My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 189 Eat, sleep and play Tottenham

Andre Weas-Boas often wonders why he met Arsenal in the Premier League, and why did he meet their... young coach?

And every time I bumped into them, I caught up with Arsenal's rising state.

Villas-Boas finally feels that his career at Tottenham is back on track.

Throughout February, Tottenham's league record was a complete victory.

In the Europa League, they also successfully advanced to the next knockout round.

Under the guidance of Villas-Boas, Gareth Bale has become the hottest left winger in the UK. He has been unstoppable in the Premier League in the past two months. This summer, he will definitely land at the top club in Europe. .

In the eighth round of the Premier League No. 20 on March [-], Tottenham will go to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal.

In the two Europa League knockout matches on March 15 and March No. [-], Tottenham also encountered Arsenal in the draw.

There is an uncomfortable feeling lingering in Villas-Boas's heart. Last year's brutal defeat by Arsenal at White Hart Lane left a deep psychological shadow on him.

If they lose to Arsenal in the league, their good form may come to an end.

If coupled with the loss to Arsenal in the Europa League, their intercontinental competition journey was also ended by their rivals in the same city.

During the time that Villas-Boas came to the UK, the team he coached never left London.Therefore, he has a deep appreciation for the derby atmosphere in London.

If Tottenham were defeated by Arsenal four times in a season and extinguished the flames on all fronts, he would probably be reviled by Tottenham fans for a long time.

Moreover, Villas-Boas also has mixed emotions about Arsenal's young coach.

He is much younger than himself, has coached such a big club, and recently won the first championship in his career. He is less than 30 years old and has achieved such a career start...

Boas was unconvinced, but he had been unconvinced for a long time, but he was still not sure how to deal with this man who had refreshed the definition of "young marshal".

Thinking of this, Boas became even more nervous.

……

Villas-Boas' nerves seemed to rub off on his team.

March [-], Emirates Stadium.

Premier League No.20 eight rounds.

There is a bit of spring in London, the weather is not very good, but the cold of winter seems to be slowly receding.

The game between Arsenal and Tottenham is one that fans of both teams will be fully immersed in, and this game is no different.

Tottenham Hotspur were in high spirits when visiting the Emirates Stadium, which is what their head coach requested.

Villas-Boas emphasized the importance of this game over and over again before the game, so much so that veteran Scott Parker complained to goalkeeper Hugo Lloris about whether the coach was having a stress reaction.

However, the players still betrayed Boas's face and resolutely implemented Boas's pre-match arrangements.

Villas-Boas is a stubborn person. The style of resolute pressing and high-post attack he has created for Tottenham will not give up easily, even on the road.

So Arsenal easily penetrated Tottenham's defense.

The midfield barrier composed of Huddlestone and Sandro is just as unable to support Villas-Boas's tactical requirements as it was a few months ago, and Arsenal now has a group of midfielders who are good at pushing forward.

Arsenal's starting midfielder in this game was Marco Verratti. He showed strong confidence and accelerated towards Tottenham's half as soon as he got the ball.

In the 15th minute, Verratti broke through Sandro and Huddlestone in the midfield, made a long pass with his right foot, and distributed the ball to the left.In Tottenham's empty backcourt, Arsenal's attacking players were running wild.

Antoine Griezmann tapped the ball, passed the only obstacle: Kyle Walker, cut into the penalty area, aimed at the space leaked by the two Tottenham defenders, and shot.

His shot was successful.

Griezmann rushed to the corner flag area to celebrate. Since Giroud's injury, Griezmann's attacking space has been much smaller. Wilfred Zaha, who is better than him in holding the ball and breaking through, has left. gave him a lot of playing time.

Finally breaking the goal drought, Griezmann breathed a sigh of relief.

Hugo Lloris yelled at the defenders in front of him, but Vertonghen and Dawson were aggrieved. It was not their responsibility to be exposed to the opponent's attack so quickly.

Tottenham became increasingly nervous as they fell behind.

At the 605th minute of the game, Arsenal led Tottenham [-]-[-] at home.

Boas looked at the score helplessly. He was reflecting on whether he had put too much pressure on the players. From the moment he conceded the first goal in the 15th minute, Boas kept shouting to the players on the sidelines with excitement. At halftime, he also seriously stated that this was a game that could not be lost.

The consequence is that the players' technical movements on the field are stiff and timid, and the ridicule and ridicule that can be seen everywhere at the Emirates Stadium has shaken the mentality of Villas-Boas' players.

For countless moments, these players recalled that bloody afternoon when White Hart Lane was conquered by Arsenal.

Only Gareth Bale's performance was normal. Bale had the upper hand in the duel with Bakari Sagna. His performance of passing two people in a row on the left resulted in Tottenham's only goal.

But that didn't help, Sagna fulfilled his role faithfully for the most part and didn't give Bale any more chances.

He sacrifices his forward pressure and contribution to the offense to lock Bell down.

This is Arsenal's exchange arrangement, simple, but effective.

At the 10th minute, Chen Yao replaced Kevin De Bruyne, and the new player who joined in the winter window ushered in his first North London Derby.

After coming to Arsenal, De Bruyne had very few opportunities to play. In the remaining 10 minutes of the game, De Bruyne, who appeared in the attacking midfielder position, did not perform very well.

The game ended with a score of three to one.

……

Five days later, the contest between Arsenal and Tottenham moved to White Hart Lane.

The team that wins this knockout round will enter the Europa League quarter-finals, with only three opponents left to win the Europa League this season.

Villas-Boas realized that his players were under a lot of pressure, and he tried to relieve them.

"There's nothing to worry about. Hey, guys, I mean this is a game that doesn't need to be so tense...Arsenal? They don't deserve us to be so nervous..." Villas-Boas' decompression seemed incoherent.

"To be honest, the boss's behavior will only make the boys more nervous." Scott Parker said to Lloris again when no one was around.

Villas-Boas's decompression effect was not very good. At White Hart Lane, Arsenal used more passionate offensive football than Villas-Boas, giving Tottenham a [-]-[-] defeat.

Gareth Bale is still the only bright spot. The other players looked confused on the court. They found that Arsenal did better than themselves in the tactical characteristics that Villas-Boas asked them to show, so what else could they use to win?

In this game, Giroud and Koscielny came back one after another and came on the court around the 10th minute, completing their first performance after returning from injury.

The early spring in White Hart Lane was a bit cold. Boas shivered and realized that the situation was over.

Maybe this Arsenal really specializes in Tottenham, the Portuguese thought helplessly.

(End of this chapter)