Third watch.
-----
There was bound to be a risk in using substitutes to rotate. But the multi-line battles were in full swing, and there were also national team games to deal with. Even though Chelsea was close to Arsenal in the league, Wenger had to make a big rotation at home.
The price was to lose points in the home game in the 14th round of the Premier League.
Arsenal 1: 1 West Bromwich Albion.
Wenger was very regretful that they did not win the game. After the game, he said that the team missed a lot of opportunities. They should have led the opponent by at least three goals to win the game, but he still praised individual players, such as Fàbregas, Clichy, and Flamini. As for the entire substitute forward line, he criticized them.
Fortunately, the impact of the FIFA virus did not only exist in Arsenal. Other teams that needed to fight on multiple lines would also suffer a severe test.
The only consolation for Wenger and Arsenal was that Chelsea also lost points in this round. They played 2: 2 against Bolton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge, causing them to be unable to shorten the three-point gap with Arsenal.
After the end of the weekend's league tournament, the entire Arsenal team went to the Netherlands. Oh, Bergkamp left early. He was going to take a boat across the sea. Wenger was already numb to the veteran who would never take a plane with the team. Wenger tried to "threaten" him to exclude him from the European squad list in an attempt to get Bergkamp to overcome his fear of flying, but it did not work well. As a result, Bergkamp was no longer willing to force him at the end of his career.
The situation of Arsenal's group advancing was already clearer.
Arsenal, who had 10 points, and PSV Eindhoven, who had 9 points, had a more obvious lead. Panathinaikos, who was in third place, only had 4 points. However, Wenger emphasized that the fifth game of the group stage was a crucial game that they must win!
They had to fight for first place in the group!
If they were second in the group, it would be very difficult for Arsenal to play against the other group's top team in the Champions League knockout stage.
And out of consideration for the devil's game schedule next month, if they lost to PSV Eindhoven in the fifth game, it meant that it would be awkward whether they fought for the sixth game or not.
If they fought for victory, they were likely to be second in the group if they won.
If they did not fight for it, what if PSV Eindhoven lost in the last round and they did not win the game? Wouldn't they miss the chance to be first in the group?
If he tied with his opponent in this match, the sixth round would be very awkward!
Because they were only one point behind PSV Eindhoven, in the final round, in order to ensure that they would absolutely get first place in the group, could Arsenal rest assured to let the substitutes play?
Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, Arsenal could rest easy if they could take down PSV Eindhoven in the fifth game. In the last Champions League group stage game, the substitute players could play and buy time for the main players to recharge.
It was the same for PSV Eindhoven. As the internal competition in the Eredivisie was not as fierce as the English Premier League, they did not prioritize locking in at the top of the group in advance. As long as they could advance after six rounds, or even better, be first in the group, they would certainly be satisfied. Therefore, it was crucial to face Arsenal in the fifth game.
Losing was definitely the worst. There was still a chance to advance, but they could only fight for second place in the group, and there was a risk of being eliminated.
A draw would not change the gap between them and Arsenal, and the first place in the group was almost out of the question.
However, if they won and overtook Arsenal by two points, it would allow them to lock in a place in advance and have a chance to get first place in the group, increasing their luck in the knockout stage draw.
PSV Eindhoven's goal for this game was also to win!
November 25th, Philips Stadion.
Qin Xiong once again met the players of his old rival, PSV Eindhoven, in the players' tunnel.
He and PSV Eindhoven could be said to have gotten to know each other through fighting. They had met in different competitions for two consecutive seasons. They could not be considered friends, but they were certainly not strangers.
Li Rongpyo, who once said to the media, "I don't know that there is a player named Qin Xiong in China," took the initiative to greet Qin Xiong today. As both Asian players, it was more or less fate to meet in the European arena one after another.
Qin Xiong shook hands with Li Rongpyo and walked to stand behind Henry. He then turned his head and nodded at Park Ji-sung.
When the players from both sides walked into the Philips Stadion, the entire stadium was lit up and cheered loudly.
PSV Eindhoven had performed steadily this season under Hiddink's leadership, even after losing two important main players, Robben and Kežman, in the summer.
Because of this, as the season was about to reach the halfway point, PSV Eindhoven's results in both domestic and European competitions satisfied the fans.
"The fifth round of the 2004-2005 Champions League group stage is about to begin. The situation of Group E's advancement is relatively clear. Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven have a greater advantage over the other two competitors, but this game is about the fight for the first place in the group. I believe that the two strongest teams in the group will contribute to a wonderful game.
Today, PSV Eindhoven's formation is 4-4-2.
Goalkeeper: Gomez.
Defenders: Oyer, Alex, Bouma, Li Rongpyo.
Midfielders: van Bommel, Vogel, Cocker, Park Ji-sung.
Forwards: Hesselink, Farfan.
On Arsenal's side, Wenger's starting formation is 4-3-1.
Goalkeeper: Lehmann.
Defenders: Lauren, Touré, Campbell, Ashley Cole.
Midfielders: Ljungberg, Vieira, Flamini, Qin Xiong, Pires.
Forward: Henry.
Well, the game is about to start. Let's see if the two teams will stage an offensive battle for the first place in the group! "
Offensive?
No, no, no!
From the start of the game, Arsenal played very cautiously. Qin Xiong, the starting attacking midfielder, was more active in the center circle, doing the passing and organizing work.
Arsenal played beautiful football, not offensive football!
Wenger would never, and never dared to, preach to the outside world that Arsenal's football philosophy was offensive football.
Offensive was a posture, and beautiful was a means. There was still an essential difference between the two.
The more crucial the game was, the more cautious Arsenal was. Their posture was mostly offensive and defensive balance, and sometimes a little conservative. But no matter what posture they used to play, they were playing beautiful football. Because their way of achieving offense was through passing and cutting on the ground, relying on their footwork and teamwork, and not rough and monotonous long passes. This was their beauty, but it could not be confused with Arsenal being the representative team of offensive football.
In fact, there were only a few teams in the top competition who held the banner of offensive football high, and even the teams who held the banner of offensive football were not necessarily successful, such as Real Madrid.
On the contrary, their opponent today, PSV Eindhoven, held the banner of Dutch offensive football in the Philips Stadion against Arsenal!
Compared to the beginning of September, PSV Eindhoven's team was obviously stronger overall. This was understandable. Their new players, Farfan and Cocker, had integrated into the team, and Hesselink, who was suppressed by Kežman, had accumulated more confidence after being released.
They were at home in this game, and of course, they were not willing to be led by the nose by Arsenal.
Besides, how bad could they be?
If they tied or fell behind to Arsenal, it was better to fight vigorously with Arsenal!
Hiddink looked calm on the sidelines. He had always been a slightly calm manager. PSV Eindhoven's weakness compared to the European powerhouses was obvious.
They did not have a stable and reliable midfield commander!
He also included this flaw as one of the main reasons for losing to Ajax last season.
This made PSV Eindhoven's offense overly dependent on the flanks.
Not only could they try to tear apart the opponent's defensive line from the flanks, but they also lacked control of the rhythm of the game, which gave rise to another problem: it was too fast to stop, and the team's rhythm was very easy to lose control.
But there was no other way, there was no commander, and things that could not be changed could not be patched together to solve. This fatal flaw could not be solved. There were too many unpredictable factors in the game that could be attributed to this.
Losing control meant chaos, chaos on one's own side.
Park Ji-sung had thoroughly learned his lesson today. He even took the initiative to ignore the existence of Qin Xiong. He did not want to overemphasize the competition with Qin Xiong. It was meaningless. The repeated confrontations had proven that Qin Xiong was better. When he put down this obsession, he thought he could play better and contribute more to the team.
PSV Eindhoven's most outstanding players who relied too much on the flanks were Farfan and Li Rongpyo. One relied on his personal skills to try to break Arsenal's solid defensive line in the front field, and the other plugged in from the flank to assist and form an unexpected attack point to create a killing chance. Park Ji-sung was the most active player in his positional movement. He quickly played the ball in the front field without considering the adjustment of players or ball control. Even if he made a mistake, he would not change his playing style.
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