Chapter 311 Back to the Top

"..After losing the ball, Crystal Palace got a chance to counterattack. Korka received the ball on the left, broke through Ashley Cole, and quickly dribbled along the left. Arsenal's defense kept retreating. This was a great opportunity!"

"Kolo Toure left his position and prepared to grab the ball. Korka made a diagonal pass. Rishilahti quickly inserted and shot directly. Beautiful, the ball went in!!!"

"Less than 1 minute after Arsenal scored, Crystal Palace used a very fast counterattack. Korka broke through on the left and made a 45-degree diagonal pass. Rishilahti made a powerful shot at the front of the penalty area, equalizing the score for Crystal Palace. This was a very beautiful counterattack. Arsenal's defense was completely defeated!"

Accompanied by the shouting of the on-site commentator, Wenger looked grim in front of the visiting coach's bench at Crystal Palace's Selhurst Park Stadium. At the moment Rishilahti scored, he could hardly hide the disappointment that flashed in his eyes.

How many times have they conceded a goal?

7 days ago, they challenged Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane and ushered in the North London Derby. Although Arsenal finally defeated Tottenham Hotspur, the score of 5:4 undoubtedly made Arsenal's defense very embarrassing. Many people even felt that if Arsenal failed to win the championship in the end, it must be due to their own defense.

In fact, Arsenal's defensive problems have always existed since the beginning of this season. This old problem that had already appeared last season, even after a summer, Wenger did not have a good solution, because Wenger was busy all summer to appease Vieira and introduce Arteta.

In the end, Vieira stayed, Arteta did not come, but the team's problems were not well solved.

Still two ribs, still 45-degree diagonal passes, still the gap between the center back and the side back, this is an old problem, but it has made Arsenal pay a painful price again and again, and Wenger has no good solution for the time being. After all, the games are one after another, and there is no time for him to slowly adjust and try.

Standing in front of the visiting team's coaching bench, he clearly felt that the team's morale was constantly fading.

A month ago, Arsenal was the most morale-filled and motivated team in the Premier League. At that time, Arsenal was invincible, not only leading Chelsea by 5 points, but also almost sweeping all opponents, with an offensive tide and an unstoppable momentum. But now, Arsenal seems to have become a broken drum that can be beaten by anyone.

This is the professional league. When your tactical problems are exposed and discovered by everyone, that is when you are fatal, so in this game, Crystal Palace even directly let Korka start.

This former PSV Eindhoven player has not performed well in the past few years. After coming to Crystal Palace, he was mainly a substitute. But he got the starting position in this game. The reason is very simple, that is, to use his ability on the wing to attack Arsenal's weakness. As a result, it worked!

From leading by 5 points to leading by 1 point, and now the situation is precarious, Arsenal can be said to have fallen from heaven to hell. Wenger himself feels a little frustrated, let alone this group of players?

"I received news that Chelsea is currently leading Fulham 3:0 at Craven Cottage!" Assistant Pat Rice walked to Wenger's side and carefully reminded the French coach that Arsenal must fight.

Wenger was stunned, and the look on his face became more severe and solemn, because he knew very well what this meant. Fulham could no longer reverse Chelsea, and there was no possibility of even equalizing. If Arsenal could not take down Crystal Palace, then they would give up the leading position.

"Damn it, they seem to be crazy recently!" Pat Rice complained helplessly.

Indeed, in the recent rounds, Chelsea has been winning big against opponents. After defeating Blackburn 7:0, the team's state seems to be crazy, winning consecutive victories. This game is only more than 60 minutes away, and they are leading 3:0 again. If nothing unexpected happens, it will be at least a complete victory of more than 3 goals.

After hearing this, Wenger squeezed out a smile with a bitter smile. Isn't Chelsea's state the same as Arsenal in the early season? The difference is that the situation changes. It was Arsenal who was in the limelight in the early season, and now it is Chelsea's turn.

In fact, strictly speaking, the state of all teams is the same, with ups and downs, and the secret to competing for the league is not a big secret. The kingly way is that you can beat your opponents when you are in good condition, and how to grab points when you are not in good condition.

Wenger has always regarded Chelsea as a major concern. One of the important reasons is that Ye Qiu is very efficient in scoring points. Even if Chelsea is not in good shape after the start, the Blues still score points steadily in every round, biting Arsenal tightly, putting pressure on the Gunners, and creating a foundation for the subsequent catch-up and overtaking.

In fact, Arsenal's current situation is not too bad, but there is a very serious problem, that is, too many draws.

It's not that Arsenal's offensive ability is not good, but the opponent has begun to clearly arrange defense against Arsenal's weaknesses. It's like two people fighting. Your weak spot is pinched by the opponent. How can you go all out to attack the opponent? You always have to distract yourself to guard your own weaknesses, right?

Speaking of Arsenal itself, many people say that Arsenal should keep pace with the times, abandon the 442 play style, and adopt 4231 or 433 tactics that are more in line with modern football. However, Wenger also has his own worries, that is, the players Features.

442 is very average and balanced, with no big highlights. It is the most balanced tactic among all tactics in terms of occupying the court space area. It is very balanced from front to back and from left to right. Unlike 433, where the winger and The distance between the full-backs is so long, and it is not like 4231 that overly dilutes the offensive threat from the wing.

It can be said that it has no obvious shortcomings, but it also has no major highlights.

If you analyze Arsenal's midfielders carefully, neither Pires nor Ljungberg are fast players on the wing. On the contrary, the characteristics of these two wing players are that they can play both sides. This is why so many people say Arsenal's attack is the reason why it has two sides.

In the absence of a suitable winger, playing 433 is undoubtedly courting death, because 433 not only has very high requirements on the physical fitness and tactical literacy of the players, but also has high requirements on the wide players, which Arsenal does not have. of.

What can be foreseen is that if Arsenal insists on playing 433, then the gap between Pires and Ljungberg and the two full-backs on the left and right will be exposed. The opponent will still seize this point to fight. What is the difference with 442? Just changing the soup instead of the dressing? And you have to bear the risks and adaptation issues that come with changing formations. Is it worth it?

Considering that Pires and Ljungberg are more like full midfielders, if Arsenal wants to continue to maintain its smooth passing and receiving cooperation with the current tactical system, 451 will be a good choice, with 5 midfielders In fact, it is a change of 442, and Wenger asks Bergkamp to retreat from time to time, which is actually playing 451.

To fill the current team's defensive gap, a midfielder who can protect both ribs with Gilberto Silva is an ideal choice, but after removing a forward, the team's advancement will be a problem, because There is no tactical pivot in front of Arsenal.

Is Henry the tactical fulcrum? Everyone who knows Henry will not think so!

The French forward has outstanding personal abilities and technical levels, but you have to walk on the ground, and his technical and speed advantages can only be reflected by putting a distance from the defensive players, which limits his ability to become a tactical center.

Wenger even felt that a very important reason why Henry could not gain a foothold in Serie A was that he was not used to the ubiquitous tactical restrictions and control of Serie A. After he arrived in the Premier League, he could be pulled to the wing to breathe free air and do whatever he wanted. It is obviously not possible to use his own characteristics in Serie A.

Many times, the head coach can decide the tactics, but the players also control the team's tactics. Unless Wenger wants to carry out drastic reforms and reorganize the team's lineup, otherwise, he will not be able to change the lineup. .

Wenger didn't envy Ye Qiu. He just felt that Ye Qiu was like a backpacker who took it easy. He could change as he wanted. Maybe when he reorganized Chelsea, he might have considered playing 4321 for one year. , but Wenger is obviously not good. He is now covered with luggage, which is so heavy that he can't breathe. He has to sweat profusely even if he wants to turn around.

When he thought of this, Wenger couldn't help but sigh deeply in his heart. He didn't even dare to let others notice his sigh now. After seeing that the team's situation had not changed much, he immediately left. When he got to the sidelines, he kept calling on the players to continue pressing, and at the same time called Bergkamp.

At the critical moment, Ice Prince is still reliable!

Soon, Wenger replaced Ljungberg with Bergkamp and asked Reyes to play on the wing. Bergkamp retreated appropriately to support the midfielder, and Vieira retreated further to help. Protect the line of defense.

Especially in the past two years, as Real Madrid, Chelsea and other wealthy teams have seduced Vieira, Wenger has also clearly felt Vieira's increasingly angry temper, especially when Keane gradually faded out of the top flight. Among the ranks of defensive midfielders, the French midfielder has become the truly best defensive midfielder in the Premier League and even Europe.

As his fame skyrocketed, so did Vieira's temper. Coupled with the addition of Gilberto Silva and Wenger's adjustments to the midfield, Vieira began to assume more and more organizational and offensive responsibilities. As the French midfielder becomes more and more outstanding, he is also becoming more and more impetuous. Especially when he was planning to switch to Real Madrid this summer, he completely lost his form.

Although Vieira regained some form not long ago and performed very well, now, his performance has become worse and worse with the team's downturn, and he no longer has the same hard work that swept the midfield. I also lost my tenacious fighting spirit.

Perhaps this is a common problem for big-name players!

Or maybe, as early as summer, I should have been more decisive and let him go!

Wenger was on the sidelines, looking at Vieira who lacked fighting spirit on the court, and this thought came to his mind for the first time.

When players become big names, they tend to lack fighting spirit and hunger for victory. The most obvious one is the group of superstars from Real Madrid!

Although Wenger made three adjustments in the hope that the team could reverse the situation, Crystal Palace was clearly prepared for this. The defense was impeccable and did not give Arsenal the slightest chance. After equalizing the score, they seemed to have lost the ability to continue attacking. The idea is more of a symbolic harassment tactic.

In the end, Arsenal drew 1:1 with Crystal Palace away from home.

What made all Arsenal fans depressed and disappointed was that Chelsea beat Fulham 5:0 away from home!

When the Premier League ended on November 13, all newspapers used the word "crazy" to describe Chelsea's recent state the next day, because they had launched a powerful and surging offensive.

After winning Blackburn 7:0, West Bromwich Albion 5:0, Everton 2:0, and Fulham 5:0, Chelsea has won 4 consecutive games in the past 4 Premier League rounds, and has also scored 19 goals and conceded no goals, which has to be said to have shocked the whole of Europe.

Not only that, Chelsea also won two consecutive games in the League Cup. In the round of 16 knockout match against Newcastle, even though Ye Qiu arranged most of the substitutes and young players to play, he still defeated Souness's Newcastle 2:0. The latter is now ranked outside the top 10 in the Premier League, and Souness has completely exposed his true colors.

After the 13th round of the Premier League, Chelsea finally reversed Arsenal, which has remained unbeaten so far this season, and took the throne of the Premier League leader for the first time this season with a 2-point lead.

At the press conference after the away game against Fulham, Ye Qiu was happy about the team's return to the top, but he did not forget to further attack his competitors.

"To be honest, I'm a little disappointed that we overtook Arsenal so early, because they could have performed better, which would have given us more stimulation. The stronger the opponent, the more motivated we are and the better we can play. I believe this is the true thought of all our Chelsea players."

"I think Arsenal is facing a big problem now, that is, when the things that worked well in the past don't work now, how can you continue to win?"

Ye Qiu feels that he should now clear his name, at least to regain the praise and recognition he deserves.

"Many people doubted me before and kept asking me why I changed from 4321 to 4231. My answer was very clear. I needed a tactic with a stronger sense of rhythm. I was unwilling to continue using the tactics that won the championship last season because the opponents would constantly study our weaknesses based on our past tactics and defeat us."

"It is indeed a bit risky, and our start in the league was also affected by this, but it turns out that my decision was right. At least so far, our team's adjustments and operations are as good as ever. Our opponents are still adapting to our tactics, while we have become more offensive and more impactful!"

It can be said that so far, the second echelon of the frontcourt composed of Ronaldinho, Lampard and Rooney, plus Drogba in front, has become the strongest offensive combination in the Premier League. Maicon and Evra's forward insertions and support on both wings also help Chelsea provide tactical width and more secretive 45-degree diagonal passes.

Rich offensive routines and more rhythmic court control make Chelsea's offense more varied. Although opponents can also use Chelsea's weaknesses to launch attacks, few teams can do this as Chelsea becomes more and more skilled in controlling the rhythm. Maybe many people are still studying Chelsea's weaknesses.

"What I want to say here is that I never think that there are good and bad tactics in this world, but I always believe that there is no perfect tactic in this world, so every set of tactics in every lineup requires you to constantly improve and strengthen. Only in this way can you always be invincible!"

Many media have reprinted Ye Qiu's words, and many reporters and professionals have also commented on them. Even many people who attacked Ye Qiu before have now apologized, thinking that they were indeed too short-sighted at the time. Facts have proved that keeping pace with the times and constantly reforming are the foundation for a team to prosper.

Of course, some reporters and media are still bombarding Ye Qiu, but this time the angle of the bombardment has changed. They began to bombard Ye Qiu for being too proud of himself, thinking that Ye Qiu's team has improved slightly, and he immediately became forgetful and even a little arrogant, which will sooner or later make Chelsea fall from the leading position again.

Ye Qiu has always believed in one thing, that is, if you want to accuse someone, you will find a reason!

When someone wants to attack you, no matter what you say, he can find a reason and wording, and unfortunately, you can never wake up a person who pretends to be asleep and crazy.

After the 13th round of the Premier League, there is a national team match in the middle of the week, but because Ye Qiu had done some negotiations before, this time Chelsea selected 13 international players, and basically played in Europe. In addition to giving others a day off, Ye Qiu began to prepare to continue to adjust his physical fitness, because it is almost December.

A week later, Chelsea faced Bolton at home. Although Ye Qiu's team only fielded half of the main lineup, they continued to advance and defeated Bolton 2:0. Arsenal drew 1:1 with West Bromwich Albion at home, and the gap between the two sides quickly widened to 4 points.

Wenger is in complete misery. He is even teased by the media as a team that always draws games because he has had too many draws this season. Although a draw means points, for a team aiming to win the championship, a draw also means losing points.