Chapter 392 The Crazy Winter Window Arms Race
Chapter 392 The Crazy Winter Window Arms Race
The 2017th round of the 2018-22 Premier League season has come to an end.
少赛两轮的阿森纳以60分高居榜首，曼城17胜4平1负积55分排名第2，曼联15胜5平2负积50排名第3，从第四名的利物浦开始，落后的分数就开始多了起来。
利物浦11胜8平2负积42分，热刺12胜5平5负积41分，切尔西12胜4平6负积40分。
Starting with seventh-placed Burnley, we are in the third tier, with 34 points.
In terms of scorer list, Martin is still far ahead.
33 goals!
That’s exactly double and one more than second-placed Harry Kane.
You must know that during the same period last season, his number of goals was only 27.
In terms of assists, he is also far ahead, with 17 assists, 9 ahead of second place De Bruyne.
On the day January 2018, 1 came, the world sports media, which was dominated by European mainstream media, was very tacit and gave Martin the front page.
[103 goals and 51 assists in the year, breaking all your imagination of football players]
Even FIFA’s official website has reproduced it.
Such treatment has become a unique existence in world football.
It is also true that a football association in the far east has been hacked again...
The official website is in a bad state, and anyone who likes to be negative will do so.
do not care.
After Arsenal finished their home league game against Chelsea, head coach Wenger gave the team a three-day holiday with a wave of his hand, allowing the players and their families to enjoy a wonderful New Year after finishing the devilish schedule.
Martin was the same as always, but something was different.
Normally, he spends all day training alone at the training base. As his adoptive father Miguel Mario passed away due to illness, he had to spare some time to spend more time with his mother, which resulted in the extra training time being halved.
Unexpectedly, Clara took a flight to La Palma Island, Spain, on the afternoon of January 2018, 1, saying she was going on vacation with her best friend Emily Sarah.
What Martin didn't expect was that he would be asked to take more care of Savannah, who was working and living in London.
Fortunately, the whole world knows that his family has a very good relationship with Savannah's family.
However, the "Sun", which likes scandals, doesn't care about that. The famous female reporter Diletta Leota gave full play to her personal imagination and mentioned Martin's private life in her personal column.
They may not be a couple now, but that doesn't mean they won't be in the future.
In addition, it also extends to the Dragon Kingdom's "Love grows over time".
Even Martin thought it made sense after reading it.
The three-day vacation passed quickly, and Martin returned to his regular daily training.
Leave early and come back late.
In the past two days, I just stayed at home with Savannah, who was also on a short vacation.
What?
Playing games.
The king of pesticides.
Originally, he had escaped from the pit due to his rebirth and had never wanted to play. However, as the strongest football player in the world today, he was contacted by Penguin executives.
This is a World Cup year.
Pesticide, the phenomenon-level mobile game that is quite popular in Dragon Kingdom, must be linked up.
Pei Qinhu's limited skin, which was originally supposed to belong to Messi, has been seriously distorted by the influence of his butterfly.
Agent Mendes is close to negotiating with Penguin, and Martin will only need to sign the authorization contract.
As a reborn person, he knew how popular this skin was, and with his Chinese background, he had once been naturalized in the Dragon Kingdom, but he only changed citizenship due to the influence of certain institutions.
So Mendes followed Martin's lead and went to negotiate with Penguin.
Give up the fixed high licensing fee and choose a 10% to 20% share of the skin’s selling price.
Of course, 20% is unlikely. The two sides are currently pulling against each other at 13% to 16%.
After the three-day holiday, the entire Arsenal team, except for the injured players, returned to Colney training base to start recovery training and prepare for the third round of the FA Cup four days later.
Be a guest and challenge Nottingham Forest, the former king of Europe.
Now, this team was founded in 1865 and is one of the earliest football clubs in England. The most glorious one was in the late s, when it won the Champions League for two consecutive years under the leadership of legendary coach Clough.
Frank Clark can be said to be the last remnant of the Forest team, and also led the team to the European competition.
Now, it has become a team competing in the British Championship.
After 26 rounds of the British Championship this season, Nottingham Forest only accumulated 34 points, ranking 15th.
There is no hope of promotion. At the same time, because they are eight points ahead of the relegation zone, it is relatively safe for the time being, which means that they can focus on the traditional FA Cup first.
In addition, the biggest opportunity for them is that three days after Arsenal's FA Cup match, there will be an English League Cup semi-final against Chelsea, a strong opponent from London.
With the home advantage, both Nottingham Forest head coach Brazier and the low-key Forest fans believed that it was possible to achieve an upset.
It is precisely because of the various reasons behind it that the FA Cup is said to be a hotbed of unpopularity.
Chelsea, who were preparing for the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals, were distracted and ended up drawing 0:0 as a guest at Norwich City, the 'Canaries' who had been relegated to the Championship.
Another upset also occurred in the Premier League team Leicester City, also 0:0. They played away from home, and the draw was with a lower-middle and lower-tier team in the third level of English League One.
Seeing many upsets also gave Forest fans more hope.
It's a pity that many times the reality is as cruel as the ideals are.
But fortunately, they were sweet for a while, and it was the entire first half.
Right back Lehi twice took advantage of Arsenal's unstable cooperation with a large number of substitutes in the penalty area to take a two-goal halftime lead.
In the second half, Martin, Ronaldo and Cavani appeared together.
The fanatical atmosphere at the city football stadium gradually declined, and by the 70th minute, fans watching the live broadcast of the game could only hear the shouts from the visiting team Arsenal fans.
At this time, the scoreboard showed exactly 2:4.
It is equivalent to saying that Arsenal scored four goals in just 25 minutes, achieving a lead and expanding their lead.
Lottery friends who bought 7+ goals were more miserable. They did not wait for the seventh goal of the game until the end of the game.
It's not that Arsenal don't want to score goals, but they want to keep a low profile.
In an away game, the home players began to hold back their kicks. Naturally, there was no need to push the score to death, otherwise 'accidents' would easily occur.
This is the year of the World Cup, and Arsenal is a big player in international football. There are many international football players in the team who have qualified for the World Cup. Obviously, they must be careful.
Except for a few tied games that required replays in the third round of the FA Cup, most of them were on standby for the fourth round.
Premier League and Championship teams that have no EFL Cup matches are given a short break.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Bristol City, who have EFL Cup semi-final assignments, need to play two semi-finals at home and away.
Manchester City is the easiest. Their opponent is Bristol City, a big gift package. Arsenal and Chelsea, two London teams, need to compete for a place in the finals.
Two days passed quickly, and the first game of the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals was Manchester City VS Bristol City.
Manchester City, who had obviously stopped playing, relied on a semi-main lineup to easily win 2:0, paving the way for advancement in the two-round knockout format.
The first leg of the second EFL Cup semi-final is Arsenal VS Chelsea.
The two teams had a record of meeting on the last day of 2017, but the result was very unfriendly to Chelsea.
This campaign was at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea coach Conte once again made wild remarks at the regular press conference before the game. He believed that the team had been preparing for the EFL Cup semi-finals for a long time and would definitely defeat the powerful team in the first round at home. Arsenal.
Many die-hard Chelsea fans believe that the team has reached its most critical moment.
Defeat Arsenal and do your best to win the first championship in the past three years!
Media reporters who support Arsenal are too lazy to confront Conte because it is boring.
He always looks full of confidence before the game, looks heavy during the game, and has a tough mouth after the game.
"aoaooaooooo——"
The Stamford Bridge stadium, which can accommodate 41663 people, was full on the day of the game. Blue almost became the only color of the stadium, and the overwhelming cheers came one after another.
Unfortunately, such a fanatical atmosphere did not last long. The visiting team's strong attack brought consecutive goals that once again plunged the entire stadium into despair. Every home fan who cheered for Chelsea felt a strong sense of despair.
At the end of the first half, the scoreboard showed 0:2
Arsenal captain Martin once again passed and shot.
In the second half of the game, Conte still wanted to struggle to the death.
The consequences are obvious.
The harder you struggle, the less honorable the result will be.
In the 62nd minute, Arsenal's continuous passes caused Gary Cahill to make a mistake in the penalty area and tripped Gnabry, who had made a breakthrough.
The referee on duty, Oliver, decisively blew the whistle and sentenced the penalty to death.
Yellow dot set meal.
Martin, the top penalty taker, was not affected by the harsh boos that swept the audience. He easily penetrated the goal guarded by Courtois with a push.
The on-site director gave the Belgian national goalkeeper a close-up shot.
He stood up at the goal line, hands on his hips, looking helpless.
For Martin, he didn't even know how many goals he conceded.
The key is that his teammates can't kick the ball into the opponent's goal. The intense feeling of frustration cannot be described in words.
It’s just that… person C will be driven crazy instead of succeeding…
※※※※※
At the end of the game, the score displayed at Stamford Bridge was 4:1.
The home team goes first and the away team goes last.
In the two-round knockout format, the home team lost three goals and conceded four goals, which almost meant they would miss the next round.
Regular press conference after the game.
Conte's attendance was no different from what reporters imagined.
We controlled the game, the loss was just bad luck, the weather was a bit cold, the players' movements were a bit stiff, the EFL Cup is a two-leg game, there is hope for the second leg, the team did not admit defeat...
Anyway, many reporters’ ears are about to get calluses after hearing these words.
……
Before the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals in the 2017-2018 season, Arsenal had two league games, a guest challenge against Bournemouth and a home game against Crystal Palace.
The most watched Premier League match in the 23rd round is undoubtedly Liverpool's home game against Manchester City.
In the first round at the Etihad Stadium, Liverpool, who had one less player to play, suffered a disastrous defeat.
Returning to Anfield in this campaign, the home team showed a strong desire to win.
Former Gunners player Chamberlain took the lead, and then Sane equalized.
The score of 1:1 remained until the end of the first half.
The situation changed suddenly in the second half. Firmino, Mane and Salah each scored a goal to widen the score to three goals.
Although Bernardo Silva and Gundogan scored two goals at the last minute to chase the score to 3:4, they ran out of time.
In the end, Liverpool defeated Manchester City 4:3 at home.
Arsenal's visit to Dean Court Stadium boosted their morale. The home team Bournemouth, which had two draws with Arsenal last season, seemed to have lost its magic and was unable to fight back.
0:2
At the end of the game, the scoreboard showed this score.
Therefore, Arsenal, who had two games less to play, took advantage of Manchester City's loss and directly extended the score to eight points.
Then in the 24th round of the league, they each defeated their opponents, and the points gap remained unchanged.
Liverpool, which won at home in the last round, was unexpectedly upset in this campaign, losing 0:1 as a guest to deputy squad leader Swansea.
After a week of double matches in the Premier League, Arsenal ushered in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals and the fourth round of the FA Cup.
After defeating Chelsea 4:1 as a guest two weeks ago, returning to the Emirates Stadium in the second round will naturally not retract almost half of the foot that entered the final.
1: 0.
Arsenal, who played semi-mainly, relied on captain Martin's final decision to defeat visiting Chelsea and took the lead in advancing to this season's EFL Cup final with a total score of 5:1.
At 3 o'clock in the evening the next day, Manchester City, who played half the main force, defeated Bristol City 2:5 as a guest and advanced with a total score of 2:.
Three days later, Arsenal's guest game at Kingston Communications Stadium still made a lot of adjustments to the lineup, with main players + semi-main players + substitutes + youth team players.
After all, life for the home team Hull City was not easy after being relegated to the English Championship.
After 28 rounds of the British Championship, they only accumulated 25 points. With a goal difference advantage, they surpassed Sunderland and ranked fourth from the bottom, which is equivalent to being in the relegation zone.
Who still focuses on the FA Cup when there is a risk of being relegated to League One?
Therefore, Arsenal, who did not play any main players, defeated the home team 3:1 as a guest, which resulted in Martin not having a substitute, which made the home fans feel a little regretful.
※※※※※
The time has come to the end of January, and the winter transfer window is coming to an end.
The soap opera of the Premier League transfer window is the most eye-catching.
However, the initiator of the chain reaction of things was Barcelona, which is now not short of cash.
Last summer, Barcelona had a flirtation with Liverpool star Coutinho. The latter once stopped training to go to Barcelona, but Klopp did not let him go.
The reason is that the price is not right.
In this year's winter window, Barcelona couldn't sit still when they saw that their results were not rising but falling, so they spent a lot of money.
1.2 million euros + 4000 million euros floating clause!
Coutinho got his wish and joined Barcelona.
As a traveler, Martin naturally knows that this transfer will lose both Coutinho and Barcelona.
According to the original history, the money should have been used to sign Van Dijk. However, Martin's suggestion led Wenger to sign the Dutch central defender in the summer of 16.
As a result, Liverpool, who had lost money in their account, immediately changed hands and spent 65 million euros in real money to intercept Laporte, the French central defender appointed by Guardiola from Athletic Bilbao.
Guardiola obviously wanted to replace the departing captain Kompany with Laporte, but he did not expect to be intercepted by Liverpool...
Even if they lose to Liverpool as a guest in the league, they will be banned even if they buy someone.
However, the time has come to the end of the winter window, where is anyone still buying it?
Tottenham also made signings before the winter window closed. Lucas Jr. transferred from Paris to Tottenham for 2500 million euros.
There is also very good news for Arsenal fans in the winter window.
Aubameyang was introduced from Dortmund for 6300 million euros.
But at the same time as the introduction, there was also bad news within Arsenal.
During daily training before the last league game in January, Sanchez took the initiative to find captain Martin and said sincerely: "Thank you for the past two or so seasons."
"Are you sure you want to leave?"
Martin put his arm around Sanchez's shoulders.
Sanchez nodded.
"Manchester United?"
"Yes."
Sanchez was not surprised by Martin's accurate guess. He looked at his teammates who were passing and receiving the ball. After nearly four years of getting along with him, he must be a little reluctant, but he thought of the contract that Santoku had promised and the high-paying renewal that the club's top brass had not promised. , shrugged and said: "They gave me too much."
"Good luck."
Martin tapped Sanchez on the shoulder again.
Sanchez, who felt Martin's kindness, felt very heavy in his heart. He didn't know whether choosing Manchester United was the right choice, but what was certain was that he would never be able to win games and... championships as easily and happily as he did at Arsenal.
He couldn't help but think about how great it would have been if he had agreed to a contract extension of 35 pounds...
It's just that there are no ifs in life. If you miss it, you will miss it.
Later, Sanchez took the initiative to find the head coach Wenger, members of the coaching staff and the players with whom he was close, and simply said goodbye. Finally, he returned to the locker room and took away his personal belongings.
At ten o'clock in the morning the next day, the official websites of Arsenal and Manchester United announced a transfer news at the same time.
£40 million + £10 million floating clause.
Arsenal → Manchester United.
Arsenal fans have long been mentally prepared for such a situation.
There was originally going to be a transfer last summer, but Wenger stayed because he could not find a replacement. The winter window signing of Aubameyang, who can play as a left winger, means that Sanchez, who only has half a year left on his contract, can leave. .
A star with only half a year left on his contract is worth a total of 50 million pounds, which is completely reasonable.
After seeing the transaction completed, Martin couldn't help but sigh that Mourinho was likely to enter the countdown to being fired.
But soon, he thought that the final result of the matter might not develop according to the original history.
In the original time and space, Sanchez did not have as many honors as he does now. He was still the core force of Arsenal's seven-time champion for two consecutive years and was the second-in-command of the Gunners.
Coming to Old Trafford with a very high honor, even if his weekly salary is revealed to be as high as 45 pounds, it will not cause strong dissatisfaction among some players.
The most important thing is that Sanchez did not suffer serious injuries in the later stages of his Gunners career. In other words, his performance after joining Manchester United may not be inversely proportional to his high weekly salary.
In addition, Pogba does not have a World Cup title.
Manchester United's dressing room may... not be chaotic.
Not long after, Mkhitaryan, who had no place in Manchester United, joined Arsenal for 30 million pounds.
On the last day of January, Arsenal visited Swansea in Wales.
Leader VS Deputy Squad Leader.
Arsenal did not follow in the footsteps of Liverpool. Although Swansea, a team from Wales, has shown a strong willingness to stay in the Premier League, the overall strength is too far behind Arsenal, which dominates the Premier League and Europe.
2:4
Captain Martin scored 1 goal and 2 assists, once again leading the victory.
Manchester City defeated West Bromwich Albion 3-0 at home, maintaining an eight-point gap with Arsenal, who have two games to play.
The most watched focus game of this round is undoubtedly Tottenham VS Manchester United.
Sanchez, who had just moved to Manchester United, became the absolute protagonist of this game.
With two goals behind at halftime, he passed and shot to help Manchester United draw 2:2 with Tottenham as a guest.
With his outstanding performance in this game, Sanchez immediately won the support of Manchester United fans. They believe that Sanchez, who took over the No. 7 jersey, will definitely create new glory together under the leadership of Mourinho!
By then, we can go further in the league, FA Cup and Champions League!
(End of this chapter)
