My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 204 Have you ever regretted it?
The second half of the game started with the referee's whistle.

Sir Alex Ferguson was far more focused than he had been in the first half, standing red-faced closer to the pitch so his roar could be heard more closely.

The Manchester United players who ran in front of Ferguson from time to time could not ignore their coach. Ferguson stood there, his eyes burning the will of the Manchester United players like fire.

Ferguson believed his half-time speech had worked. After decades at the helm of Manchester United, one of his greatest confidences was that his players - with the exception of a handful of thorns - did not dare to defy his wishes.

Whether they truly had great ambitions or were simply afraid of their own authority, Ferguson didn't care.

He only cares about winning.

And what are you going to use to fight me?

The old Scottish man tilted his head and looked at the Arsenal coaching bench. The young Gunners coach looked solemn. Compared with Ferguson, Chen Yao was not only young, but could even be described as immature.

In a game that Manchester United was determined to win, the struggles of Chen Yao and his team seemed a bit ridiculous to Ferguson.

Victory must be mine.Ferguson thought.

Victory must be ours.Chen Yao thought so too.

Manchester United maintained the state they had in the first 10 minutes of the game at the beginning of the game.

“But it won’t last long.” After a Manchester United attack that missed a goal, Juan Lillo said to Chen Yao, “Their best performance this season is to maintain this rhythm for six and 10 minutes. "

On the field, Manchester United's players sighed for this regrettable attack.

Robin van Persie held his head in chagrin as it was a threat that took advantage of an Arsenal mistake.

Arsenal made a mistake in the frontcourt, and Carrick stole the ball to initiate a counterattack.

Valencia broke through Monreal's defense vertically and took advantage of the hard-earned space. Valencia and Wayne Rooney hit the wall on the wing to cooperate and put the ball into the penalty area. Then Rooney made a short pass in front of Van Persie.

Van Persie completed the shot in an instant, and the speed of his shot made him full of confidence.

But the goal didn't go in.

Szczesny saved his shot.

A few minutes later, when the Manchester United players gradually returned to defense, Van Persie still looked a little stunned.

The Polish goalkeeper performed very well in this game. Except for Van Persie scoring a goal early in the game, the Dutchman's shots were blocked by Szczesny.

Szczesny knows Van Persie.

As a former teammate, the young Pole saw too many times on the other end of the pitch when Van Persie scored against his opponents, and he also stood in front of Van Persie on the training ground.

It all finally paid off in the arena.

The Pole moved his wrist and looked sternly at the direction of his teammates' attack.

I'm also a talent that Wenger likes, Szczesny thought.

Manchester United's rebound lasted for a while and returned to the form of defensive counterattack.

After all, continuing to suppress opponents in high positions is not the way Manchester United is accustomed to playing.

The ball gradually returned to Arsenal's feet, and their formation slowly pressed forward.

United compressed their formation tightly and carefully held their ground during transitional phases.

They hid their fangs and waited for their opponents to open up and reveal their flaws. That was the moment for Manchester United to counterattack.

Just one chance can end the game.

Chen Yao's heart also lifted as the game progressed.

Their prediction before the game was correct. Manchester United could not maintain a suppressive rhythm for a long time. It was now 62 minutes, and Ferguson's team had returned to the counterattack position.

But leaving space behind you at Old Trafford is a dangerous thing.

——What should we do?Give up the initiative to attack and hold on to one point at Old Trafford?
This is not Chen Yao's style.

This is not Arsenal's style either.

If you want to avoid being backlashed by Manchester United's counterattack, you must use a more determined attack to tear apart their defense first.

Chen Yao believes that after nearly a season of training, his team has become a more mature team, although it still has its ups and downs and flaws.

If you want to transform into a top team, you must learn to defeat your opponent in a devilish away game and in a space where your opponent is good at.

The fans at Old Trafford roared wildly.

They shouted for every defensive move of Manchester United, and if the team they supported launched a counterattack at the next moment, such shouts would be even more enthusiastic.

Arsenal's positional attack started with Arteta.

It was just a simple pass. Since Arteta came to Arsenal, he has not passed many threatening balls.Nor is it his job to create direct threats.

However, Manchester United faintly focused its defense on Aaron Ramsey. Paul Scholes was shaken by the impact of the Welsh player. The high-intensity game for six and 10 minutes almost exhausted his physical energy.

Ferguson was ready to make a substitution, but before the substitution, all Manchester United could do was invest more manpower to contain Ramsey.

Arteta was given a comfortable passing space, and his touch was extremely simple, but this simplicity was the result of the experience of a veteran who has been in the professional league for more than ten years.

He deftly dunked past Wayne Rooney and passed to the winger.

Walcott dropped back a bit, allowing him to receive a short pass from Arteta, and his dropback attracted the marking of United's left-back.

The little tiger leaned on his opponent and protected the pass at his feet. Santi Cazorla moved closer to him, and Bakari Sagna also took the risk.

They took away Michael Carrick and Ashley Young respectively, and Manchester United's defense rotated steadily with almost no loopholes.

Chen Yao forcefully made a forward gesture.

Aaron Ramsey didn't see that gesture, because the blood of his forward thrust started to burn again at this moment.

The Welshman took advantage of a fleeting moment as United exchanged defenders, shook off the aging Paul Scholes and sprinted towards United's penalty area.

The reaction from Manchester United's players was nothing short of unpleasant, with Ferguson's side deserving of their league position in terms of tactical discipline.

But Arsenal's players continued to run, and Rao, the most experienced coach, could not analyze the Gunners' offensive mode in an instant.

Their movement does not look formulaic, but the players' staggered rotations are smooth and skillful. They shuttle through the layers of Manchester United's defense like butterflies, stirring up little chaos in Manchester United's iron wall.

Ferguson's head ached, positional attack is a problem for any team, but Ferguson still remembered the same headache he had when he faced Arsene Wenger's side more than a decade ago.It was a team that played its offense to its full potential. Wenger was proficient in all kinds of offensive routines, but he would not give them to his players in a formulaic manner. Instead, he would continue to guide and inspire those talented people to have a passion for football. Understanding and the deconstruction of space.

That kind of offense is difficult to defend. It requires the defender to have a very high degree of tacit understanding, strong concentration and extremely strict tactical discipline. The error in coordination must be reduced to a very small size in order to improve the success rate of defense.

Similarly, to carry out such an offense, there are even more extreme and demanding requirements for the offensive players' talent, skills, tacit understanding, and coordination precision.

Of course, the team Ferguson is facing has not reached that level yet, but the Manchester United he is facing is also not the Manchester United of the golden era.

On the field, Ramsey reached Sagna's cross as he advanced.

Walcott, Cazorla and Sagna performed a three-man combination. This pass was attributed to Cazorla. He made space in Manchester United's double attack and gave Sagna a chance to kick. .

Ramsey stumbled and dribbled the ball into the penalty area. Evra and Evans fiercely blocked the angle of Ramsey's shot.

The Welshman cleverly used his heel to knock the ball behind him.

Griezmann got behind Ramsey, swayed his body, feinted away from Michael Carrick's defense, and passed across the middle.

After the ball circled the ribs, it returned to the center.

At the top of the house, Arteta unloads the ball.

The offense that starts with him ends with him.

Arteta's long-range shot whizzed towards goal, the ball grazing Cazorla's shirt and passing between Evans and Ferdinand. De Gea was slightly blocked by the tall defenders in front of him until the ball arrived. The save started just before the moment.

He could only watch the ball score.Two to one.

An impeccable goal.

Ferguson's face quickly darkened. He looked back at Mike Phelan. The assistant shook his head helplessly at him. The Scotsman's body language was exaggerated to express his dissatisfaction to his players.

"Pleasant offense, coach." Juan Lillo hugged Chen Yao in a good mood, and then gave Bergkamp a high-five.

"If it were me, I would break through from that position to the goal and shoot." Bergkamp said.

"Shut up, Dennis." Chen Yao laughed. "At Old Trafford, you will be pulled down in the penalty area, and then the referee will say that you tripped on the turf."

"Sounds like the Premier League I know."

Ferguson withdrew Paul Scholes, and the 39-year-old defensive midfielder was completely damaged by Ramsey. And as Manchester United entered a defensive rhythm, Scholes' weaknesses were further amplified.

Entering the stage is Shinji Kagawa.

Ferguson had no other choice.He knows that these three points are very precious to Manchester United, far more precious than Arsenal, but now, he will not be able to get these three points.

"They just want to hinder us..." Ferguson muttered dissatisfiedly, "Always like this, always like this..."

Manchester United's formation became a diamond 4-4-2, with Carrick as a single defensive midfielder, Ashley Young and Valencia on the left and right wings, Shinji Kagawa as an attacking midfielder, and Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney partnered Two strikers.

This lineup is very unbalanced. Ferguson tried this configuration in the first half of the season. This system can stuff all his outstanding attackers, but the effect is not as good as expected.

But now there is no room for him to find a more balanced lineup. It is almost 10 minutes, and Manchester City has won this round. If Manchester United loses three points here, there will be only a handful of games left, and any game will be played. Any change will ruin the victory.

What's more, Ferguson also knew that his Manchester United were also facing tremendous pressure.

This is not a brilliant armada. His players are old and young. It depends entirely on his coordination and leadership to bring out the full strength of these players.

What impact will a defeat have on Manchester United's morale?
Ferguson once believed that Manchester City's players never showed the same tenacity and bravery this season because of their championship and satisfaction last season.

But there are also many players in Manchester United who have received enough honors and are not too young.A defeat may make some people think about retreating.

A team that is no longer hungry for glory is actually more fragile than anyone thinks.

In the last 10 minutes of the game, with the ball possession rate, number of shots and the score on the field lagging behind, Manchester United changed their normal behavior and launched an attack on Arsenal.

The fans at Old Trafford did not give up on their team, and the decibels of noise they created completely drowned out the voices of the few Arsenal fans.

The "Theater of Dreams" witnessed Manchester United's final attack.

Just like beating Arsenal, Manchester United can win the championship trophy they are chasing after.

Manchester United's offense became obviously impatient. They simply and crudely tried to break through Arsenal's defense with breakthroughs from both wings. Shinji Kagawa, Rooney and Robin van Persie obviously did not have good compatibility between them.

Szczesny made two more saves in these 10 minutes, one from Wayne Rooney's long shot and Robin van Persie's inward shot. There was also a long shot from Shinji Kagawa that was blocked by Mertesacker.

The frequency of transitions in the game suddenly increased, and Manchester United's offense ended in hasty finishes, which turned into Arsenal's counterattack opportunities.

Chen Yao used up two substitution opportunities, and Wilfred Zaha and Aubameyang came on.

Five minutes later, he replaced Arteta and replaced Verratti.

The game reached No. 80 minutes. During the repeated offensive and defensive transitions, the physical energy of Manchester United's players was exhausted to the extreme.

The younger Arsenal have not yet.

In the 81st minute, Manchester United's back line was pushed up to a position close to the center circle with the frontcourt attack. Robin Van Persie's shot failed to hit the target and was confiscated by Szczesny.

Van Persie is tired.He is also a 30-year-old veteran.

Arsenal's counterattack came immediately.

Marco Verratti was the engine of this counterattack. He and Ramsey were like two motors, running over Manchester United's obstruction with great energy.

Verratti made a direct pass into the huge space between the Manchester United goalkeeper and the central defender. Aubameyang, Zaha and Theo Walcott rushed out of the parallel Manchester United back line, and everything was smooth sailing.

De Gea wants to die.

Ferdinand, Evra, and Evans tried their best to chase back, but Rafael pushed too far forward. At this time, it was too late to rush back.

Robin Van Persie stood furthest away from his own goal, knowing that running back now would be of no use.

Szczesny was leisurely looking at his former teammate, the super striker he once admired. The Manchester United jersey he was wearing was so red that it was dazzling.

In the distance, Aubameyang crossed the far post. De Gea fell to the ground and failed to block it. Zaha touched the ball into the goal.

Three to one.

"It's three to one, not one to three." Szczesny looked at Van Persie and smiled, "I'm sorry, man, if it weren't for me, we might have had three to three."

"Seriously, have you ever regretted it?" Then the Polish goalkeeper sat tiredly on the lawn and asked the expressionless Dutchman.

(End of this chapter)