Volume 2 Chapter 34: Give Kai Enough Freedom
As Christmas approaches, Arsenal fans are not in a good mood.
In the past few games, Arsenal's form has been up and down and is not stable.
They can beat West Brom 4-0 away from home, but they can also lose 0-2 to Swansea at home.
In the fourteenth round, Everton drew 1-1 with Arsenal.
In the 15th round, Arsenal 0-2 Swansea.
In the 16th round, West Bromwich Albion lost to Arsenal 0-4.
In the seventeenth round, Reading 2-5 Arsenal.
In the 18th round, Wigan Athletic 0-1 Arsenal.
After five rounds, Arsenal has 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. The overall winning rate looks good, but the ups and downs of the form are extremely serious.
Without Cazorla and Wilshere, Arsenal's midfield faced a huge challenge.
Arteta was forced to bear all the pressure.
But Arteta's performance was not enough to fill the vacancy left by Cazorla. Even the defensive efforts of Luka and Ramsey at the back could not make up for the shortcomings in the offense.
In two of the five games, Lucky had the best performance of the game.
They are the 14th and 18th rounds respectively.
In the 14th round of the offensive and defensive battle against Everton, Lucky's defensive ability sniped Everton's attack time and time again.
In the words of the commentator, 'He single-handedly took out Everton's offensive line!'
Although it is a bit exaggerated, it can be said that way .
This match was the most difficult one for Lucky. The offensive and defensive battles between the two teams were incredibly fast paced.
When Arsenal's attack was slow to develop, all the pressure was on the defense.
If it weren't for the effective defense of Luka and Vermaelen, we wouldn't even have been able to get a draw.
In this game, Lucky didn't score any goals or make any assists, but he still managed to win the title of best player of the game and the highest score with 5 steals, 4 interceptions and 4 destructions.
Lukay's performance made Arsenal fans happy, but at the same time they were also full of worries about Arsenal's future.
After all, Wilshere has already announced that he is out for the season .
Although Cazorla can be expected to return from his injury, according to the club's announcement, he will have to wait until April at the latest.
How Arsenal can get through this period is a question.
Although we are doing well now, what about the future?
What if I get hurt again?
Now all the hopes of Arsenal fans are pinned on Arteta. If this guy gets injured again, everything will be ruined.
But good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes alone.
In the 19th round, Arsenal played against West Ham United at home.
In this game, Arsenal relied on Arteta's excellent performance to win the game with a score of 5-1.
But the fans didn't have long to be happy, as an angry West Ham United player made a direct tackle, hitting Arteta's ankle.
Not surprisingly, Arteta was injured.
This also made Arsenal completely furious. Luka rushed over to beat the "butcher" almost immediately. Even the captain Vermaelen rushed over. If the referee had not appeared immediately, it might have developed into a vicious fight.
In the end, the West Ham United player was sent off with a red card and is likely to face a suspension.
But Arsenal's losses were even more severe.
Arteta was injured and the only supporting midfielder left.
Another key player has been added to Arsenal’s injury list.
Arsenal injury list: Wilshere (out for the season), Cazorla, Arteta, Szczesny, Arshavin and Rosicky.
Arsenal's bench was already insufficient, and this series of injuries made their situation even worse.
…
Kearney training base, in the medical room.
Arteta sat on the hospital bed with his ankle in plaster, and the coaches led by Wenger stood beside him.
Arteta's face was bitter, while Wenger and others stared at Arteta's ankle in a daze.
The team doctor smiled bitterly and said: "Ankle dislocation requires at least 6-8 weeks of rest, and recovery will take nearly three months!"
Hearing this, Wenger turned to the team doctor Levin and asked, "Is there any way to make him recover quickly?"
Team doctor Levin shook his head; "There is no way! The current situation is not optimistic."
Wenger groaned again.
After a moment, Wenger patted Arteta on the shoulder.
"have a good rest!"
Soon, he left the ward.
At this moment, Wenger's shoulders drooped a little, and Arsenal, which was in trouble, suffered another heavy blow.
The team got rid of the difficulties at the beginning of the season, but fell into a series of injuries in the middle of the season. Several generals in the midfield were all injured, leaving only a few big and small fish.
All of Arsenal's ball possession fundamentals had been ripped out.
Wilshere, Cazorla, Arteta, Rosicky, any one of them can be kept!
But he never thought that one day these four people would all be injured.
And it takes 2-3 months to recover.
What does this mean?
The season is about to end in 2-3 months. How can Arsenal stabilize the situation and fight for more points?
Wenger suddenly felt very tired.
Van Persie played in every game last season, so Arsenal was able to rise rapidly and achieve a relatively satisfactory result.
But this season the problem did not appear in the front line, but the more deadly midfield!
All four generals were lying on the hospital beds!
Who can they rely on?
How will Arsenal's passing and control continue?
Ramsey? Diaby? Coquelin? Chamberlain or Lucky?
Can any of these people do a fine job?
No!
not a single one!
Walking out of the medical room, Wenger found that the first-team players had not left. They were standing at the door, looking at him eagerly.
Wenger glanced around and looked at Vermaelen, Chamberlain, Walcott, Podolski, Suarez and... Lukay.
Something seemed to surge in his eyes. After a moment, he said, "Go back. The specific information will be announced tomorrow."
Lucky took a step forward; "Arteta's injury..."
Wenger waved his hand: "I said, go back!"
Lekai nodded helplessly, and everyone dispersed, but everyone had a depressed look on their face.
After everyone left, Patras came out.
He stood next to , glanced at him and said, "How do we play next?"
The problem has already happened, they can't blame themselves, what they need now is to solve the problem.
After losing three key players, how Arsenal will cope with the situation is a key issue.
Wenger pondered for a moment, looked into the distance, and slowly said: "I once said that football is to please the fans and to give the fans enough enjoyment, so we must take the initiative in the game, so I don't like Mourinho."
Wenger paused for a moment, giving Patelez a chance to interrupt.
But Patelez didn't respond, he just looked at Wenger with a sidelong glance, a tone he was familiar with.
This guy said this when we were talking about 'Iron Spirit and Technical Factor' in the office last year.
Mourinho is the representative of defense first and also the representative of defensive counterattack.
This contradicts Wenger's theory that 'the football is at your feet'.
The two were silent for a long time. Seeing that Patelez did not respond, Wenger could only continue awkwardly: "But we don't have a championship."
Patles said directly; "You want to play a defensive counterattack?"
Wenger: “…”
After a moment, he sighed; "Do we have any other way?"
Patiles also sighed. As Wenger said, they had no choice.
If any one of Cazorla, Arteta or Wilshere stays, they can continue to play the passing and controlling tactics.
But the injuries to these three players completely shattered Arsenal's passing and controlling factor.
They can't expect Ramsey, Chamberlain and Luka to do this kind of work, they simply can't do it at this stage.
"Tell me, if Kai is given enough freedom, what can he do on the defensive end?"
Wenger suddenly said.
This sentence made Patrese stunned for a moment.
In fact, Lukaku is constrained in Arsenal's lineup and tactical system.
Because of the emphasis on zone defense, Lekai has a dedicated defense area. Many times, he cannot choose to defend independently, but is forced to stay where he is.
Although it formed a linkage with the overall situation, it sacrificed part of Lucky's defensive capabilities.
Today, Luka is just a part of Arsenal's defense and is far from being given enough resources and treatment as a defensive core.
But even so, Lucky still averaged 4 steals and 4 interceptions per game, which is already remarkable.
But what if we liberate him completely?
Patras narrowed his eyes slightly, he didn't know what would happen.
Perhaps the data will still be like this.
Or perhaps, the data will grow explosively.
But what is certain is that once the decision is made to play defensive counterattack, Lekai will be the absolute core on both offense and defense.
He is both the defensive core and the fast break core.
Luka's key passing ability is among the best in Arsenal.
He can use long passes, short passes, arc passes and even through balls, and can kick out counterattacks in various styles.
And Arsenal also meets all the necessary conditions for defensive counterattacks.
There are fast players in the frontcourt such as Podolski , Suarez and Walcott.
There are also Chamberlain, Ramsey and Luka in the midfield.
Chamberlain's speed and passing ability are both powerful weapons in defensive counterattacks.
All the conditions are met, it just depends on whether Arsenal can play well.
If he can really produce results, Wenger doesn't mind becoming a laughing stock.
First in grades!
The championship is everything!
No matter whether you win the championship with beautiful football or by defensive counterattack, as long as you are the champion you will become a hero in the eyes of the media and fans.
Isn’t the so-called pleasing the fans just winning that damn championship?
No matter how well you play, losing is losing!
Therefore, even if the game is a little ugly, Wenger must win this time!
