My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 247 The genius who never grows up ()

Alex Ferguson shook hands with Chen Yao.

It's hard to describe Ferguson's mood at this time. The 72-year-old Ferguson looked at the Arsenal coach who was 40 years younger than him. If the young coach in front of him had Manchester United pedigree, Ferguson would be willing to cultivate him and regard him as his own. Cultivate successors.

Ferguson has selected many successors. Originally, his preferred coach was Everton's David Moyes. If Ferguson retired honorably after winning the championship last season as planned, Moyes will be the head coach of Manchester United this season.

The fifty-year-old Moyes is in his prime. He was once considered the most promising coach in the Premier League. He has achieved an astonishing record at Everton with a limited budget.

In the three seasons from 2006 to 2008, Moyes contributed his peak performance in terms of team experience and technical and tactical arrangements. There were almost no major mistakes in his transfer signings and youth player promotions, but there were quite a few. With his eye-catching operation, he won the Football Association's Best Coach Award three times.

In Ferguson's evaluation, Moyes' tactical level and coaching experience are enough to take charge of a larger team.

But what he hesitates about is that Moyes has never had experience at the helm of a giant.

Especially a giant like Manchester United with a long history and complicated relationships within the team.

To control the big ship of Manchester United requires extremely high personal prestige, determination and excellent psychological quality. Ferguson is not sure whether Moyes possesses these three points.

Now, Ferguson is asking Moyes to wait another year.

But Chen Yao...Ferguson's regret was palpable under the bright two-to-one score on the scoreboard.

The youngest European champion coach, ten years younger than Moyes, with amazing player development capabilities, the ability to create a stable and united locker room, and a sharp eye for talent selection...

With so much praise and aura hanging over Chen Yao, Ferguson understood that Chen Yao's historical status and prestige were far from being comparable to his own, but he was not a role he could choose if he wanted to.

What's more, Arsenal is now top of the Premier League. Considering that Arsenal's opponents in the next two rounds are weak, it is already a certainty that Arsenal will win the first place in the first third of the schedule.

Before the start of the season, Ferguson predicted the opponents that would cause him trouble.

Manchester City is an old rival, but Ferguson does not take Mancini seriously. He feels that Manchester City's two consecutive championships have more luck, and luck cannot last for three seasons.

Brendan Rodgers is a good coach, and Liverpool are well-trained under his training, but Rodgers' performance in tough battles has never been very good, and Gerrard... In Ferguson's view, Gerrard has no chance of winning the championship. , he couldn't carry Liverpool's counterattack.

Another strong rival is Mourinho's Chelsea. Every time Mourinho joins a new team, he always achieves amazing results in the early stages. Chelsea's performance so far is indeed good, but in a situation where the lineup is full of holes, Next, Mourinho regrouped the team and now ranks fourth in the Premier League.

Arsenal is now Manchester United's biggest rival. In addition to last season, Arsenal has won two consecutive games against Manchester United.

"Young man, well done. Next time, I'll wait for you at Old Trafford." Ferguson said simply.

"Thank you, Mr. Ferguson."

Chen Yao didn't yell at Ferguson, he simply thanked him politely.

The two teams will of course meet at Old Trafford, a place that gave Arsenal a 2-8 nightmare. That bloody night still left a deep impression on Chen Yao.

……

After the game, Alex Ferguson seriously criticized Manchester United's performance.

He told reporters, "We exposed our weaknesses. For a period of time, we played well, but we did not continue to threaten. I don't think Manchester United is the weaker team and we deserve to go further." One or two goals. But losing a game like this means we can't win the championship."

"Mr. Ferguson, do you think Arsenal have a chance to win the championship this season?"

Ferguson raised his eyelids and said, "Twenty teams in the Premier League have a chance to win the championship this season. There will only be one team that wins the championship, and I believe that is Manchester United."

In contrast, Chen Yao humbly praised Ferguson and Manchester United at the press conference: "They are a very good team. Their offensive performance is great and they also have a compact press. Well, did Sir Alex Ferguson say that? Yes, Manchester United is indeed a strong contender for the Premier League title this season."

Chen Yao praised Manchester United eloquently. The reporters twitched at the corners of their mouths while typing. You praised Manchester United so well, but didn't Manchester United still lose at the Emirates Stadium?

At the same time, every reporter typed this paragraph on the press release: Arsenal tops the Premier League...     …

The twelfth round of the Premier League was held on November 23. Arsenal played at St. Mary's Stadium against Southampton.

Southampton is currently ranked fifth in the Premier League. They have also started the season very well and are currently firmly in the European competition.

It has been two weeks since the last round of the Premier League.

On international football match days, many Arsenal players go to participate in national team matches, and the club has no control over their schedules and training.

Every time when the national team comes back from a match day, what Chen Yao is most worried about is injuring a few players. Fortunately, there were no injuries this time.

Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere have also returned in the past two weeks, and Arsenal's bench depth is still sufficient.

At the beginning of the game, Arsenal's players seemed to have not fully recovered.

The Gunners players made constant mistakes.

Arsenal's starting midfielder in this game is Jorginho, and Chen Yao also puts Carvajal in the starting lineup. He wants to use fast-paced offense and defense to gain an early advantage in the away game.

Southampton's left back is 18-year-old Englishman Luke Shaw. 28-year-old Dani Fox is absent due to injury. This side has also become Arsenal's main direction of attack.

In front of Chen Yao, Jorginho, Carvajal and Ramsey made a mistake in a simple three-way pass.

Adam Lallana easily intercepted the ball in the passing path of three Arsenal players and started the counterattack with a long pass. Southampton forwards Jay Rodriguez and Gaston Ramires fired towards the goalkeeper. Arsenal's penalty area went straight through.

Koscielny and Mertesacker calmly maintained the defensive line. They moved with the movement of Southampton's forwards and did not allow their opponents to have the angle and space to easily shoot.

The frontcourt is a partial numerical balance situation, which is very dangerous for Arsenal.

Jay Rodriguez was forced wide and Carvajal ran back to support.

Koscielny spotted the connection between Jay Rodriguez and Gaston Ramirez and blocked it with his legs.

Jay Rodriguez originally planned to make a direct pass and diagonal pass with Gaston Ramirez, but when he saw Koscielny blocking the passing line, he could only give up in frustration.

The area left for him was very narrow, and Jay Rodriguez had no choice but to hit the goal from a small angle.

He didn't expect the ball to go in, he just hoped to cause a corner kick.

As long as Szczesny firmly blocked the near corner, Southampton's counterattack was given the all-clear this time.

Jay Rodriguez was fully expecting a corner kick, but Szczesny reacted as if the slowdown button had been pressed.

He didn't seem to notice that Jay Rodriguez would take a shot, and his eyes were still fixed on Gaston Ramirez, even though Gaston Ramirez was not holding the ball and Pegasus was Mertesacker stared at him.

Szczesny's attempt was in vain as the ball rolled between his body and the post.

Even Jay Rodriguez himself didn't expect the goal to be scored. He was stunned for a long time before excitedly running to the sideline to celebrate.

"What is Wojciech doing? Where is his attention? Where is it focused?" Chen Yao complained to Lillo angrily, "Has the two-week hiatus made him forget how to guard the goal?"

"Our overall condition is not good," Lillo said. "The passing and receiving errors are much higher than usual...but Wojciech's condition is indeed abnormal."

(End of this chapter)