Today, explode!
Once more.
-----
Even though Robin van Persie and Reyes were inefficient in the offensive end.
Qin Xiong was still making use of them.
He constantly passed the ball to the flanks, while Robin van Persie and Reyes were active in breaking through, or cutting slightly from the flanks to the middle to shoot.
This would make the Bolton Wanderers full-backs pay more attention to defensive positioning, widen the width of the horizontal defense, and not shrink in the penalty area.
This was the effect Qin Xiong wanted.
In fact, one of the purposes of the attacking combination of the flanks and the center was to tear apart the opponent's defensive width.
It widened the horizontal distance between the defenders and created space and gaps to plug forward.
In the 40th minute of the game, Yannakopolos dribbled the ball to break through on the flank and was successfully intercepted by Flamini, who assisted in defending on the flank. Flamini passed the ball to Fàbregas, who then passed the ball straight to Qin Xiong's feet.
The moment Qin Xiong pretended to pass the ball to the flank, he noticed Nolan's body movement. Nolan was preparing to block his advance. He thought Qin Xiong would pass the ball to Robin van Persie step by step.
He was wrong!
Qin Xiong changed the passing route and passed the ball directly from Nolan's side to behind him.
Nolan cursed inwardly. He immediately turned around and saw Bergkamp retreating on the front line to receive the ball. He even took a step back after touching the ball.
It was a very unusual move.
At the same time, Qin Xiong plugged forward. Nolan was ready to press Bergkamp, but Bergkamp easily passed the ball at his feet. The football returned to Qin Xiong's feet.
Qin Xiong pressed in front of the penalty area. In front of Ngotti, he once again passed the ball to Bergkamp, who turned forward.
Bergkamp's calm eyes were locked on Qin Xiong. He did not even look at the football rolling towards his feet. Instead, he paid attention to Qin Xiong's movements after the ball was passed.
Plugging forward!
Bergkamp deftly lifted the ball at his feet and passed it over the top!
Qin Xiong rushed past Ngotti. His impact was already unstoppable by the old Ngotti!
Hierro immediately turned diagonally to block Qin Xiong's path to the goal.
In the face of the falling football, Qin Xiong posed for a volley in the air. The veteran, Hierro, once again shoveled the ball to block. He used his body to block Qin Xiong's shooting angle.
But the moment the football fell, Hierro was surprised to see that Qin Xiong's right foot did not shoot, but instead kicked the falling football back!
Qin Xiong gently pushed the ball horizontally, and the unmarked Bergkamp plugged in from behind. Facing Jaskelainen, Bergkamp calmly pushed the shot to the bottom left corner of the goal. That was the furthest distance for Jaskelainen to save. He had just blocked the other end of the goal to prevent Qin Xiong from volleying.
The football rolled into the goal against the inside of the goalpost. Bergkamp shot the ball into the goal without any visual impact.
But it couldn't hide the shock of this goal!
"Bergkamp equalizes for Arsenal! He and Qin Xiong carried out a series of two-versus-one attacks! It's wonderful! Nolan, Ngotti, and Hierro were successively penetrated by their cooperation. Qin Xiong's feint and spike in the penalty area was simply wonderful. In the end, he gave Bergkamp a chance in a very comfortable position, angle, and space to lift his foot! This is the offensive effect that Arsenal should play! Oh my God, what were they doing before? Reyes's cross was ridiculous. Did he want Bergkamp to snatch a header in front of Hierro and Ngotti? Van Persie's shot only focused on power. Yeah, we all know that the Dutch star wants to prove himself, but your endless strength should be used in the right place. He should learn from Bergkamp's calm way of shooting. "
Wenger was slightly relieved. At least the score was equalized.
Bergkamp hugged Qin Xiong and praised him for his wonderful shot.
Qin Xiong also breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, before Hierro's tackle, he wanted to score by himself, but after observing Jaakkelainen's position in front of the goal and Hierro's defensive actions, he changed his mind at the last minute.
Fortunately, it was Bergkamp who followed up in the middle, and not any other player. Perhaps if it had been someone else, they would have given up on plugging in and following up. If Qin Xiong had been delayed for a second, he would have been entangled by Ngotti, and there was a high probability that the attack would have been destroyed.
Bergkamp was old, but his awareness and skills were still there. No, not still there, they were still at the top!
Allardyce touched his head and was slightly helpless about the goal concede.
Arsenal's technical advantage in the Premier League was too strong!
With the addition of the Chinese player this season, it could be said that their technical advantage was superior to the rest.
Their small cooperation in a local area, based on skillful ball control techniques, was simply a nightmare for other Premier League teams.
Bolton Wanderers' overall formation began to shrink. They did not want to see any more waves in the first half. Arsenal equalized the score and were in high spirits. Shrinking the defense was the right choice.
There were no major changes in the first half of the game. The two teams walked into the locker room with a score of 1: 1.
Back in the locker room, Wenger harshly criticized Robin van Persie and Reyes!
Reyes was fine. He was a winger, but he lacked the ability to judge the situation. He could have a good breakthrough success rate, but he became inflexible when it came to passing.
He did not have any complaints about Wenger's criticism.
Van Persie was different.
When Wenger criticized him, he said righteously, "I will improve the quality of my shots in the second half. I will perform better."
He did not refute Wenger directly, but in fact, he was telling Wenger that a player's performance would fluctuate on the spot. He did not seize the opportunity in the first half because he did not adjust his condition to the best. As long as he played his condition in the second half, then he could contribute to Arsenal.
After Qin Xiong heard his words, he lowered his head and wiped his sweat with a towel. He sighed softly in his heart.
He was used to this kind of Dutch nature.
When the manager said something, most of the Dutch players would ask why.
Why did I pass the ball? Why was it wrong for me to shoot? Why did I train for this? Why …
Maybe there were many whys, but there was only one answer: to win.
Wenger patiently communicated with Van Persie, pointing out the mistakes in his thinking.
He told him to observe his teammates with an open field of vision and not only look at the opponent's goal.
He could not shoot at will with the ball at his feet.
He had to patiently cooperate with his teammates and wait for an opportunity, a better opportunity, an opportunity that he could grasp!
After criticizing and educating the two players, Wenger began to adjust the team's formation and play style.
He felt that Arsenal put too little pressure on their opponents in the penalty area in the first half.
Therefore, he asked Van Persie to increase his enthusiasm to break into the penalty area in the second half. At the same time, Reyes did well on the right flank except for passing. He asked Qin Xiong to lean left in the attack and Bergkamp to create opportunities for his teammates in the second striker position. Fàbregas' position was the prerequisite.
Generally, last-minute changes in a team required long-term tacit understanding between the teammates as a foundation.
For Arsenal's hasty changes, it was difficult to achieve immediate results.
In the second half, the two teams changed sides and fought again.
In the early stages of the opening, Arsenal's offense was in a state of complete chaos.
Fàbregas disrupted Qin Xiong's rhythm, Van Persie swayed between the winger and striker positions and got lost, and Reyes fell into a desperate situation after he broke through and did not pass the ball.
This forced Qin Xiong to slow down again. This situation was also very helpless. It was not that he was not responsible. After all, tacit understanding went both ways. He did not have a tacit understanding with his teammates, so was it all his teammates' fault?
Just like when he passed the ball to Van Persie and wanted to give him an underfoot ball, Van Persie ran into the penalty area in advance. Whose fault was it?
Wenger's adjustments in the midfield threw the team into chaos.
But Wenger knew that the team had to make such changes, otherwise the offensive power could not be played. He could not rely on the cooperation between Qin Xiong and Bergkamp every time. Maybe next season, Arsenal's main lineup would not have Bergkamp because he would be 36 years old!
At the same time, how could rookies like Fàbregas, Reyes, and Van Persie not be given time to grow and adapt?
There was always a price to pay for growth.
Arsenal's midfield adjustments seemed to have the opposite effect for the time being. Bolton Wanderers also made adjustments during the halftime break. Allardyce used a "filling in holes" mentality to make changes in the team.
Arsenal's flank attacks did not have the expected power, and Bolton Wanderers' defense did not show any major flaws.
The only goal lost came from the middle, so Allardyce filled in the middle defense. He moved Speed to the defensive midfielder position and blocked Arsenal's attacks in the middle with Nolan.
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