novelraw Chapter 566 - 388: Arsenal’s Rogue Corner Kick Tactics! It Drove Manchester City Players Crazy!
Chapter 566 - 388: Arsenal’s Rogue Corner Kick Tactics! It Drove Manchester City Players Crazy!
In China, there are many Arsenal fans.
With the big match about to begin, Arsenal fans in the country are gathering in groups to watch the game against Manchester City.
Some die-hard fans even booked an entire cinema.
One hour before kick-off.
In front of the cinema’s massive MAX screen, a CCTV reporter interviewed an Arsenal fan.
"Kid, which team are you a fan of?"
"I’m a fan of two teams, Guoan and Arsenal. Tonight I support Arsenal. Our Arsenal is invincible, we are the champions!"
The vivid red scarf flew on the child’s chest, and his facial expression was as vibrant as the scarf.
The other fans behind him were also infected by the child’s strong conviction.
Many poked their heads around behind the camera, shouting:
"Yes, Arsenal is invincible!"
"In the domestic cup, we fully trust Professor Wenger!"
"Even with Tang Long there, Manchester City is no match for Arsenal!"
"Let Manchester City go for the League Champion, the English League Cup is ours!"
This child was also moved by the cheers from the fans behind him.
He sang out his heart’s cry to the tune of the Guoan team song!
"Our Arsenal is invincible, roar roar roar~ invincible!"
"Our Arsenal is invincible, roar roar roar~ invincible!"
"Roar~ Yeah!"
...
Wembley Stadium.
Manchester City’s bus slowly drove into the parking lot, and under the astonished gazes of the numerous reporters, the players came down one by one wearing masks, frowning, and carrying bags. The pungent odor made the reporters who had been surrounding them quickly retreat. In contrast, Arsenal’s bus arrived amidst the enthusiastic cheers of Arsenal fans, looking splendid.
No way, this is London, after all, it’s like a half-home field for Arsenal.
In the locker room, Professor Wenger was making the final pre-match arrangements.
He swiftly rehearsed the secret tactics developed in training on the tactics board once again and carefully reminded each key player of their positions, movements, and duties.
Finally, everyone gathered together, with the tallest, Giroud, leading the players in a spirited chant —
"Take down the opponent, take the championship!"
When Pellegrini received the opponent’s starting lineup in the locker room, he immediately saw Giroud’s name.
Assistant coach Rein came over, glanced at the list, then turned to Pellegrini and said:
"Well, I knew Wenger would throw a smokescreen, and look, Giroud is starting!"
Pellegrini nodded confidently and said, "That’s not surprising, I’ve known Wenger for many years. He’s an old hand, throwing a smokescreen before the match might fool the reporters, but not me."
"It’s just odd that Sanchez isn’t starting, while Cazorla is in that position. That seems strange to me."
This season, Sanchez is the second top scorer next to Giroud.
His expert footwork and one-two passes in the center are crucial to Arsenal’s midfield passing and control tactics.
He was also the player Pellegrini had the team specifically practice marking, but he wasn’t on the starting list, which indeed surprised Pellegrini.
Rein said, "I think this probably isn’t a tactical decision. Sanchez might be injured; otherwise, Wenger wouldn’t bench Sanchez, who’s the most threatening player in the front, second only to Giroud."
"Hmm, you’re right," Pellegrini said comfortingly, "Cazorla isn’t the Cazorla of last season; his stamina is far from before, and he can’t replace Sanchez’s role. From this perspective, our chances of winning this match have increased significantly, which is a good thing!"
Starting Lineup for the Match:
Arsenal: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Giroud
Cazorla/Iwobi/Welbeck
Ramsey/El Nani
Monreal/Koscielny/Gabriel/Bellerin
Cech
Manchester City: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Bony
Sterling/Tang Long/Navas
Toure/Gundogan
Clichy/Otamendi/Ranocchia/Sabaleta
Caballero
For this match, Manchester City has also made some personnel rotations.
Even though it’s the English League Cup final, some days ago they just played a Premier League game, so Pellegrini has rotated some of the key players for rest.
Bony starts again, replacing Agüero.
The adjustments on the defense line were even more frequent, allowing Clichy, Otamendi, and Sabaleta, who were rotation players, the chance to start.
However, Pellegrini dared not touch the two key spots: Tang Long in the attacking midfield and Gundogan in central midfield.
After all, they were up against Arsenal, not some Premier League relegation team. It was impossible to defeat such an opponent with a completely alternate lineup.
Pellegrini did not completely lower his guard.
The referee blew the whistle, and the match began!
"Wembley Stadium was the main venue for the 1948 London Olympics, hosting the football finals for both the 1948 and 2012 Olympics!"
"The 1966 World Cup witnessed England’s glorious moment of winning the championship!"
"This stadium boasts 90,000 seats, making it the largest stadium in all of England!"
"But from the colors sweeping across the broadcast footage, we can see that at least three-quarters of this 90,000-capacity stadium are wearing Arsenal shirts!"
"Both Manchester City and Arsenal play beautiful football, known in the Premier League for their possession-based strategy. Let’s see who truly is the king of possession in the Premier League!"
However, just as Zhan Jun finished speaking, Arsenal, after just three passes in their own half, launched a long ball from Ramsey, directly finding Giroud near the penalty area.
Giroud was up against Manchester City’s tallest central defender, Ranocchia.
Giroud leaned against Ranocchia for a bit, then suddenly tried to spin past him, but Ranocchia, despite losing half a step, executed his signature backward lunge interception, and with a thud, Giroud was stopped in his tracks, while the ball deflected off Ranocchia’s foot and rolled out of bounds.
"Wow, Arsenal is playing very directly right from the start, unlike their usual possession style."
"Before the match, Arsenal had three days of closed-door training, and some media speculated that Professor Wenger might be developing a mysterious tactic. Could it possibly be a high ball strategy against Manchester City?"
Ranocchia’s defense earned a burst of applause from the Manchester City fans present.
Although they were outnumbered, their shouts were not any less loud than those of the more numerous Arsenal fans, perhaps even louder.
No wonder, Manchester City led Arsenal by over 20 points in the current Premier League standings, giving City fans more confidence.
Just one minute into the match, Arsenal won a corner kick on the right side of the field.
Cazorla stood by the ball.
Cazorla raised one hand high, flashing a V sign to his teammates in the box.
The new signing, Gundogan, found this amusing.
What’s this, celebrating victory just one minute into the match?
Aren’t you celebrating a bit too early?
Yet, from a few dozen meters away, Arsenal’s coach Wenger felt his heart leap into his throat upon seeing Cazorla’s V gesture.
This was a coded signal from Cazorla.
"We’ve rehearsed this for days; if we can score on this first corner, it would greatly boost the players’ confidence!" Wenger thought to himself.
In the penalty area.
For this match, Manchester City was employing their usual man-marking tactic.
Every player had an assigned opposing player to mark.
The tall striker Giroud was marked by Ranocchia.
Toure was closely marking the tall central defender Koscielny.
Welbeck and Gabriel were marked by Otamendi and Kolarov, respectively.
All these players were over 185 centimeters tall, making them prime targets for set-piece attacks, and Manchester City certainly couldn’t take them lightly.
Tang Long stood just outside the box, protecting the top of the D, also being the first choice for transitioning from defense to attack during a counterattack.
Bony positioned himself outside the box, pressing Arsenal’s fullback Bellerin, who didn’t enter the box, and serving as an outlet for Tang Long during a counterattack.
From the corner kick setup, Manchester City players seemed to know their roles well.
However!
As Cazorla delivered the corner kick, chaos suddenly erupted in the penalty area!
Three Arsenal players, Giroud, Welbeck, and Koscielny, suddenly crowded in front of the goalkeeper!
The three Manchester City markers Ranocchia, Toure, and Otamendi quickly moved with their defensive targets.
Suddenly, six players were gathered in front of Caballero.
Caballero, standing at just 1.83 meters, wasn’t imposing even among the non-goalkeepers on the field.
When six tall players crowded around him, it felt like being surrounded by mountains.
He anxiously shouted for space, but when the ball flew in, all he could see through the gaps was half of the ball coming his way, and he jumped in panic, reaching out to tip it away.
Despite not having the height advantage, Caballero, like any goalkeeper, had good leaping ability.
Even trapped among towering players, he managed to get a fingertip on the ball but couldn’t control where it went.
In the chaos, Ranocchia tried to step back for a clearance;
But before he could, Giroud’s back firmly held him in place!
Toure judged the ball’s flight path correctly but was similarly bumped by Welbeck, blocking his way!
Aside from Caballero’s instinctive fingertip deflection, none of the players managed to make contact with the ball as it floated over the crowd.
The ball sailed toward the far post!
"Here it comes!"
Standing at just 1.78 meters, Ramsey stealthily appeared at the far post, stooping for a header that directed the ball into the near corner!
Manchester City players were baffled!
How did this little guy score?
After scoring, Ramsey sprinted through his teammates, shoving them aside in excitement, rushing up to Professor Wenger, and leaped into his arms!
"Professor, we did it!"
Wenger’s mouth stretched into a wide grin, planting a firm kiss on Ramsey’s forehead.
"Well done, lads, we did it!"