season, after Arsenal's record declined, his program suddenly attracted a lot of attention.

Those fans scolded their teams and coaches in all kinds of ways in his videos, and sometimes it was more than just venting their anger - Lu Ling felt that it was more like a personal attack. However, the production became increasingly inferior in this way. , increasingly emotionally oriented programs, making Robbie Leal and his channel increasingly popular.

Lu Ling looked at the time displayed on the computer screen. If there was still a transfer, it was basically finalized by this time.

Some sources told her that after Arsenal signed Nacho Monreal, they were also interested in signing Kevin De Bruyne, and that the two parties' intentions were very close.

But this is hardly big news.

Who is Kevin De Bruyne?

A 22-year-old young Belgian player, how big a stir can his transfer cause?

Every reporter likes blockbuster deals involving superstars. For example, during the summer transfer, the game surrounding the transfer of Robin Van Persie also involved Arsenal, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, and Milan. power.

Now these transactions can only be described as trivial. It is said that Arsenal is not willing to offer De Bruyne a price of more than 2000 million pounds. For Chelsea, a player who has not shown absolute talent is sold at this price. It can be considered a small profit.

But is it really a reasonable choice for the budget-conscious Arsenal to be willing to repeatedly invest their limited resources in young players in their early 20s?
Lu Ling quickly compared the information from various sources in her mind. Her professional intuition told her that De Bruyne's transfer was not groundless, and she was ready to edit the tweet.

Even though Lu Ling never found the source of information she wanted.

So, in the summer, is it just a simple use?

While Lu Ling was editing the tweet, the sports news feed was still scrolling.

In the fourth round of the Premier League No. 20, Arsenal drew with Liverpool.

It seems like a long time ago since Arsenal last won a game in a heartbeat, and they have been struggling in recent times.

"I won't say that coach Chen Yao's performance in the first half of the season was accidental, but he is still too young - you know what I mean, because he is too young, so he has no experience to handle two-line, three-line or even four-line operations. , and he doesn’t know how to distribute his energy throughout a full season.”

In the studio of "Football Special", Chris Kamara commented on the Arsenal coach and their performance.

"He is very talented. He showed us a refreshing football that is full of pressure, strict discipline, and yet gorgeous and bright. The price is the amount of running that has hit new highs in half a season. And a longer and longer injury list — if he was given another season, he might do better, but not now.”

"Oh Chris," George Catlick said, "If we look at the standings, we will find that Manchester United's points advantage has not expanded much... Even Sir Alex Ferguson's team has not expanded much in the winter. There is fatigue. Could it be that this is actually a problem with the Premier League's format?"

Several people on the TV show had a lively exchange, but Lu Ling didn't pay much attention. She tried hard to think about how to edit her tweets.

And, Arsenal's next big game: the League Cup final against Swansea.

Swansea is a very interesting team in the Premier League this season. They have failed Arsenal twice. It seems that their characteristics are specifically designed to deal with Arsenal.

A team that retains the tough style and smart counterattacks of the mid-to-lower teams, as well as rich technical elements and a top frontcourt attacker - Michu, who is currently among the top three scorers in the Premier League - has made many The top teams in the Premier League stumbled.

The game will be held in three weeks. Lu Ling doesn't know what Arsenal's state will be like at that time. Have they gotten out of their trough?

Can they get their first trophy of the season?
If they can come out, this season may be a rewarding season.

If not, that's another story.

……

Before the end of the transfer window, Arsenal's official website finally made some news.

They officially announced that Kevin De Bruyne has joined the team. This is Arsenal's largest transfer in the winter window. Chelsea will receive 2000 million pounds in cash and several additional terms.

The outside world is generally surprised by Arsenal's moves. They have made two big-money transfers in a row in the past year, namely Antoine Griezmann and Kevin De Bruyne. Neither of these two players are mature. The stars, but the young players born after 1990, have no experience of proving themselves in the top league.

Antoine Griezmann's transfer, after half a season, is generally considered to be a good value for money, or even a great value for money.

His cooperation with Olivier Giroud was Arsenal's regular means of tearing apart opponents' defenses in the first half of the season, but after Giroud and Cazorla were injured, Griezmann's weaknesses were exposed. He needs someone behind him. Only when the playmaker holds the ball and someone is helping him with the ball can he find a chance to score.

However, the outside world generally has expectations for Griezmann. If he can improve his organizational skills, he will be a very outstanding player.

Kevin De Bruyne is now in the same situation as Griezmann half a season ago, and needs to prove that he is worthy of the price.

……

The schedule in February is relatively relaxed.

On February 20nd, in the fifth round of the Premier League No. [-], Arsenal encountered Swansea again.

In the FA Cup, a double cycle of the league, Arsenal faced Swansea for the third time this season.

This team is like the driver of the Gunners' decline in form. Every time they encounter them, Arsenal's lineup will have fewer players and their form will be a little worse.

The game against Swansea is regarded as a preview of the League Cup final, and Chen Yao knows exactly what kind of opponent he will face.

The comebacks of several players have been put on the timetable. Chen Yao dare not guarantee that they can make it to the finals at the end of the month, nor is he willing to let the injured come back early. Therefore, he can only use limited resources to try to win.Swansea scored first, and it was Michu who scored the goal.

His goal was more of a reflection of his personal ability. Arsenal's defense focused on Michu, but the Spanish shadow forward was in hot form this season. He overcame Thomas Weir in a corner kick. Mullen, smashed the ball into the goal.

After the goal, Swansea retreated to its own half, shrunk its defense, and prepared to defend the three points.

Michael Laudrup loudly urged his players not to be reluctant to play. He did not dare to give Arsenal too much space. Although he was quite disdainful of the behavior of his peers who set up buses whenever they encountered wealthy teams, but three points When the bag was about to fall, Laudrup also acted pragmatically.

Chen Yao sent Ramsey onto the court at halftime, and he was replaced by Tomas Rosicky. The Czech's muscles were a little sore, and Chen Yao was not surprised that this happened.

All he can do is to quickly replace the players when they feel a little unwell to rest and survive this period.

Aaron Ramsey's position on the court is the same as in the previous games, covering a large area and not limited to a narrow arc top space.

Chen Yao assigned him a large number of retracement tasks and offensive tasks. During the team's offensive and defensive transition, his requirement for Ramsey was that he should be the most active runner in the Arsenal lineup.

In the second half of the game, Arsenal equalized the score.

The goal came from Aaron Ramsey's unexpected back shot. After disappearing from the top of Swansea's tightest defense, Ramsey had more space and time to observe the situation.

Just like the previous game, Ramsey vaguely felt the space he needed to occupy. He ran over, received the pass from his teammate, and shot the ball into the goal.

Driven by Ramsey's active play, Arsenal's performance improved in the second half, while Swansea's defense was crumbling.

Seven and 10 minutes later, Swansea's players discovered that Ramsey's physical fitness did not seem to have declined significantly.

He can still appear in front of Arsenal's penalty area when returning to defense. As the physical fitness of Swansea players is depleted, Ramsey can also contribute more offensive performance.

In the 73rd minute, Ramsey grabbed the ball controlled by Michu in the backcourt.Spain's shadow forward has become more powerful, and Ramsey's kicks are more precise than before.

Ramsey started to advance from the spot where he stole the ball. He got rid of Michu's desperate pull and counterattack, and dribbled the ball forward. Amid the blocking of groups of Swansea players, Ramsey's steps were stable.

I'm definitely not the same as I used to be, Ramsey thought.

He lacked some sharpness and gorgeous spirituality, but he steadily controlled the ball.

Although he has been running for more than 70 minutes, he still has enough physical strength, which allows Ramsey to calmly maintain the accuracy of his movements and avoid the pursuit and interception of Swansea players.

He carried the ball all the way to the edge of Swansea's penalty area. Ramsey's breakaway performance made the Arsenal fans in the stadium cheer for him——

But he failed to bring the team a second goal.

Ramsey's final handling was a little hasty. He tried to lift the ball over the opponent's defender's head. This move failed and the ball was pushed out of the baseline.

"Good job, Aaron!" Chen Yao shouted to Ramsey with all his strength.

Ramsey seemed to hear the coach's praise as his teammates passed him and ruffled his hair in encouragement.

The Welshman's expression was a little confused at first, as if he couldn't believe that he had completed that series of actions. There is no doubt that his performance just now was definitely a star-level display of personal ability.

His gaze gradually became firmer.

The cold winter wind hit his face, and his breath condensed into a white mist, sketching phantoms in the air.

It seems that there is still a back figure, that Ramsey who is drifting away, farther and farther in the fog of time.

But do I really want to catch up with him?

……

Arsenal and Swansea drew again, adding another game to their winless streak.

"I don't think our performance was worthy of victory. I can feel that the players' condition is recovering. In the first four and 10 minutes, my players were not in good condition. Later, we got back to form. Especially Aaron, He activates the whole team."

In the brief sideline interview, Chen Yao did not look like a coach who was under the pressure of consecutive defeats.

"Every season we will encounter difficult moments, you can't win all the time. Your opponents will study you, your players will be tired, injured, frustrated... This is all normal. I will not let it happen. And feel defeated. Miss reporter, I can tell you, this is the starting point, the starting point of recovery."

"I hope your feelings are right, Mr. Coach."

……

"It's been a tough two months."

"exactly."

A week later, Stadium of Light.

In the sixth round of Premier League No. 20, Arsenal faced Sunderland.

The sound of the gurgling water on the banks of the River Wear seemed to be faintly discernible in the shouts of the Black Cats fans, perhaps because their shouts were no longer so enthusiastic.

Chen Yao and Li Luo whispered.

The postures of both coaches were very relaxed. Next to them, Dennis Bergkamp even secretly yawned.

In the No. 60 minute of the game, Arsenal led by two goals.

"It's been a long time since I've had such a comfortable game." Lillo yawned, "Coach, should you act more serious?"

"Makes sense."

Chen Yao tightened his down jacket, cheered up and walked to the sidelines. Arsenal players passed by him and once again poured into Sunderland's half.

He was right, Arsenal's condition was slowly improving from the bottom.

Sunderland were only five points above the relegation zone at this time. Steve Bruce was in dire straits. Arsenal players took turns attacking Sunderland's penalty area. Theo Walcott and Zaha scored a goal each. .

The two high-energy wingers broke down Sunderland's wing defense and further disrupted their defensive organization in the penalty area. Both the players on the field and the coach on the sidelines seemed to feel that the cold wind blowing was not so cold anymore.

(End of this chapter)