My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 219 The Final Puzzle

Negotiations between Dick Lowe and the two clubs went very smoothly.

Both Boulogne and Le Havre could not believe that Arsenal would take a fancy to their players, and the two French clubs did not have the confidence to bargain with Arsenal.

Both Mahrez and Kante have firmly stated their desire to transfer to the club, and their performance in Ligue [-] is really hard to say.

The negotiators in Le Havre and Boulogne were too embarrassed to sit down and raise the price.

In the end, both players completed the deal for £[-] million.

Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante boarded a plane to London, along with Steve Walsh.

This early summer, there are many transfer rumors surrounding Arsenal.

As the new Europa League champion and League Cup champion last season, Arsenal showed a completely new look.

The news that Arsene Wenger has returned as team chairman has given countless Gunners fans a sense of belonging.

Everyone is looking forward to Arsenal completing reinforcements during the transfer period and achieving better results next season.

Public opinion generally predicts that Arsenal's reinforcements will focus on the three positions of defender, midfielder and forward.

The most outrageous local newspaper "The Sun" wrote an article claiming that the Arsenal board of directors approved a summer window transfer budget of up to [-] million pounds for the young and promising Arsenal coach to strengthen the team.

And they are extremely interested in buying Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney. After losing the championship last season, Manchester United was in turmoil.

Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement plans, which were thought to be a certainty, have been postponed indefinitely.

Ferguson has denied retiring but declined to reveal future plans.

Manchester United's senior management is in a state of silence. This veteran Premier League giant is standing at a crossroads after two embarrassing losses.

Another street-stall newspaper "Metro News" wrote that while coach Chen Yao received a contract extension from the Arsenal board of directors, he was also highly regarded by KSE's representative in London, Josh Kroenke. The Kroenke family is expected to Provide a budget of [-] million pounds to support Chen Yao in purchasing top players in the transfer market.

Arsenal's favorite transfer targets include Real Madrid forward Higuain, Atletico Madrid forward Falcao and Fiorentina forward Jovetic.

Seeing this news, Chen Yao could only smile.

Now he knows where the "£[-] million" delusion surrounding Arsenal every year comes from.

In fact, this summer, he has a very thin budget and needs to, in the words of Josh Kroenke, "live within his means."

The equity game between the Kroenke family, Usmanov and other shareholders has entered an extremely delicate stage. The wonderful record played by Chen Yao last season also gave all parties no reason to sell their shares.

Arsenal still need to repay a lot of debt this season. Their summer transfer budget was originally expected to be around [-] million pounds. After advance payments in the winter, the available budget is only around [-] million pounds.

Therefore, it's not that Chen Yao doesn't want to join the European transfer market and buy his favorite players, but that he really doesn't have the ability.

Relatively reliable media such as The Independent and The Guardian have given objective expectations.

Lu Ling of the Independent, who has a close relationship with Arsenal, wrote an article previewing Arsenal's summer transfers.

She said that based on Arsenal's financial statements and last season's transfer expenditure, Arsenal will not make any big deals this summer window.

At present, Arsenal's lineup is young and dynamic. Their weakness is that Arsenal lacks sufficient depth in the back line. The players in the defensive midfielder position are young and mainly technical players. Giroud in the forward position has advanced. The ball efficiency is not high, and Aubameyang lacks stability.

Therefore, these three positions are what Arsenal need to strengthen. However, due to the limited budget, Chen Yao and his team must be careful and use the minimum expenditure to fill the holes in the lineup.

The "Guardian" article gave a similar view. Arsenal is unlikely to join the battle for well-known stars. They will focus on mature and practical players in the Premier League, and may also look for cost-effective supplements in continental Europe. powerful.

"Arsenal is not seeking to be promoted from Europa League champions to Champions League challengers in just one summer. Coach Chen Yao has given us enough surprises. Arsenal has stabilized at a higher level in the post-Wenger era."

"What they have to do now is to maintain their competitive advantage, gradually get rid of the debt burden, and play steadily. In this way, three years later, when these young players enter the golden age, and then introduce one or two stars in their prime, Arsenal will have Opportunity to hit higher honors..."

The rumor that Arsenal finalized Kante and Mahrez was almost ignored by everyone, and the major media also ignored this small rumor. Only a few local media in France reported the news, but it was quickly scorned by fans. Consider it a roadside rumor.

The scene where Chen Yao, Dick Lowe, Steve Walsh, and Kanter appeared at the same time in a small restaurant in Boulogne was filmed by an unknown paparazzi.

After a small discussion, everyone discovered that Arsenal officially announced an inconspicuous news. Leicester City scout Steve Walsh joined the Arsenal scouting team.

The most reliable media such as the BBC and Sky Sports pay less attention to Arsenal. Their sources revealed that Arsenal really does not have much budget.

This summer, the players that can really stir up the market are Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Manchester City. Compared with them, Arsenal is only a negligible presence.

In addition, the club that has also attracted the attention of the European media is Bayern Munich. This season they have welcomed a new head coach, Josep Guardiola. People are looking forward to what will happen to this head coach who created the golden era of Barcelona. Let his philosophy take root at Bayern Munich.

……

Chen Yao didn't care about the turmoil in European football. After completing the transactions of Mahrez and Kante, he came to France's neighboring Netherlands.

Groningen, Netherlands.

During this trip, he is looking for the last piece of the puzzle for Arsenal's defense.

Last season, Arsenal's defenders were stretched thin, with only Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen as center backs.

Nacho Monreal, introduced in the winter, has the attributes of a central defender, but his main position is on the left.

Arsenal also need a defender to add depth.

What's more, Chen Yao has higher requirements for his back line.

In the development of modern football, defenders must not only assume defensive responsibilities. European football will gradually realize the importance of controlling space under the leadership of Guardiola and Klopp.

By limiting the opponent's space to the extreme, you can kill the opponent from the source.

Therefore, defenders not only need to be able to defend, but also have certain technical abilities. They must be able to complete passing and controlling tasks in the backcourt. They must also be able to press higher and higher to help the team's offensive organization near the midline.

The large amount of exposed space behind him also requires defenders to have agile reactions, outstanding defensive awareness and positioning, and strong coverage capabilities.

Chen Yao knew there was a late-blooming player with such ability.

He is under a lot of pressure. This season, he has to complete the "Miracle Challenge". His resources are limited. He can only find top talents that have not yet been discovered, and then activate their potential at an unimaginable speed during the season.

His target is Groningen centre-back, Virgil van Dijk.

(End of this chapter)