Volume 1 Chapter 18: Changing Values

In the meeting room, the coaching staff including Wenger gathered again.

The purpose of their meeting this time is to analyze the secret behind the team's sudden changes.

Wenger sat in the main seat, holding a pen in his right hand, tapping the table gently, and said, "Who can tell me what caused this change?"

In response, the coaches looked at each other in bewilderment.

They have also been racking their brains thinking about this problem.

But I just couldn't figure it out.

This lineup just has one more Lucky, but how could there be such a huge change!

Because of a Lucky?

This is bullshit!

Football is a sport for eleven people. No matter how strong one person is, he cannot achieve such changes.

But they can be sure that Lucky is the source of the change!

So, what did this guy do?

"I still don't understand. We have tried this lineup before, with Song and Ramsey as defensive midfielders and Arteta not retreating to defend, but I am sure that this effect was not achieved at all!"

"That's right! The tactics are the same, and the personnel structure has only changed, but why are there two completely different effects?"

"Could it be that Le's long pass worked?"

"Impossible! Only two kicks in one game, and that's not an excuse!"

“Maybe his tackling made Arteta play more confidently?”

"We also asked Arteta not to retreat to defend before, and in his personal performance in the two games, except for stability and organization, there was not much change, which is not a reason!"

"Robin exploded?"

The other coaches looked at him like he was stupid.

"How do you explain the problem that Robin's burst can only radiate offense, but defense has also become solid?"

"Guys, this is not a single change, but a chain reaction of changes that have occurred across the board for a reason we don't understand. This change has enhanced the offense, strengthened the coordination, and stabilized the defense. We must find out the reason!"

The coaches were so worried!

They analyzed each player one by one, and there was no major change in tactics, playing style or positions.

But why did the combination become like this?

What is the reason?

The coaches started pulling my hair.

Wenger also frowned and thought about the root cause.

But no matter how we analyze it from the perspective of tactics or lineup, we can't find the reason.

He couldn't help rubbing his brows in pain, and when he turned around, he found that his good friend, assistant coach Patrese, was staring at a document intently, with a look of great excitement.

Wenger couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and asked, "Have you found the reason?"

As soon as the words fell, all the coaches turned their heads.

They are now like a curious cat, unable to get an answer, which is so painful.

Patrese looked up and saw the coaches' fierce eyes.

It seemed as if he would not give up unless he gave a reasonable explanation.

In response, Patles smiled and said, "We all think the problem is too complicated. There is no need to raise it to the tactical level."

"The tactics are still the same, but there are some numerical increases on the basis!"

The coaches asked in unison; "What number?"

Patles smiled and raised his index finger and said, "Running distance!"

Patres banged the table and laughed, "This is the result of running. It's not due to tactics or any other reasons. It's just the changes they made with their feet!"

After saying that, Patres stood up and walked to the tactical board and put on eleven red buttons, forming a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Immediately, he pushed the four buttons in front forward and unbuttoned another button from the lower back.

"This is our previous offensive method, where we used five main offensive players and used quick passing and cutting to break the opponent's goal."

He pointed to the center circle and the back line; "At the same time, the back line pressed forward to protect this area."

"This led us to form an aggressive formation, with an overcrowded front line and an empty back line."

Immediately, he changed the red buttons and rearranged them.

There are still five people in the frontcourt, but there is an additional red button in the center circle area. The four defenders are still in their own half, standing in an arc.

He picked up the extra button in the center circle and said, "This is the key. This button represents Le. When others attack, Le stands in this area and keeps wandering. Remember, wandering! Le's interception awareness allows him to protect this area, and he can even go straight to the front to pull during the attack!"

"At this time, our personnel are deployed in various corners, and Youle, the last protection mechanism, stands in the middle circle."

Patles played with the red button representing Lekai and said, "This is a big gate. When the opponent attacks or counterattacks, he will become the first line of defense. Lekai's excellent interception awareness enables him to find the landing point and control it in the first place, giving the back line of defense enough reaction time."

"The next step is the key!"

After Patles reminded, he pulled back the two wingers and three buttons from the front court, along with the buttons representing Lucky, and said;

"While Le was buying time, the other three had already started to prepare. Arshavin, Walcott, Ramsey and Le, these four people returned to support at full speed."

He pulled back the four buttons and stuffed them into the penalty area, filling it up.

"We can form an eight-man defensive network, with eight people crammed into the penalty area. Believe me, no one will choose to fight head-on!"

The coaches were stunned.

They didn't expect that the root of everything was so simple as 'running'?

"What is their average running distance per game?" Wenger suddenly asked.

Patras shook his head and said, "I couldn't record all of it, but Le and Ramsey ran no less than 7 kilometers in the first half, and that was in the second half!"

The coaches were silent.

What is the longest running distance in a Premier League game?

14.05 kilometers!

Now, Luka and Ramsey contributed 7 kilometers in the second half, which means that they ran for their lives in the first half with abundant physical energy.

The two may even exceed the single-game running distance of 14 kilometers.

Football is a running sport.

All offense and defense must be done while running.

It can be said that this is the most fundamental factor.

It’s just that it’s too ordinary, so ordinary that they have forgotten it has this attribute!

"Why couldn't we play well before? Because we didn't run enough!" Patles criticized; "We can see that Song always joins the attack, sometimes even a little aggressive, but he only rushes forward and won't choose to defend!"

"Laziness is contagious, guys!"

"As the defensive midfielder, Song did not return to defense, so Arshavin and Walcott naturally gave up!"

"And Song can't play with this lineup!"

Patles said forcefully, "He doesn't have Le's top-notch interception awareness and tough and desperate style!"

"In my opinion, the latter is even more valuable than the former!"

After saying that, he glanced at Wenger, who nodded calmly.

At this time, Wenger is no longer excessively pursuing technical football. After multiple blows and self-reflection, Wenger has gradually begun to look for changes.

…

A day of training ended and the players left.

Although the massacre happened just a few days ago, the Arsenal players now looked much more cheerful.

Perhaps due to the changes in this training match, the overall atmosphere became a lot more relaxed.

Even General Fan, who had always been bitter and resentful, showed a happy expression and even hummed a song.

Obviously this training match was very exciting.

Through this training match, Lucky also gained a certain recognition from the first-team players.

At least, they won't ignore themselves like before.

Many players such as Walcott, Ramsey, Mertesacker, Szczesny and others took the initiative to communicate with Luka.

Of course, there are also people who don’t like Lucky.

Alexander Song's face looked very unhappy. The changes made by Lucky in the main team made him feel very bad.

In addition to the sense of urgency, there was also a hint of anger, so he turned his head and left with a gloomy face.

Van Persie also wanted to make adjustments, but Song didn't appreciate it at all.

Van Persie wanted to act like a captain for the first time but was rejected, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

But he still praised Lucky.

Both of Lucky's long passes today were very comfortable and tricky.

If he hadn't started a little slowly, it would have probably turned into a goal. He could have scored two goals in this training match.

Of course, he doesn’t care about the goals in the training match. What he cares about is whether Lekai can pass the ball to him in future games like he did today!

Suddenly there were a lot more people transporting artillery shells.

Van Persie was naturally very happy.

After packing up his things, Lucky prepared to leave .

When the training was over, Chamberlain disappeared.

This guy has been a little depressed since that game.

He obviously hasn't recovered from the shock of the massacre.

But in this kind of situation, Lucky couldn't help, Chamberlain could only adjust it himself.

After walking out of the training room, Lekai did not go towards the door, but came to the railing on the side and chose to climb over the wall.

There were still many angry Arsenal fans blocking the entrance.

Others can drive away without any danger.

Lucky was alone and wearing an Arsenal jersey. He was not sure whether the angry Arsenal fans would vent their anger on him.

It would be terrible if we were surrounded and beaten up then.