Wenger glanced at Mourinho, who was brimming with confidence and had his head held high before kick-off.
He quietly turned around and walked to the substitutes' bench. He called Robin van Persie up and asked the assistant manager to submit the substitution list.
Pires was substituted off the field.
Van Persie came on.
In the hearts of the fans, this was a positive sign.
At least in terms of offensive tendencies, Van Persie was more inclined to attack the goal, while Pires was a more comprehensive winger.
In other words, Arsenal increased the number of strikers.
It looked like the team was striving for victory.
But the Arsenal players on the field understood that Wenger was playing a trick.
Bringing on Van Persie was not a signal to strengthen the offense, but to strengthen the defense.
Perhaps it was because today was the Great Christmas War, Arsenal was in Highbury and could not be too weak in the closing stages of the game.
Or maybe the actual situation was also a protracted battle with Chelsea. Arsenal's overall strength might not be a match for them.
Mourinho, on the other hand, was extremely excited when he saw the substitution.
Arsenal strengthened the offense?
Haha, good, very good!
Mourinho was not afraid of Arsenal's offense. He was never afraid of any team's offense because Chelsea was a team that lived after the opponent's offense!
But when the game was restarted, he watched the game for five minutes and his face suddenly changed.
Goddammit!
Voyeur Wenger, you're playing with me!
Van Persie came on and almost formed a double striker with Henry.
But Ljungberg retreated to strengthen the defense of the back waist line. Qin Xiong was in the center midfielder and Henry and Van Persie were very close to the top. They pressed Chelsea's defense line and were ready to seize the opportunity to attack.
Arsenal's overall formation was actually an increase in the number of troops in defense, and their posture became a defensive counterattack.
Chelsea was very embarrassed.
With Qin Xiong and Fàbregas as the core ball controllers in the middle, who was Chelsea going to rely on to snatch the ball?
This was because Arsenal began to control the situation. If he could not create a clear opportunity to attack, Arsenal would not suddenly launch an attack. Or when there was a good opportunity to threaten the opponent with a long shot, he would end the attack. There was a big premise: the stability of the defensive line!
Chelsea was in an awkward position. With only Lampard, would Drogba be able to successfully counterattack?
Essien and Makelele would not rush forward far away from the defensive zone. They had to join the defensive line to defend against Henry and Robin van Persie. If it were any other opponent, they could take the risk, but against Arsenal, they really did not dare!
It wasn't that Jock and Robben couldn't participate in the counterattack.
First of all, the efficiency of the two of them was very low. They weren't used to doing this kind of work.
In addition, Robben's physical condition was also problematic. Now, he only participated in the offense and did not care about defense at all.
When Mourinho saw this scene, his face turned ashen.
Damn it!
Wenger used Robin van Persie to cover up Arsenal's change in offensive and defensive posture. Not only could he give a proper explanation to the Gunners fans who were celebrating the New Year, but he could also stabilize the situation when the situation was already unfavorable.
Killing two birds with one stone.
It was really difficult for a top team to lose a game that they did not want to win!
Did Mourinho dare to gamble?
Although Arsenal now controlled the ball, the initiative of the situation was in the hands of Chelsea.
As long as Chelsea went all out to attack, Chelsea might have a chance to kill Arsenal.
After all, Senderos on Arsenal's defensive line had been bullied by Drogba to the point that he had already surrendered his knee.
It was just that Chelsea was more afraid of Henry. Qin Xiong did not need to make a long-distance attack to create a killing chance in the center midfielder position. Perhaps there was an obvious gap in Chelsea's defensive line. He could create a goal that belonged to Arsenal with a precise straight pass from Henry!
If he was killed by Arsenal, it would be equivalent to Chelsea being double killed by Arsenal in the league this season!
Mourinho could not bear such a heavy result.
He watched gloomily as the match came to an end in a storm of attacks that were all talk and no action.
"The game is over. The defending champions, Arsenal, will face off against the second-placed team, Chelsea, in the Great Christmas War. After 90 minutes of intense and exciting battle, the two teams tied with a score of 2: 2. The home and away games of the two teams in the league this season have ended. Arsenal has an advantage of one win and one draw, which allows Arsenal to still lead the league table with a four-point advantage. For Chelsea, this is certainly not the time to despair. There are still 20 rounds of the league! In three days, the second game of the Great Christmas War will be staged. With the short devilish schedule, what kind of answers will the two teams present? Let's wait and see, audience. Before we meet again, I wish everyone a Happy New Year! "
When the game was over, the expressions of Chelsea's players were the same as their manager, Mourinho. They were not reconciled and at the same time, a little depressed.
The Arsenal fans in the stands at Highbury were quickly relieved. Although they were a little disappointed that they did not win the game, they were able to get a draw. They had played against Chelsea twice in the league and got an advantage in the game. It was enough for them to spend a happy Christmas.
Qin Xiong was surprised to see Lampard walking towards him. Lampard walked in front of him and asked to exchange jerseys with a natural expression.
Qin Xiong took off his jersey and the two men handed their jerseys to each other at the same time. Then they turned around and walked away, but they gave each other a thumbs up tacitly.
They were not only the midfield core of the teams in the Premier League.
They were also competitors for the world's number one midfielder.
After this year's Ballon d 'Or award ceremony, Zidane announced his retirement after the 2006 World Cup. It seemed to represent the coming of an era, so what surfaced was the speculation and attention of the new king of the new generation and the new generation.
Qin Xiong had been listed by the European media as one of the competitors for the king of the new generation of European midfielders!
The moment when he and Lampard took each other's jerseys and gave each other a thumbs up when they turned around was captured by many photographers on the sidelines, and it was listed as one of the classic scenes in the Premier League.
After the game, Wenger expressed regret that he did not win the game in an interview. There was nothing else to comment on. He had the attitude of not seeing Chelsea and Mourinho.
Anyway, the Premier League was over. As for the other games, the FA Cup, Arsenal had the will but not the strength. If they really met Chelsea, they might give up halfway. The depth of their bench could not be compared to the other side. If they met again in the Champions League, then they would talk about it then.
He now focused on the devil's game schedule in the future.
Mourinho complained a little when he left Highbury. On the one hand, he put pressure on the boss, Abramovich, in the hope that he could spend more money to strengthen the lineup and not let the injury of the left back continue to escalate. On the other hand, he seemed to be mocking Arsenal for not having the determination and will to win at home.
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