Volume 2 Chapter 4 New season, first round!

In the afternoon training match, Lekai's performance was also very organized.

In the middle of the game, the professor ordered Lecaido to make a threatening long pass, preferably in conjunction with Podolski or Gervinho.

In this regard, Lucky has also fully implemented it.

Two long passes accurately reached the opponent's open space.

But the problem is, neither of them could run.

Or rather, they didn't see this gap.

Wenger was a little helpless.

Let Walcott try to cooperate with Lucky.

I have to say, the effect is significant.

Walcott and Lucky can form a good resonance.

And after many long passes, Lekai seemed to have tasted the sweetness and was no longer content to just defend silently.

After a cooperation with Arteta, he passed the ball through like a knife.

Another time was during a quick counterattack. He received a pass from his teammate near the center circle and without stopping the ball, he used the outside of his foot to make a big arc.

The ball went straight from the left wing to Walcott's feet on the right wing.

This big arc made the coaching staff drop their jaws.

To be honest, from Lucky's perspective, they could see Suarez ready to move in front of them.

Podolski was also ready to start, but Walcott's movement on the right wing was not noticed at all.

Moreover, there are several people in between, and there are blind spots in vision.

Not to mention his footwork, just how this guy saw this gap is terrifying enough.

This pass made the professor's heart burn.

He hoped that Lucky would kick him again.

But unfortunately, after this pass, Lucky was unable to replicate it again.

Instead, he started to defend calmly.

At first, the professor thought that Lucky couldn't find a good opportunity, or that the kick just now was just a fluke.

But Patras suddenly showed a scorer.

Main team 1:0 substitute team!

Wenger opened his mouth slightly, recalling the previous warm-up match.

It seems that after Arsenal gained the advantage or took the lead, this guy also began to devote himself completely to defense.

So, this is... a slave?!

Once we are one goal ahead, we will defend that point with all our might.

Wenger was in tears.

He thinks Mourinho will like this guy!

…

After the training, Wenger stood in front of everyone holding a tactical board. Everyone knew that the game roster was about to be announced.

Tomorrow, August 18th, the first round of the 2012/2013 Premier League season is about to begin.

"Those whose names I call will participate in tomorrow's game!" Wenger looked around and looked down to see the names being read out.

"Suarez, Podolski, Walcott, Arteta, Gervinho..."

Everyone whose name was called showed joy on their face. After all, being included in the roster for the new season was a good start for them.

Wenger kept reading until the end, then looked up, closed the list and read out the last name.

"Lucky!"

Lucky's expression was calm, and so were the others.

There is no need to be too surprised that Lucky made the roster.

On the one hand, Lucky had a brilliant performance at the end of last season.

On the other hand, many players are eager to see Lucky play.

For example, captain Vermaelen.

Since Alexander Song left, Vermaelen's defensive pressure has skyrocketed.

Even though Alexander Song likes to rush forward, when defending, the opponent's attacker must pass Alexander Song first.

And now?

Arteta, Diaby, Ramsey, Santos, Chamberlain, none of them are active in defense.

Ramsey is better, but that's about it.

It’s like there is no defensive midfielder, all the pressure comes to the back line.

If Lekai comes on the field, he will directly serve as a defensive gate at the defensive midfielder position.

The opponent will have no chance of getting around it, and Vermaelen's defensive pressure will be much less.

Vermaelen came over, patted Lucky on the shoulder and said, "Congratulations, and do well tomorrow."

Lucky was a little surprised.

It was as if he was the starter.

Others had the same idea.

They were not surprised at all about Lucky's appearance.

After all, they saw everything .

Performance at the end of last season + performance in warm-up matches + performance in training = substitute/starting!

If Lucky is not qualified to play, then none of the defensive midfielders will be qualified.

When he returned to Billy's house that night, Lucky announced the good news.

Billy seemed to be prepared for this and he directly showed him three football tickets.

"Look! I'm ready!" Billy showed off, shaking the ticket.

Lucky was surprised: "You knew I would be on the list?"

Billy shrugged and said, "If Wenger can't approve of our performance at the end of last season, then we can only doubt the professor's vision!"

"The professor is very insightful. You are on the roster again and may even be the starter!"

In response, Lucky shook his head and said, "Probably not. The professor said he would let me practice for half a season!"

This time Wenger was frank with Luka.

He needs Lekai to train for half a season. If his performance remains good, then Lekai will be able to get the starting position.

Lucky has no complaints about this.

After all, I waited for a whole season.

Moreover, there is the possibility of coming on as a substitute in this half of the season, which is much better than before.

…

The next day, 15:30 pm London time.

The first round of the 2012/2013 Premier League, Arsenal vs. Sunderland, has already started for 30 minutes.

The score between the two sides was 1:1.

Starting lineups for both teams:

Arsenal (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Szczesny.

Defenders: Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs.

Midfielders: Diaby, Arteta, Cazorla.

Forwards: Gervinho, Suarez, Podolski.

…

Sunderland (4-5-1):

Goalkeeper: Mignolet.

Defenders: Richardson, O'Shea, Curral, Craig Gardner.

Midfield: McLean, Colback, Cattermole, Larsson, Campbell.

Forward: Sessaignon.

At the beginning of the game, Arsenal took advantage of an offensive opportunity and Podolski assisted Suarez to score a goal.

But Arsenal's lead lasted only two minutes. Sunderland took advantage of a defensive counterattack opportunity, Campbell drove into the penalty area and assisted Larsson to score.

After that, the game fell into a stalemate for a while.

This game also made the Arsenal fans at the scene tremble with fear.

They clearly felt that although Arsenal had absolute dominance in attack.

But the defense seemed so weak.

That counterattack was neither sharp nor fast.

But the opponent scored a goal.

Arteta and Diaby just watched the opponent pass through the midfield without causing any restrictions at all.

As mentioned before, all the pressure is on Vermaelen.

Arsenal's defense was disrupted and faced with the opponent's multi-player attack. In the chaos, they lost the ball.

This goal stunned the Arsenal fans and the professor as well.

They never thought that Arsenal's defense would be so weak.

It broke with one poke from the other party.

Now, due to the lack of defense, Arsenal dare not press forward, resulting in an extremely strange stalemate.

The professor could no longer sit still. He stood on the sidelines, frowning and looking at the defense line.

He never thought that Arsenal would be in such a weak defensive state after leaving Alexander Song.

The attack of a team like Sunderland can actually break through Arsenal's goal.

This is a joke.

But we have to face the problem.

There are indeed defensive problems at the defensive midfielder position.

Arteta's defense was not that active, and Diaby's performance was not commendable enough.

Cazorla's performance was okay, but he was too far ahead and had no time to retreat.

At this time, Arsenal lost the ball again in the frontcourt and Sunderland began to counterattack.

Sunderland midfielder Larsson dribbled the ball quickly.

But when he came near the center circle, Arteta and Diaby both made moves but quickly stopped.

After watching Lasong enter their own half, the two players who missed the opportunity could only watch the ball pass between them and land at Campbell's feet on the left wing.

Arsenal's defense broke down again.

Gibbs rushed over hurriedly, but the opponent kept changing directions and knocked him to the ground, so he cut inside.

Mertesacker made a fierce tackle before the opponent entered the penalty area.

He knocked down both the man and the ball.

"Come on! What are you guys doing?!"

Vermaelen roared angrily.

He didn't quite understand what the midfielders were thinking. Why didn't they stick to the ball and just watch the opponent pass it to the backcourt?

Arteta and Diaby also looked embarrassed.

The on-site commentator was also angry at this time.

"What are you doing? What are you doing? Move! Use your legs and run!!"

"Do you think you can make the other person stop just by looking at him?!"

The live commentator's anger was directed at the fans.

They were also cursing in the stands.

"Go ahead! What the hell, what are you thinking?"

"Poor defense! You have no fighting spirit at all!!"

"Go! Arteta! Go! Diaby!!"

"What are you thinking about? Defense!!!——"

Arsenal fans are angry.

They never expected that Alexander Song's departure would lead to this situation.