There was still a week to go before the start of the new season. There was not much time left for Wenger to make a decision.
Arsenal's preparations were proceeding step by step. Losing to Chelsea in the Community Shield gave them a strong sense of crisis. Hleb, who had just joined the team, also clearly understood the difficulty of surviving in a powerhouse club.
There were not many players here who were worse than him, and he was definitely not an important player who could not be ignored. He had to give more and contribute more to the team to be recognized by people.
The Times published a preview of the new Premier League season and wrote in the introduction on the front page: "The exciting new Premier League season is about to begin. There is Chelsea, the strongest defensive team in Europe, Arsenal, the most gorgeous and shocking offensive team. Naturally, there is also the unpredictable new European champion, Liverpool, who should never be underestimated. Naturally, there is also the former dynasty overlord, the Red Devils, Manchester United.
As the transfer market in European football became more active, the trend of elite concentration became more and more obvious. Although it was not complete, it could be said that having more star players represented the difference in strength. This was not an equal formula. Having more star players did not equal championships, but it was recognized that having more star players represented strength. The group that competed for the Premier League title in the new season was still concentrated in the BIG4 group. Below was a list of the elite representative combinations of the four powerhouse clubs. The performance of these elite players and the small team formed would, to a large extent, determine the ownership of the Premier League title in the new season.
The defending champion, Arsenal: Henry, Qin Xiong, Pires, Campbell, Silva.
The Gunners still relied on the attacking group headed by Henry to attack the city. But after Vieira left, Campbell and Silva would play a more important role in defense. If we exclude Chelsea from last season, Arsenal was a typical team that was good at both offense and defense. It was just that Chelsea had further increased the limit of their defensive strength.
The Chelsea team with the highest odds to win the new season: Lampard, Robben, Joe Cole, Drogba, Terry, Makelele.
After a season of great regret, the Blues, who had missed out on a trophy, were clearly more motivated. They proved themselves in the Community Shield and dealt a painful blow to Arsenal, the double winners of the Premier League and FA Cup. Between Lampard and Qin Xiong, who was the best midfielder in the Premier League? Interestingly, there were many football commentators who agreed that Lampard and Qin Xiong were actually pseudo-attacking midfielders. Most of the time, they played the role of shadow forwards. Robben, Joe Cole, and Duff's style as wingers made people's eyes light up. Chelsea was the main weapon in the counterattack. The only thing Mourinho needed to pray for was that Robben could always stay healthy! Drogba gained a foothold at Stamford Bridge. The Ivorian striker, who was as strong as a magical beast, was a nightmare for many defenders in the Premier League. They could not do anything to him. Terry and Makelele were the key players in Chelsea's defense. Makelele interpreted a brand-new blocking defensive midfielder. He was worthy of many defensive defensive midfielders to learn from. Terry was growing into a real leader, but he needed a trophy to prove it.
Manchester United on the road to recovery: van Nistelrooy, Rooney, Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand.
Due to injuries last season, the king of the penalty area, van Nistelrooy only scored six goals in 16 league games. He could only watch as Henry once again set a new personal Premier League scoring record and took away the European Golden Boot. After the era of confrontation between Patrick Vieira and Keane came to an end, the competition between Henry and van Nistelrooy in the goalscoring charts was one of the focal points between the Red Devils and the Gunners. Rooney, who was also young, was obviously more dazzling than Ronaldo last season. He was always full of fighting spirit. Ronaldo's gaudy performances began to be restrained. Ferguson seemed to have enlightened the Portuguese genius in the second half of the season. If he and Rooney could play a more important role in the new season, then the Red Devils' twin stars would be another classic that Ferguson had created as the cornerstone of the team. The Red Devils' Class 92, who had benefited from the Red Devils for more than a decade, were still playing with enthusiasm. Scholes and Giggs were over 30 years old but were still in good form. They would be the mainstay of Ferguson's creation of the next Red Devils' golden age. England's most expensive defender, Rio Ferdinand, was humiliated again and again at Old Trafford. It was not his fault, but he did not have reliable helpers around him. But without him, the Red Devils, who had the worst defense in history last season, would have set a worse record for goals conceded.
Liverpool, newly crowned champions of the Champions League: Gerard, Alonso, Hyypia, Carragher, Morientes.
The Red Army had gone through a season under Benítez where they would have been labeled as terrible if they had not won the Champions League. It was undeniable that the Red Army had played a few classic battles in the final stages of the Champions League, but their performance in the league was too poor. If they did not win the Champions League, they would not be able to qualify for the Champions League this season. The problem that troubled Benítez was that they did not have a stable striker. Baros and Cisse had both proven that they could not become fearsome killers in the Premier League. Morientes had only scored three goals in half a season, but Benítez was still full of confidence in him. The Red Army could only rely on a handful of strikers. The midfield combination of Gerard and Alonso was the key to Liverpool's revival. This duo is one of the best midfield combinations in Europe. Their performance in the new season will determine the success or failure of Liverpool. Carragher and Hyypia also form one of the best center-back combinations in Europe, but Liverpool still lacks a true defensive midfielder as a shield. Among the BIG4 groups, Liverpool's chances of winning the title are the slimmest, but we should still have a little bit of hope for them. Maybe they can create another miracle? "
The 2005-2006 season was about to kick off.
If the top 20 star players in the Premier League were to be counted, Qin Xiong would definitely be on the list.
His career was changing in an obvious way.
In the past, he used to compete internally and fight to rise to the top, pushing the players in the same position on the team to the substitutes' bench.
From now on, he had to look beyond the team, the English game, and even the whole of Europe.
His competitors had become the best group of star players in the Premier League, and even the elite players in all of Europe!
After reading The Times' forecast for the new season's Premier League title, Qin Xiong also understood a fact.
He was recognized by the outside world as one of the key players to determine the success or failure of Arsenal's season!
But he played the role of an assistant to Henry.
Was he unwilling? Willing!
But he would not always be willing!
He had an ambition to surpass Henry.
He would continue to work hard and look forward to the day when he would surpass Henry!
When the outside world talked about Arsenal, it would no longer be about Henry as the soul tied to the lifeline of the team, but about him, Qin Xiong!
When ushering in the new Premier League season, Qin Xiong made a wish: to enter the era of him leading the Gunners as soon as possible!
He wanted to be the real king!
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