Chapter 73 Why do you know how good your “ex” is only after losing it (page 12)
Before the game, Manchester City asked Arsenal to get half of the tickets.
Wenger agreed. This is the biggest difference between Wenger and Ferguson.
Manchester City has 44 points in the league, 7 points behind Arsenal. If they lose this game, they are almost out.
Manchester City failed to qualify in the Champions League group stage, and defending the Premier League became the only thing on the minds of Manchester City fans.
And this game is so crucial, that's why more than 30,000 fans traveled with the team.
Arsenal is only 2 points ahead of Manchester United, and there is no room for error in this battle.
With the arrival of Manchester City and Manchester City fans, Arsenal fans were not enthusiastic but relatively friendly, with no abuse or middle fingers.
At least that's the case outside the stadium. They thanked Manchester City for their "friendly sponsorship" and sold Xia Qi and Balotelli to themselves.
But all this friendly atmosphere changed at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal fans booed the "sponsors" who were warming up the loudest.
Manchester City fans were not to be outdone, and fans from both sides had a fight while the players were warming up.
The Emirates Stadium also became lively.
In the stands of Arsenal fans at the Emirates Stadium, there were still several familiar and unfamiliar people sitting.
They are Balotelli, De Bruyne, Aurier, Umtiti and Luke Shaw.
Luke Shaw is only 17 years old this year, one year younger than Xia Qi. He transferred from Southampton and cost Wenger 1580 million pounds.
From this we can see why Arsenal fans are so friendly towards Manchester City outside the Emirates Stadium.
Left-back, Luke Shaw: £1580m, (Southampton)
Centre-back, Umtiti: £2880m, (Lyon)
Right back, Aurier: £1440m (Toulouse)
Attacking midfielder, De Bruyne: 2000 million euros (Chelsea)
Forward, Balotelli: €2000 million (Manchester City)
The 80 million given by the board of directors seemed like a lot, but in the end it was not spent at all.
Wenger sold some players for this purpose: Arshavin, Chamberlain, Squillac, Fabianski, Gervinho, Chamakh.
Chamberlain wanted to leave on his own initiative. He felt that he could not develop here, so he went to Liverpool.
The contracts of these four people have been signed and are waiting for confirmation by the Football Association, so this game can only be watched from the sidelines.
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Although both sides had to win this game, the atmosphere was still very friendly as they lined up to play.
Xia Qi joked with his former teammates and made an appointment with his friend Joe Hart to get together with Balotelli after the game.
Penguin Live Room:
"Viewers, welcome to the Penguin Live Room, I am your old friend Zhang Lu, and I am Zhan Jun.
Tonight's game is the 2012nd round of the 2013-22 season, with Arsenal facing Manchester City at home.
Arsenal is now the hottest team in the Premier League, beating the Manchester City duo in the league and qualifying early in the Champions League group stage.
Manchester City is the last champion of the Premier League. After being eliminated from the Champions League group stage, they can concentrate on playing in the league. This is their advantage.
But before grabbing points in the second half, they have to pass Arsenal first, otherwise the point difference will be too big and their hopes will become slim.
"The game is about to begin. Coach Zhang, please introduce to the fans and friends the starting lineups of the two teams tonight."
"Ok."
"The visiting team Manchester City's lineup is not much different from the lineup when the two teams met before.
The goalkeeper is Joe Hart, and on the back line, the center back is paired by Lescott and Kompany. Kompany is called the best center back this season by the British media.
Left back Clichy, right back Zabaleta.
Manchester City's back line is the strongest in the Premier League, and its conceding rate is the lowest in the Premier League.
Manchester City was eliminated from the Champions League. The reason for lagging behind in the Premier League was not the defense, but the inability of the forwards to score goals.
Letting Xia Qi go was their biggest failure.
Currently, Xia Qi has 40 Premier League goals, Dzeko has 8, Aguero has 12, Tevez has 7, and Balotelli has 7.
Xia Qi alone is worth the entire forward line.
Mancini has been looking for a forward who can score 20 goals in a single season all season, but he doesn't know that the strongest one is already in his own lineup.
As a result, the lights were dark and the strongest one was let go.
It would be a stain on his career.
Manchester City midfielder, Barry and Xavi Garcia are the double defensive midfielders.
David Silva plays the left midfielder position, and Milner plays the right midfielder.
Milner is a versatile player who can play any position except goalkeeper.
The forwards are Dzeko and Tevez.
Aguero, Toure and Maicon...are out due to injuries.
Arsenal also has a 442 lineup in this game.
The goalkeeper is Mannone, Vermaelen and Mertesacker teamed up as a central defender.
After buying Umtiti, Arsenal captain Vermaelen may become a substitute.
Gibbs plays left back, which is Gibbs' best position. Jenkinson plays at right back.
Wenger also strengthened these two positions in the winter window, and young player Luke Shaw will not affect Gibbs' starting lineup for the time being.
Jenkinson will need to compete with Aurier for the starting position.
In the midfield, Cazorla and Arteta still partner as the defensive midfielder. This has become Arsenal's standard configuration. In fact, Wenger should strengthen the defensive midfielder the most.
A player with a copper head and an iron tail will suffer a big loss in the Champions League.
The left and right midfielders are Wilshere and young tiger Walcott.
The two forwards are Xia Qi and Podolski.
"Okay, fans and friends, the players are already standing in the center circle and ready to kick off."
Beep!
"The game has started. The one wearing the blue jersey is Manchester City. He is attacking from the left to the right of the screen. The one wearing the red and white jersey is Arsenal..."
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On the field
"Ding Dong"
"Please host select 'training' or 'competition' mode."
"Contest"
"Please host choose the court position: A forward, B..."
"TO"
"Detecting the current predicament of the host's team, matching the attributes of the host [Wings of Freedom]."
"Flying is not your limit, cutting inside is the king. With the combination of dribbling, speed and dexterity, the host has his own stadium corridor."
"Please host choose 'autonomous mode' or 'one-click hang-up mode'"
"Warm reminder: During the hang-up period, the host will automatically complete various indicator actions by the system."
"Hang up with one click!"
"Easily hang up, automatically complete with one click, free your feet, and bring a relaxed and happy stadium experience to the host! The game experience has officially begun."
Beep!
Manchester City kicked off first and played cautiously at the beginning.
Mainly to prevent Xia Qi.
Xia Qi's "notorious" victory over Melo with 38 goals won the European Golden Boot at the half-time stage and became the focus of Manchester City's defense.
After a few passes, the ball was at Tevez's feet.
Tevez's ability to force Balotelli away is enough to show his strength.