My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 203: Blocking Manchester United
Ferguson finally couldn't sit still anymore. He stood up and roared into the field, berating the Manchester United players unceremoniously.

Mike Phelan's expression was a little embarrassed. The Manchester United assistant coach has good tactical literacy. He looked at the time and it was now No. 207 minutes.

The goal was conceded a little early, but it was sooner or later.

Phelan is well aware of the weaknesses of this Manchester United team. Their offensive line looks very luxurious. Valencia and Ashley Young can provide vertical assault capabilities. Robin van Persie and Rooney are the top scorers in the Premier League. Behind them are The veteran Scholes came to deliver the shells.

But this is an unbalanced team.

Both Scholes and Carrick lack strong athletic ability, and their coverage of the court is not efficient enough.

Therefore, in order to prevent the team's formation from being disjointed, Manchester United's back line must be pressed high when attacking.

Ferguson tried to run the team high up the pitch and leave the offense to the attackers in the frontcourt, but this attempt was not good.

His team was unable to suppress their opponents, but the weak midfield would be shattered in the counterattack at any time.

As a result, Manchester United gradually formed its current game style. They will carry out focused high pressure in the first two and 10 minutes, and try to score as many goals as possible before their opponents have adapted to Manchester United's passing and attacking rhythm.

Then, they will gradually shrink back and return to the familiar low counterattack, using the tight formation to make up for the emptiness in the midfield.

When a counterattack opportunity arises, use the push from the wings and the quick distribution of Scholes or Carrick to pass the ball to Van Persie or Rooney as quickly as possible and let the forwards solve the problem.

Once they encounter a team that can continuously attack the weaknesses of Manchester United's midfield, there will be a question mark whether their strategy can work.

Mike Phelan admits Arsenal are progressing much faster than he imagined.

He guessed that Ferguson also agreed with this, but the old Scottish man was unwilling to say it out loud.

Arsenal's offense has regained its former sharpness. They keenly discovered Manchester United's weaknesses in the middle and continued to attack with speed and skill.

Moreover, this team is getting tougher.

A point of view that cannot be stated clearly but is recognized by everyone is that in this game at Old Trafford, the referee's whistle was to protect Manchester United.

At least Mike Phelan felt that Giroud was violated in the penalty area and was worthy of a penalty kick.

In addition, Arsenal was repeatedly disrupted by Manchester United's movements and physical confrontations during the attack. These are tactics that Manchester United is accustomed to, but today's referee selectively ignored a lot of them.

Even so, it still failed to stop Arsenal from having a little more time...

After finishing his rant, Ferguson walked back to Phelan. The corners of his mouth twitched and he squeezed out a few words: "Have we underestimated Arsenal, Mike?"

"They are not the Arsenal they used to be," Mike Phelan said.

Then, he added: "It's a bit like before."

……

The one-to-one score left the Old Trafford fans restless.

In the earlier games, Manchester City had already won this round. If Manchester United only gets one point, Manchester United's expectations of winning the championship will be changed again.

Arsenal's players have adapted to the Old Trafford venue and to Manchester United's passing and attacking rhythm.

In other words, Manchester United doesn't have much offensive power left.They slowly returned the formation to the half court, and now they have to pop out again. This team's transition flexibility is not that strong.

In any more competitive season, this Manchester United team could not have achieved better results.They have so many problems that Ferguson can't solve them all.

Manchester United returned to its established defensive counterattack strategy. During the remainder of the first half, Arsenal's possession rate rose sharply, and Manchester United launched several waves of counterattacks around the frontcourt attack points.

Robin Van Persie got several shooting opportunities, but in the counterattack, without the support of his teammates, Van Persie's shots were in vain.

His old teammates knew Van Persie even better than the Manchester United players, and Koscielny's struggles made it difficult for Van Persie to find a comfortable starting position.

Even if he is the kind of top forward who does not need much space to complete the shot, such marking still affects the quality of Van Persie's shot.

And there is Szczesny in front of the door.

Szczesny has a deep understanding of Van Persie's shooting habits. As a former teammate, he knows what kind of shots Van Persie may take.

The shots that Koscielny failed to destroy were all blocked by Szczesny.

Van Persie was stuck in the quagmire, and Wayne Rooney didn't get a good shot. The connection between him and Van Persie was severed, and Rooney could only threaten the goal farther away from the goal.

Before the end of the first half, Rooney's long-range shot hit the goal post, scaring Chen Yao into a cold sweat.

That's all.

The two sides entered the intermission with a score of one to one.

If Chen Yao could see the scene in the home team's locker room, he would find that Alex Ferguson was stimulating the last mental strength of his players.

"Do you know Solcote? One of you will know. It's a place only 25 miles from Glasgow where you have the sea and you can see the lighthouse and the coastline."

Ferguson blushed and shouted to the players: "But some people don't even want to go there. They like to stay at home or in the park watching the birds and ducks swimming around. Damn it, you guys are like that People? Do you really think the birds flying in the sky, those trees, and the quacking ducks are so interesting?"

"What I also know is that, unlike these people, there are other people who want to go to the moon."

"Ambition, my friends, ambition." Ferguson slowed down, "Ambition determines everything."

"Manchester United is a successful team. You have a lot of people in this team who have made money and achievements that you never dreamed of as children. There are also new players who haven't, but they want to have it too. . Because this team can make your ambitions come true."

"The only team in front of us is Arsenal. If we beat them, it will be a smooth sailing. You are tired, you are sleepy. You may want to watch the ducks or count the birds, but I will not allow it. You are the Red Devils, and you cannot give up what is within easy reach. --champion!"

Meanwhile, in the visiting team's locker room.

Chen Yao capped his pen.There are not many points that need to be emphasized again regarding Manchester United's tactics.

Now, after nearly a season of competition, the strengths and weaknesses displayed by the two teams are all clear.

The only difference is the will.

"Ferguson wanted the title and I wanted it too, but we can't get it now. I don't blame you. But what I'm telling you is what I'm thinking about right now..." he said, "Stop Manchester United."

(End of this chapter)