Chapter 404 Arsenal’s Traditional Virtues

This is a game scheduled to be played at noon.

The game kicked off at 12:45 and ended at 14:41. The whole process took nearly two hours.

The attendance rate at White Hart Lane has been very high this season. The stadium can accommodate up to 36,200 people. The average attendance this season is about 35,800 people. Every venue is full. However, this game was full of seats, even on weekdays. The motorized seats that were always reserved were all sold this time.

Not only that, there were Tottenham Hotspur fans almost everywhere outside White Hart Lane. At noon, the two major bars were full of people, and even the surrounding areas of the stadium were also overcrowded, because they knew that, This is not only a North London derby, but also a game related to qualification for the Champions League next season.

Fans gathered outside the White Hart Lane stadium, or those stationed outside the Tottenham Hotspur fan souvenir shop to watch the live broadcast, or fans watching the game in the bar, as soon as they heard the cheers from the stadium , suddenly everyone shouted along, everyone shouted along.

Perhaps, they hope to use their shouts to help the team and give everyone more courage and fighting spirit to defeat this deadly enemy in North London. Therefore, their hearts will beat faster with every attack of the team. They lamented every time the team conceded a goal, and then cursed every time the team wasted an opportunity.

"Tottenham Hotspur's recent performance is indeed a bit poor, even though they just slaughtered Wigan 6-0..."

Unlucky Andy Gray, because of this sentence, he was scolded by all Tottenham Hotspur fans inside and outside White Hart Lane for nearly an hour. It was not until the end of the game that he said another sentence and was scolded. They let it go.

"Arsenal is so lucky. If Tottenham Hotspur had not been unlucky and failed to seize opportunities in this game, they would have scored at least five goals and ended up with a 2:2 draw. Wenger's goal The team should thank God most!”

The game was indeed very exciting. As always, two teams with the most technical style of play and the most advocating smooth attack in the Premier League this season came together and played a wonderful game, even for Tottenham Hotspur. Generally speaking, they had an absolutely overwhelming advantage on the field, making everything else impeccable except for the final score, which was a draw.

It is hard to imagine that the final number of shots in the second half would be 12:0. Tottenham Hotspur, playing at home, played a crazy offense and created a total of 12 kicking opportunities, of which 3 hit the goal post and 4. There were three shots on target, but only one goal was scored. Arsenal's two goals were both in the first half, and they didn't even have a chance to kick off in the second half.

This is why Andy Gray said that Tottenham Hotspur's performance was average in the first half. It was not because Tottenham Hotspur was at a disadvantage, but because the team's ability to seize opportunities was obviously weaker than Arsenal's. The Gunners The counterattacks frequently threatened Tottenham Hotspur's goal, and Adebayor's presence brought a great threat to Thiago Silva.

The Brazilian central defender is obviously afraid of powerful centers this season. Whether it is Drogba or Adebayor, he has no good or effective way to deal with the opponent, and usually many teams play Tottenham Hot Thorn, all use the cooperation between Hangeland and Thiago Silva to exploit loopholes.

Everyone knows this, Thiago Silva himself knows it, and Ye Qiu is even more aware of it, but what he knows even more is that in the history of football, there is no defender who is not From being tortured? Which defender can guarantee that he will never make a mistake?

Any defender, even a tyrannical one like Cannavaro, Nesta, Samuel, etc., will sometimes be abused to the point where he can't find any direction. That kind of iron gate that can never make mistakes and is always unbreakable, It will always exist only in the imagination of some fans.

At least in Ye Qiu's view, Tottenham Hotspur's defense has improved significantly this season. The combination between Thiago Silva and Hangeland has shown its power most of the time. Among them, Hangeland's performance was relatively calm, but that was based on Thiago Silva sharing some of the offensive pressure with him.

The ball possession rates in the second half were 61.1% and 38.9%. There is no doubt that Tottenham Hotspur is the former and Arsenal is the latter.

"In the Premier League, there are really not many teams that can put Arsenal, who are good at controlling the ball, into such a mess. This season, only Ye Qiu's Tottenham Hotspur can do it. But it is a pity that there are many football matches. I don’t believe this at all, just like the referee will not count the three strange goalposts into the score.”

"But we also have to admit that the two teams obviously worked crazy in this game. Even until the last minute, Tottenham Hotspur still insisted on attacking, while Arsenal still did not dare to Neither side is willing to give up the fight for the Champions League easily, and they are trying their best.”

Andy Gray's words are not only sympathy for Tottenham Hotspur who have the advantage but failed to win, but also sympathy for Arsenal, because the Gunners' performance in this game was also very tenacious, and more importantly What's more, Wenger changed his 442 tactics for the first time in this game and changed it to 4321 tactics to further strengthen the midfield.

"We have just received news that in another game at the same time, Liverpool defeated Wigan 2:0 at home with the goals of Gerrard and Kuyt. The points gap between the Red Army and the two teams has further increased. The expansion has now been extended to five points. With three rounds left in the league, perhaps Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal can only compete for the top four in the league."

Hearing this news, there was an obvious sigh from Haig Road, where the White Hart Lane stadium is located. Obviously all Tottenham Hotspur fans are regretting the final result of this game. If they can beat Arsenal If you accept it, maybe the result will be different.

Ye Qiu expressed his disappointment at the 2:2 draw at home by Arsenal at the post-match press conference, but he said that he was proud of the players' performance and believed that if the result of the game had been more reasonable, , that should at least be a victory.

"I don't think we have a problem now. On the contrary, I think we are playing well, pretty good!"

When reporters asked if he felt Tottenham Hotspur had encountered problems, Ye Qiu denied it.

"No matter what kind of opponent we face, we can always create a lot of scoring opportunities, but sometimes football matches are like this. When you encounter a group of opponents who stick to the goal and want to keep the score, everyone There is no guarantee that I can seize every opportunity.”

"There is no doubt that we have the best midfielder, the best winger, and the best scorer. We just lack some luck, so we have to accept a draw that should have been three points, and I I think Arsenal should be congratulated, they got a point that didn’t belong to them!”

Wenger also responded to Ye Qiu's doubts. He believed that although Tottenham Hotspur had the initiative, they did not pose much of a threat, especially in the final pass, which Tottenham Hotspur lacked. Effective method.

"I told my players that Ruud van Nistelrooy's most powerful threat is in the penalty area. We should find ways to prevent him from entering the penalty area. This is also the tactic we used when we played Manchester United in the past. I know better than anyone how to limit Van Nistelrooy, so We succeeded!"

"Although Ruud van Nistelrooy also scored a goal in this game, he also missed many opportunities. I don't think we were lucky to get a draw. On the contrary, I think this is the result of the hard work of all of us. I So proud of my players!”

When a reporter asked the two about their confidence and fighting spirit in the team's fight for fourth place in the league, Wenger said confidently, "I can guarantee that Tottenham Hotspur will start to fall behind because they are too young and too young. There is a lack of confidence, and the performance of the core players they rely on, Beckham and Van Nistelrooy, has obviously declined in recent times.”

This is also true. Beckham's performance may not have declined, but Ruud van Nistelrooy's decline is more obvious. After all, he is not young. He can play such a state and goal rate this season, which is comparable to Tottenham. Tottenham's overall creation of opportunities for him has a lot to do with it, and in this game except for a goal, he really had no other role.

For example, he had little interaction with Messi and Franck Ribery. Later, Ye Qiu had to replace Asavin as the attacking midfielder to connect the two wings. At this time, Tottenham Hotspur's offensive in the second half was launched. threatened.

But in this way, Tottenham Hotspur does not mean that there are two people doing the work of one person?

Ye Qiu gave a completely different answer to this question than Wenger.

"I have to correct one thing. The battle for fourth place in the league will not happen to my team. Our goal is third place in the league. I believe that whether it is Arsenal or Liverpool, they will make mistakes in the end and we will laugh. Last!"

But some reporters immediately reminded that Tottenham Hotspur met Chelsea in the last round.

Judging from the current situation, if Chelsea can win the championship in advance, the final round may be easier, but Mourinho will definitely not let Ye Qiu off easily, so this is destined to be a fight to the death, even if he wins the championship If the suspense is left to the last round, then this game at White Hart Lane will definitely be a more tragic game than today's one, because it will be related to the championship and Champions League qualification. Belong.

Ye Qiu was very positive about this question and answered confidently, "No matter who we face, we have enough strength and confidence to defeat them!"

Ye Qiu's self-confidence has received mixed reviews from the outside world. After all, no one can say with such certainty what he will do, but neither Wenger nor Ye Qiu will say anything discouraging at this time. Now they can say More confident than anyone else, even to the point of being a little excessive.

But sometimes, people really have to believe that the world is spinning.

Tottenham Hotspur played the first leg of the UEFA Cup semi-finals at home against Sevilla on Thursday. Asavin assisted Robin van Persie and scored the only goal of the game. , defeated Sevilla 1:0 at home.

Van Persie's performance in this game was remarkable, and the coaching staff also spoke highly of his physical condition this season. If it is said that in his previous life at Arsenal, health and injuries have hindered Van Persie's progress and rise. If the number one obstacle is, then now in Tottenham Hotspur, Van Persie obviously has no worries in this regard.

Not only that, the coaching staff's intensive training for his upper limb strength has also made significant progress, which can be seen from Van Persie's increasingly outstanding performance in the second half of the season. In this game, Van Persie has become Tottenham's most active player, and Ye Qiu is even more determined to find an opportunity to make Van Persie a regular.

Playing as a substitute in the League Cup, Tottenham's main lineup will challenge Middlesbrough away at the weekend.

The French scarface has also been very active recently, and he has also shown increasingly outstanding offensive power on the left. In this away game against Middlesbrough, he frequently created opportunities on the left after the opening, and in the 12th minute he took the lead in knocking on Middlesbrough's goal for Tottenham, with Fabregas assisting him.

Before the end of the first half, he made another pass on the left, Messi ran to the middle to get the ball and passed it straight, and Van Nistelrooy stopped the ball and shot, continuing to expand the score for Tottenham.

But not long after the start of the second half, Viduka took advantage of a counterattack opportunity and beat Thiago Silva with a header to help Middlesbrough get back one goal. But in the 73rd minute, Ribery received a diagonal pass from Alves on the right and scored another goal for Tottenham Hotspur in the penalty area, 3:1!

In the end, Tottenham Hotspur defeated Middlesbrough 3:1 away.

Ribery, who scored twice, played an outstanding performance that was not inferior to Van Nistelrooy this season, and even his performance was not inferior to Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United. Both of them have scored 16 goals in the Premier League, far behind Van Nistelrooy, but Ribery has created 15 assists for his teammates in total, playing a very good double-double.

But this is not the number one assist king in Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham's best assist is Fabregas, who has created 18 assists for his teammates in total, which can be said to be the real assist king in the Premier League.

Beckham didn't score many goals and only had eight assists, but this has a lot to do with the fact that he joined the team after the winter break. In addition, one of Beckham's important statistics is that he made a lot of key passes, because his responsibility is to transfer the ball over a large area and hit the opponent's weaknesses, so whether it is a goal or an assist, it will not be too many, but the effect is very large.

Messi also scored 14 goals. Almost all of Tottenham's offense came from the front trident, Van Nistelrooy, Ribery and Messi. The number of goals scored by others was relatively small, but players like Alves and Vargas had a lot of assists.

However, from another point of view, it can be seen that Van Nistelrooy is currently incompatible with Tottenham Hotspur. He has only three assists. From this point, it is not difficult to see that he is very dependent on the team's entire tactical system, but Tottenham Hotspur's offense has a feeling of being dragged down by him.

Of course, it is not to say how strong Van Nistelrooy is, but purely from a tactical perspective, Ye Qiu should really consider supporting Van Persie, on the one hand because of Van Nistelrooy's age, and on the other hand because of tactical considerations.

However, with Van Nistelrooy likely to break the record of the Premier League's top scorer of 30 goals this season, Ye Qiu is also troubled by how to deal with him, because now Tottenham fans like him very much, and even the media think that Tottenham's offense basically depends on Van Nistelrooy.

This also forced Ye Qiu to consider the consequences. After all, if Van Persie rashly replaces Van Nistelrooy, whether he can take over smoothly in the end is also a big problem.

Tottenham defeated the opponent, and Arsenal was not to be outdone, also defeating Fulham 3:1. Wenger was not willing to show weakness and chased Tottenham's pace, always keeping an eye on this North London rival.

This season's Champions League semi-finals include Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool. The strength of the Premier League can be seen at a glance. Not only that, coupled with the fierce competition in the Premier League this season, the influence of the Premier League has also risen.

But this also affected the performance of the top three in the league. Manchester United and Chelsea both tied after the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, while Liverpool lost 0:1 to Chelsea away in the first leg of the Champions League, and then returned to the league and lost 1:2 to Portsmouth, the home dragon, away.

The gap quickly narrowed from five points to two points, and the battle for the top four in the Premier League became more and more intense. Among them, Arsenal naturally took advantage, because both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur had to play in European competitions, while Arsenal only had to play in the league.

Three days later, Liverpool beat Chelsea 1:0 at home and defeated Chelsea in a penalty shootout, sending the Blues out of the Champions League in an extremely tragic way, completing a very beautiful home counterattack and once again reaching the Champions League final.

Tottenham Hotspur played with a full substitute lineup and lost 1:2 to Sevilla away, but successfully eliminated Sevilla with an away goal. The only goal for Tottenham Hotspur was scored by Dutch striker Van Persie.

In the two rounds of the game, Van Persie and Arshavin were the most eye-catching players on the offensive end of Tottenham Hotspur, and also won the recognition of all Tottenham Hotspur fans and media. Head coach Ye Qiu also repeatedly stated in an interview with the media after the game that Van Persie and Arshavin's performance had the strength to play more games in the team.

At the same time, Ye Qiu was also optimistic about the league prospects. He believed that the team would be able to successfully advance to the Champions League qualifying zone.

"I want to tell all Tottenham players and fans not to think too much about other things, and not to consider our opponents. We should believe in ourselves. As long as we show our due strength and win in the next two Premier League games, all the pressure will be on our opponents."

In an interview with the media, Ye Qiu also repeatedly stated that Arsenal has always had the traditional virtue of failing at critical moments. Wenger has lost the championship or the game countless times at critical moments.

"I believe that Arsenal will continue to carry forward their traditional virtues this time, and Liverpool will fall on two fronts. I have no doubt about this!"

Ye Qiu is very clear that, relatively speaking, the challenges Tottenham Hotspur encountered in the League Cup are really not very big.