My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 187 The First Champion

In his career, Michel Laudrup has experienced glorious moments that he will never forget.

The 49-year-old Danish superstar has won seven league championships and a European Champions Cup. He even remembers the moment when Spain selected him as the best foreign player in the league in 25 years.

Laudrup has no shortage of honors. He has long been accustomed to the joy of being teammates with big-name stars and standing in the spotlight to receive medals.

But in England, at Wembley, Michel Laudrup is keen to lead Swansea to the title.

The Danes themselves can't explain why.

Perhaps it's because after taking up the coaching position, his achievements are completely different from those when he was a player - but he is not yet 50 years old, and in the coaching world, this age is considered a young coach.

As long as you don't compare it with some special situations-such as the young man standing on the Arsenal coaching bench.

Or maybe Laudrup has some sympathy for his players. As a superstar with outstanding talent, Laudrup didn't know much about the situation of his peers with mediocre talent when he was young. However, after taking the coaching position, Laudrup Pu saw so many players who were far less talented than him, but they were also working hard in the professional arena, eager for their own money and honor.

Or perhaps Laudrup might have some love for talent. There are some outstanding players in Swansea's lineup. The Asian-faced Ki Sung-yong and the tall Spanish center Michu, their talents have made Laudrup proud. Drup's eyes lit up. If there is a good growth environment, these two players may not be impossible to become stars.

So, Michel Laudrup thought, these factors combined make him eager to bring this championship, the League Cup championship, to himself and to Swansea.

Wembley's exclamation caught his eye.

His heart gradually sank.

The source of the exclamation was Arsenal's offense. When Swansea's offensive and defensive ends were once again at a disadvantage, Arsenal's offensive momentum re-emerged.

Laudrup saw a player on the left side of his own goal breaking into the open area of ​​​​the penalty area. He recognized that person, Theo Walcott.

Walcott did not take Nell Taylor seriously. This season, the "Little Tiger" is also in very good condition. He is the beneficiary of Arsenal's offensive system. His teammates can always find opportunities in passing and cutting cooperation. , allowing him to fight one-on-one with the opponent's defender, or directly break into the penalty area.

Walcott is already very fast, and his skills have gradually matured.

Sometimes, Walcott himself is shocked by his progress. After the new coach took over, his technical progress seems to be much faster than before. He can feel that his ball skills are getting better and better, and he can Make movements more freely at high speeds.

Neil Taylor did not stop Walcott. After Arsenal's backcourt temporarily formed a three-back, Danny Carvajal's advancement and cover became more aggressive, and other Arsenal players would also intentionally move to the side. Roads are close together, creating local overloads.

Without strict tactical discipline and defensive organization, Swansea would not have many good means of resisting Arsenal's extremely fluid formation changes.

Pablo Hernandez, who returned to defense, was lost in Arsenal's offensive group without any ability to fight back. Theo Walcott broke through Nell Taylor, and the Swansea defender was without the support of his teammates. The situation was helpless.

After Walcott passed Nell Taylor, he switched the ball to his left foot and cut diagonally into the penalty area.

He is not an inverted winger in the modern sense, but taking a diagonal route into the penalty area has become a common occurrence for Walcott, who has grown up for a season.

Arsenal's players began to swarm into the penalty area, and this team never hesitated when it came time to commit numbers to break down the opponent's defence.

Walcott rushed into the penalty area and adjusted his rhythm. This was a very smart pause and even had the effect of deceiving the opponent's center of gravity. The tall but slow Ashley Williams was shaken away. Missed the goal.

The "little tiger" swings his thigh and kicks to shoot.

There was not much space for the Swansea players to escape, and Michael Vorm blocked the angle but failed to touch the ball.

"Dangdang!"

Walcott's shot hit the door frame, reflected to the outside, and the next moment, it bounced into the goal.

Eymeric Aubameyang laughed wildly and ran towards the corner flag.

……

Chen Yao breathed a sigh of relief. The time came to 10 minutes, and Arsenal extended the score advantage to [-]-[-].

The ball just now was somewhat luck--but not necessarily.

For a team like Arsenal, not only goals created by strict tactical cooperation are called goals, but in a free offensive framework, each player's talent and characteristics are also the means to win.

"This is a safe score." Juan Lillo looked relaxed. The assistant coach's face was usually stern. At this time, even he was willing to smile more.

"It was a bit lucky that Theo's shot hit the door frame, and Auba happened to appear there and tipped the ball into the goal." Bergkamp said, "But Auba's sense of smell is also very keen. Anyway, , we basically win."

Chen Yao didn't dare to show too much excitement. Although he knew that the victory was determined, after all, there were still 10 minutes left.

He cannot give the players a feeling of slackness. This is the first championship he has personally fought for, and he cannot tolerate the slightest mistake.

Is there any backup plan?Chen Yao looked at Michel Laudrup not far away.

To be fair, Laudrup has done a good job this season, taking Swansea's not-so-good-looking team to heights beyond expectations, and can also contribute enjoyable football.

But alas, there is only one winner.

……

Is that the end?
Michu stood on the field, breathing heavily.

The Spanish striker had a hard time, he didn't find a lot of space like he does in the league.

Since Nacho Monreal came on, sometimes Michu not only has to face the entanglement of Arteta or Ramsey, but when he wants to go forward, Monreal, Vermaelen, Mertesa The defense line composed of three people prevented him from finding enough openings.

Especially Nacho Monreal who came on as a substitute. Michu felt that this guy just came up with a lot of energy. How long has he been holding it in at his old club?Are you working so hard when you just came to a new team?

Maybe that's the end of it.

The light in the 28-year-old Spanish forward's eyes gradually went out.

Last season, he played 37 times and scored [-] goals. With this performance, Michu came to the Premier League.

This season, he has scored fourteen goals so far. Even compared with many forwards who are worth far more than himself, this data is not far behind.

But he is still Michu, the ordinary player who came out of Spain's underdogs, is getting closer and closer to 30 years old, and has never been able to touch the glory of the championship in his life, and has no chance to enter a wealthy club.

Michu looked up at the electronic scoreboard, zero to two, 71 minutes.

With nineteen minutes left, Swansea was two goals behind and had basically no chance.

The Spanish striker saw the head coach mobilizing his troops and the two players were warming up on the sidelines. Laudrup seemed to be planning to make a last ditch effort.

Laudrup made two substitutions. He replaced Scottish center Stephen Dobie and Belgian left wing Roland Lamacher.

The two replaced players ran to the players on the field and gave the coach's instructions.

Mi Chu listened quietly, unable to see his expression.

……

After seven and 10 minutes, Swansea's offensive methods changed.

Arsenal's offense began to weaken, and the players gradually recovered and controlled the rhythm on the court.

It’s not difficult to understand. With a two-goal lead, and it’s the League Cup final, it’s the young Arsenal coach’s first cup final. What Arsenal needs is not to score another goal, but to prevent the fruits of victory from slipping away. .Wembley has been filled with the songs of Arsenal fans. In the eyes of the fans, this championship is a sure thing.

"Why are you looking so grim, gentlemen?" Bergkamp quipped. "You look like we're two goals behind."

"We are changing the rhythm, Dennis." Chen Yao's voice was a little worried, "At this moment, we made a lot of mistakes."

On the court, Swansea's midfield and backfield players felt that the pressure suddenly eased.

Ki Sung-yong tried threatening passes throughout the game, but the most threatening time was in the opening five minutes.

For nearly 10 minutes after that, although Ki Sung-yong was still looking for opportunities to find the forward directly from time to time, he successfully passed very few balls.

He seemed to have seen an opportunity. The Arsenal players relaxed their pressure in the frontcourt and gradually sought to control the balance of the formation and the stability of the rhythm...and a gap appeared.

Swansea's two full-backs pushed completely forward, Michel Laudrup was willing to take the risk, and now, he's lucky to be able to take it at all.

Stephen Dobby and Danny Graham, who had just been replaced, stood in the penalty area at the same time. Swansea's attacking formation showed a 4-4-2 pattern, but to be more precise, Swansea's midfielder was A diamond, as Michu was still roaming behind the striker, between Arsenal's lines.

Ki Sung-yong sent his boldest long pass in the game.

But this pass was not passed to Arsenal's most defensive center.

This pass was sent to the left wing of Swansea. The left midfielder Roland Lamacher had just come on and was full of energy. His stop was directly behind Theo Walcott, and he accelerated past and slowly retreated. Defensive Dani Carvajal.

Nell Taylor had already set up from behind. He took a step forward and passed Carvajal's pursuit, sinking to a position further back than Lamacher.

Carvajal's pursuit lost the target. He didn't know whether to block Nell Taylor's position or block LaMach's progress, and LaMach made a cross.

The ball spun into the penalty area from a 45-degree angle, and Swansea's players suddenly rushed into the penalty area. In addition to Stephen Doby and Danny Graham, there was also Michu.

Laudrup's last ditch effort was to stuff three forwards into the penalty area.

They gave up their conduct, gave up their unique style, and used the most direct method to hit Arsenal's penalty area.

Stephen Dobie jumped high and missed the ball.

Danny Graham jumped high and didn't touch the ball.

Thomas Vermaelen took off to compete for the top, but did not touch the ball.

Per Mertesacker should have been able to win the ball, but before he could touch it, Michu touched it before him.

The 1.8-meter-[-] Spanish forward put the ball into the goal with an elegant posture. He seemed to be flying.

76 minutes, one to two.

"I have a bad feeling." Chen Yao said to the coaches around him with a gloomy face.

He ran to the sidelines and shouted: "Concentrate! Don't be the one who makes mistakes in the last 15 minutes!"

Michel Laudrup made a fist and the Danes gritted their teeth. Maybe there is still a chance?

Michu took the ball out of the goal and threw it to the center circle. He also thought, maybe there is still a chance?
How difficult it is for a civilian team to reach this point.

Even if there is only a glimmer of hope, how can they be willing to give up?
Arsenal's players didn't look too relaxed.

Many of them have not had many opportunities to experience the finals. The two-goal lead suddenly turned into one, the inevitable game suddenly became suspense, and the pressure of fear of failure appeared in their hearts.

Per Mertesacker saw the mood of his teammates. The German ran to Szczesny and patted the young Polish goalkeeper on the forehead. "Boy, this is not a big deal. Keep the goal, other things." give it to me."

Mikel Arteta also stretched his already sore legs and ran past teammates one after another to remind them to concentrate.

The value of a veteran is now.

……

93 minutes.

The game entered the final moments of stoppage time.

The past 15 minutes have been torture for Arsenal and Swansea.

Swansea persistently sent the ball to Arsenal's half again and again, and Arsenal's players kicked the ball back to Swansea's half regardless of their own safety.

Neither side had the intention to slowly control the ball. Their physical and mental abilities had reached their limits, and only their desire for victory was still supporting them.

This should be the last chance for a corner kick.

Swansea corner kick.

Chen Yao held his breath. Bergkamp and Lillo also stood beside him, looking at the penalty area.

Arsenal players and Swansea players tangled together, waiting for the corner kick to be taken.

Chen Yao knew that there was nothing left for him to do.

This is not a video game. He cannot control the players. Now everything depends on his players to see if their will can survive the last minute, or maybe to see whose side God is on.

The corner kick is delivered.

The ball was of high quality, spinning far into the goal. The Swansea strikers in the near corner were a disguise, attracting some of Arsenal's best players.

The ball's trajectory is slowly falling - this is probably an illusion, because gravity does not change the time it falls due to the speed of the ball.

But in Michu's eyes, the ball fell really slowly.

He suddenly started from far away. There were no Arsenal players closely marking him. They were all attracted to the near corner. This was Arsenal's defensive negligence.

Michu jumped up, and he flew up again, his head heading towards the falling ball, like Super Mario eating gold coins, but this time the gold coins were more valuable than before.

He hit the ball.

There was a brief moment of silence in Wembley.

Chen Yao's heart also tightened.He couldn't make a sound and watched the ball fly toward the goal...

...Then he was hugged by a pair of hands.

Szczesny fell heavily to the ground, holding the ball tightly in his arms.

The referee blew the whistle and the game was over.

Chen Yao relaxed for a moment. His back was soaked with sweat. His vision was a little blurry. He only felt that he was being hugged by someone, and someone was shouting in his ear: "This is our first championship." !”

(End of this chapter)