novelraw Chapter 570 - 391 Good News: Arsenal’s corner kick tactics are indeed invincible Bad News: That seems to be all they know!
Chapter 570 - 391 Good News: Arsenal’s corner kick tactics are indeed invincible Bad News: That seems to be all they know!
The match entered half-time with a temporary score of 1:2.
Arsenal’s players were high-fiving and hugging each other, walking joyously into the player tunnel, while Manchester City fans on both stands were cursing loudly.
"Hooligans! Tactical hooligans!"
"Is this how you play football, huh?"
"The main referee is blind! You’re playing shit football!"
"If you’ve got the guts, play like this in the Champions League. You’re only tough at home!"
In the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, Arsenal, playing at home, lost 0:2 to Barcelona, completely overwhelmed by Barça throughout the match, playing a heap of crap.
Therefore, seeing their team fall behind, Manchester City fans deliberately used this match to provoke Arsenal players.
However, these players didn’t care at all about the taunts from Manchester City fans.
The first half’s goal hero, Giroud, provocatively showed his middle finger to a Manchester City fan and even mischievously stuck out his tongue at him, not caring at all.
What Champions League? Arsenal never thought about competing for the Champions League; have you seen a Champions League trophy in our club’s honor room?
What we want is this English League Cup, hehe~
In reality, regarding the rogue corner kick tactic, Wenger had been preparing for it for a long time. Even against Barça in the Champions League home first leg, he didn’t use it. Instead, he planned to showcase it in the English League Cup final against Manchester City. This shows how much he values this trophy.
After all, Manchester City might not care about the English League Cup, but for Arsenal, who haven’t won a title in years, this English League Cup is a godsend.
No one should think about snatching this trophy from Arsenal!
However, Arsenal seems to have miscalculated. Manchester City doesn’t disregard the English League Cup; they value it greatly!
Every Manchester City player is eagerly looking forward to lifting the first trophy of the season in March.
And the key to turning the match around lies in how to defend against Arsenal’s corner kick tactics.
"I’ve figured it out, boss," assistant coach Rein said excitedly, "Arsenal is not good at anything, except for their corner kicks, which are powerful. As long as we break this tactic, we can definitely turn the match around!"
Pellegrini touched his eyebrows, thinking, Rein has been with me for so many years, how come he always talks nonsense? I know we need to break it, but how?
Rein said, "I suggest we immediately call our set-piece coach and listen to his insights. I believe he’s watching the match on TV."
Like many Premier League teams, Manchester City also hired a dedicated set-piece coach.
Whether defending set pieces or attacking from them, the set-piece coach provides professional guidance to the players.
However, Pellegrini quickly dismissed this idea.
Any set-piece tactic, whether for offense or defense, requires extensive pre-match practice in training to execute it in matches.
At the very least, it requires in-person explanation.
With a short 15-minute halftime, not to mention whether the set-piece coach could come up with a solution, even if he did, how could Pellegrini convey it to the players just through a call?
Though Wenger’s rogue corner kick tactic is roguish, from a tactical perspective, it’s indeed effective;
In Pellegrini’s coaching career, he had never encountered such a corner kick tactic intentionally blocking defensive player movements before.
For a moment, his head full of white hair couldn’t think of a good way to break it.
With tight time and a heavy task, he simply opened up to the players, asking them to share their ideas.
The locker room instantly buzzed with chatter!
Defensive lynchpin Ranocchia said there’s no better way; just try to mark tightly in man-to-man defense and push attacking players away from the goalkeeper.
Veteran Toure said they must continue to pressure the main referee, letting him realize it’s incorrect to allow Arsenal players to play corner kicks like this!
Fullback Sabaleta suggested trying everything to not give Arsenal any corners, including set pieces.
However, Pellegrini felt these suggestions, while reasonable, didn’t address the core issue, nor could they have an immediate effect.
If man-to-man marking were actually tight, Arsenal players wouldn’t matter; the key is they weren’t marked tightly!
And as for pressuring the referee, the match’s main referee is Oliver, one of the "Premier League’s Blind Four", strong-willed and stubborn. Will he heed your pressure? Didn’t Toure receive a yellow card for pressuring in the first half? If you keep pressuring him, I might have to substitute you at halftime.
Someone even suggested trying everything to not give Arsenal corners and set pieces.
Can you avoid it just because you want to?
The locker room buzzed noisily, yet no genuinely constructive suggestion was proposed.
Pellegrini glanced at his watch. More than 7 minutes had passed; halftime was more than half over.
Continuing to brainstorm aimlessly is not a solution.
Pellegrini looked left and right, finally spotting Tang Long sitting in the corner of the locker room, lost in thought.
The Chilean, in an expectant tone, asked tentatively to Tang Long:
"Tang, don’t stay silent, do you have any good ideas? Let’s hear it!"
Although Tang Long was not yet 20, his top-notch judgment on the field and precise big-picture view often surprised and amazed Pellegrini.