"Thierry Henry! WOW！”
The football flew out of the goalpost, and the Arsenal captain's shot went wide.
"Seven minutes into the match, Arsenal has shot three times. Two of them were within the goalpost, and this one went wide. Arsenal appears very proactive in their own home ground. "
"Henry is in excellent condition. I think Nottingham Forest is in trouble."
As the commentator said that, Tang En and Kerslake were chatting in the technical area.
"No matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like defense," Kerslake said with a frown.
"What are they defending when they don't score?" Tang En said, looking at the field. "We have a chance to change Wenger's plan. As long as we break through their goal before they want to score, we can force Wenger to give up on his plan to defend and counterattack, and let the match return to the track we're familiar with. "
Just as Tang En finished speaking, Forest Team obtained an opportunity to attack. Arteta sent out an ingenious pass in the front field, and Viduka provided cover for Anelka. After Anelka broke into the penalty area, he shot at the goal, but Lehmann flew over to pounce on him.
Lehmann's performance won the applause of the Arsenal fans, but there were still boos in the stadium. Naturally, the boos were not aimed at Lehmann. Instead, they were "dedicated" to Anelka, who had shot.
Anelka turned and ran out of the penalty area as if nothing had happened. He was long used to it. Of course, he did not forget to give a thumbs up to Arteta, who had passed the ball for him.
※ ※ ※
Lehmann threw the ball to launch an attack. Fàbregas turned to receive the ball, while George Wood followed. He did not care about his original position, because Tang En had told him that if Fàbregas retreated to receive the ball, he had to follow. He obeyed Tang En's request, which made Fàbregas a little uncomfortable.
"Fàbregas, George Wood! The two of them are facing off again! This is one of the things we look forward to when we watch the match between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest. Two outstanding young men, like fated enemies. I know it's tacky to say this, but can you find a more suitable description? "
This number 13 of Forest Team had been entangled with him for two seasons, starting from a youth team match. He had originally treated it as a normal youth team match. With his level at the time, he did not even need to participate in the FA Youth Cup for his age group. He had the ability to directly advance to the First Team. However, in order to test his condition before the real First Team match, Wenger still let him play a few games in the Youth Team.
Before the game against Nottingham Forest's youth team, he did not take his peers in England seriously at all. To him, that kind of game was as casual as playing on the streets. He could win easily. After all, he was a child who had seen the world and obtained great achievements. What was the use of such a competition other than warming up for him? He was already tired of the seemingly endless youth team competitions. He longed to go to the first team, to participate in a real league tournament, to feel true victory and defeat … If he continued to play with this mentality, who knew if he would still be able to see the radiant and talented youngster Fàbregas in the future?
The match against Nottingham Forest's youth team changed his future. That was his first failure since joining the Arsenal Youth Team. What bothered him was that his opponent was a nobody. He did not know who this person was before. After that, he paid attention to the relevant information about George Wood and found out that he was a rookie who had trained for less than a year!
He was angry and he wanted to completely defeat Wood. He worked hard in training and tried to adapt to the cold and humid weather in London as soon as possible … All of these efforts were to defeat him the next time they met with Nottingham Forest's youth team. He wanted to make him suffer a crushing defeat. But there was no more chance. More than a month after that game, he was transferred to the First Team by Wenger. Perhaps Wenger also saw that participating in the youth team competition did not improve Fàbregas much. He became a member of the Arsenal First Team. He became the youngest player to represent Arsenal in the league tournament. He even became the youngest player to represent Arsenal and score an official goal.
For a moment, countless praises such as "genius" and "child prodigy" flew towards him. He became the object of the world's attention. Football legends, television commentators, fans … were full of praise for him. But in this overwhelming success, he did not lose himself like he did in the youth team. His mind was exceptionally clear because he knew that there was still one person he wanted to beat but did not have the chance to beat.
It was not until Nottingham Forest's successful promotion that he finally had the chance to compete with George Wood in an official game. He thought that one game could end all the grievances between himself and this man, but he did not expect it to continue to this day. George Wood was not a coward who would be knocked down by one failure, and neither was Francesc Fàbregas!
George Wood's panting came from behind. He felt the touch of his body's constant collision. He had to work hard to protect the football and not let the guy behind him snatch it away. At the same time, as a midfielder responsible for controlling the team's rhythm, Fàbregas had to look up to observe his teammates' movements and the opponent's formation. He had to find loopholes that could be exploited and pass the football through … If there was no chance, he had to transfer the football out and then run to get rid of Wood and reorganize the attack.
He saw a gap that could be used. But Wood was pressing hard behind him. He was not absolutely sure that the ball would fly to where he wanted it to go. What if it was intercepted halfway and allowed Nottingham Forest to counterattack?
Fàbregas quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind and gave up the opportunity to pass the ball. Instead, he passed the football to Edu next to him. Then he turned and ran to other places. George Wood did not give up and continued to follow.
Edu passed the ball to him again, and Wood continued to come up at the first opportunity. Fàbregas had no choice but to pass the ball out again. This time he passed it to Ashley Cole, and then the England international player dribbled the ball out.
Next, Fàbregas deliberately noticed Wood next to him. He saw Wood turn his head to look at him, and then looked at Ashley Cole, who was dribbling the ball forward, and finally chose to run back to defend. He ran very fast, not at the normal speed of returning to defend. It was more like there was only one goalkeeper left in the backfield, and then he ran desperately. In a flash, he ran far away from Fàbregas's eyes.
The Spanish young player shook his head. He really did not know what he should be feeling. Such a person who was not clever was actually the opponent he wanted to beat. Suddenly, there was a feeling of "I'm so stupid" in his heart, but soon the feeling disappeared without a trace.
Because he saw Ashley Cole being defeated by Wood in a race of speed …
This monster!
※ ※ ※
George Wood's restriction of Fàbregas was successful, but Fàbregas soon knew how to deal with it. He no longer just observed the position of his teammates after receiving the ball, but when he raised his hand for the ball, he observed his teammates' running route and the opponent's defensive position in advance, and then sent the football out at the first opportunity. Or he could immediately make the next move after receiving the ball. He did not need to stop to think about what to do next.
This really caused a lot of trouble for Wood's defense. Even if he was fast, Fàbregas would seize the opportunity to pass the ball out.
Fàbregas was alive, and Arsenal's offense was alive.
Edu passed the football to Fàbregas. Without waiting for George Wood to come up, Fàbregas passed the ball to Bergkamp in front of him. The Dutch veteran then passed the football to Henry, and then Henry shot. Although the attack did not result in a goal, it had given Wenger hope.
Fàbregas had completely replaced Vieira's former position and role in the team. Arsenal's entire team now operated around him. He was the team's central nervous system. As long as he could find a way to deal with George Wood, Wenger was not afraid of Forest.
The game fell into a stalemate. Forest desperately wanted to be the first to break through Arsenal's goal, and Arsenal's thoughts were exactly the same as theirs. It looked like both sides were attacking each other, but neither was effective.
Like what was said before the game, these two teams were too familiar with each other. It did not feel like they were playing in the Champions League at all. It was like they were playing against each other in the Premier League. Arsenal knew the habits of every Nottingham Forest player, and Nottingham Forest was also familiar with Arsenal. Tang En did not need to repeatedly instruct George Wood to keep a close eye on Fàbregas, nor did he need to tell Anelka how to find gaps in Arsenal's defense. He did not need to tell the rear defensive line too much on how to deal with Henry and Bergkamp. They all knew what they had to do.
It was quite awkward to play against such an opponent, especially in the context of the Champions League semi-finals. Not excited enough …
※ ※ ※
Forest launched another attack. Ribéry lobbed the ball into the penalty area. Viduka worked hard to fight for a header, while Anelka cruised at the back, ready to suddenly plug in. The football was not headed by either of them. Instead, it was headed out of the penalty area by the fullback, Touré.
Fàbregas, who had returned to the edge of the penalty area, received the football. At this moment, George Wood was not close to him, but he was rushing towards him.
The Spanish youngster glanced at George Wood and then passed the football to Henry, who had come up to receive. Everyone's attention turned to the world-class striker. If everyone still had an impression, they would feel that Henry's current position with the ball was very familiar.
That was right. On November 17, 2002, in the North London derby, Henry had scored the best goal of the English Premier League that season in the first half of the game. He snatched the ball from the side of his team's penalty area and then began a sixty-five-meter-long lightning-fast raid. He passed several people in a row, from one penalty area to another, and finally scored the football into Tottenham Hotspur's goal.
Was he going to do it again?
Henry began to move.
George Wood changed his target midway and chased after Henry. Now, only he had the speed to catch up to Henry in the middle and back field.
Henry did not dribble in a straight line, but rather, he dribbled the ball horizontally, so George Wood easily caught up to him.
But Henry used his experience and skills to shake off Wood, and then changed direction again to attack the Forest team's penalty area.
Wood would not be shaken off in one go. He turned and pounced. By this time, Reyes had already quickly come up to support. George Wood did not notice. All his energy was on Henry, who was dribbling the ball.
Henry certainly knew that Wood's target was himself. He had played against Wood a few times and was no stranger to him. He also knew that once this guy got close to him, things would be troublesome. So, he did not entangle with him. When everyone's attention was focused in front of him, he suddenly made an amazing pass.
At that time, Wood had already crossed in front of Henry, forcing him to slow down. It looked like Arsenal's quick attack was over. Henry made a posture to directly pass the ball in front of the goal, allowing George Wood and the left back Leighton Baines behind him to focus on the penalty area.
Henry's feint was so realistic that it even deceived the televised camera. The camera followed Henry's swing of his right leg to the penalty area, but did not see the football fly out. It was only then that the television director realized that he had also been fooled. The camera quickly switched, just in time to see Henry's right leg swing in the air. The tip of his left foot, which was supposed to be a supporting foot, poked the football to the right flank, where Reyes was plugging in from behind at a high speed.
"Reyes! Beautiful pass, so full of inspiration! Henry's performance is exciting! "
Loud cheers rang out at Highbury Stadium. Henry played a beautiful move. Not only did it win the cheers of the stands, but it also boosted Arsenal's morale.
Compared to his slightly playful pass, the defensive Nottingham Forest team looked a little embarrassed.
George Wood was completely deceived by Henry. When he turned to help Baines defend against Reyes, it was too late. Reyes did not stop the ball. Instead, he directly passed the ball and sent the football to the middle of the Forest team's penalty area with his unskilled right foot.
The football bypassed Pepe and Piqué's defense and fell into the no man's land at the back.
Who would be there?!
George Wood turned his head to look.
"Fàbregas!!" The commentator screamed.
Wood saw it. Arsenal's number 4, the slightly thin and weak figure suddenly appeared like a ghost at the point where the ball landed. He appeared in front of Edwin van der Sar, and then calmly lifted his left foot to lightly cushion the ball passed by Reyes …
The football bypassed Edwin van der Sar's hands, who had jumped up to defend, and fell into the empty goal!
All the Arsenal fans in the reddish-brown jerseys in the stands at Highbury Stadium jumped up from their seats with their hands in the air.
"What a beautiful combination! A wonderful goal! This is a classic Arsenal attack. Nottingham Forest is being played around by them! Fàbregas, Henry, Reyes, Fàbregas! A perfect cycle. Arsenal is leading by 1: 0! They have the best start of the season! "
Arsenal's players rushed towards the celebrating Fàbregas. Henry and Reyes ran past George Wood with their arms wide open. George Wood stood where he was, maintaining his posture of turning his body to look back. He bit his lip tightly as he watched their backs. He had lost sight of that kid …
At the same time, off the field, Tang En also cast his gaze towards Arsene Wenger, who was celebrating with his assistant manager. Arsenal had scored first. That meant that the game had entered the trajectory that Wenger wanted to see the most in the remaining time.
The situation was not good.
Wenger, who had finished celebrating with his assistant manager, also noticed that someone was looking at him. He turned his gaze towards the Forest team's technical area and smiled at Tang En.
Tang En shifted his gaze away.
Wenger turned back to his assistant manager, Patrice, and said, "Look, Pat. I've said it before. We need to absorb some of the strengths of others. But at the same time, we have to maintain our own style. This is an Arsenal-style goal. Our old friend is in trouble. "
Patrice laughed heartily. (To be continued. If you wish to know what happens next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support the original reading!)
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