The Champions League semi-finals are approaching.

There are two matches to be played in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, one with Newcastle United hosting Arsenal and the other with Manchester United taking on Barcelona away.

In the two games, the media is more concerned about the latter one, because Manchester United and Barcelona, which can be said to be the representative teams of the Premier League and La Liga, are competing against each other, and it is also a clash between the Premier League and La Liga, and the game is more meaningful.

Newcastle United and Arsenal are the civil war of the Premier League clubs, the significance is quite small, at the same time, most people also think that the game is not very suspenseful, Newcastle United will be the final winner, mainly in the past two seasons, Newcastle United's domestic league performance is too strong, Arsenal only beat Newcastle United once, or in the early stage of the league Zhen Shaolong did not participate.

Now Zhen Shaolong's condition is very good.

The last game between Newcastle United and Arsenal seems to be vivid, the game before and after the game was very exciting, Zhen Shaolong's performance was equally wonderful, and Arsenal lost the game by a big score without any suspense.

Now that the two sides meet in the Champions League semi-finals, what chances do Arsenal have of beating Newcastle United?

"It depends on Zhen Shaolong's on-the-spot performance."

"On the other hand, Arsenal's coping strategy is also very important, if you rely on the previous method and use a single player to limit Zhen Shaolong, it is too difficult to achieve results, and it is difficult for top strikers to be restricted, just like when I was young, no matter how tough the defense was, I had the confidence to score the ball ......"

In the live broadcast room of the match on BBC TV in the United Kingdom, Alain Shearer appeared as a guest and made relevant comments before the game.

Both teams were relatively low-key before the game.

This may be because Arsenal is relatively low-key, Newcastle United is very active, after the draw for the semi-finals, many people stood up to express confidence, but as the saying goes, 'a slap in the face does not make a sound', the opponent does not even say a word, and it is embarrassing to say anything more.

Arsenal can't afford not to keep a low profile.

First, they are really not confident, the last big defeat to Newcastle United was a great blow to the morale of the whole team, Denelson Jr., Alexander Song, and Toure could not limit Zhen Shaolong.

Second, even if they have confidence, they don't have the confidence to say it.

In the past two seasons, Arsenal has been at a disadvantage, and it is an absolute disadvantage, and the win at the beginning of the season has been ignored, because everyone knows that 'Newcastle United without Zhen Shaolong' is too poor in strength.

Now they are facing a Newcastle United side with Zhen Shaolong, and the experience of winning is meaningless.

In fact.

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger also reminded everyone not to talk about the game in front of the media, the last defeat is still vivid, Wenger carefully recalled it, and attributed the reason to 'appreciation aroused Zhen Shaolong's fighting spirit', in the case of sufficient fighting spirit, Zhen Shaolong's play is unreasonable, and the goal is simply unpreventable.

So......

"Can't stir up his fighting spirit!" Arsene Wenger thought, "It's best to say nothing, no matter what, we're going to prepare for the game seriously. ”

————

Soon.

The game is coming.

James Park was full of fans, showing the atmosphere of a home game, but the overall atmosphere did not look like a Champions League semi-final battle, but rather an ordinary Premier League match, but the game became more focused, and the number of reporters who came was more.

Many reporters walked around the fan group, seriously doing pre-game research and interviews, and some fans also actively expressed their opinions---

'I think Newcastle will win, we just beat them!'

"I predict that the score will be 3-1, Zhen Shaolong will score two goals, and Arsenal will also score one!"

"Of course Newcastle can make it to the final!"

"There are 22 players on the field, I only care about how Zhen Shaolong performs, and I look forward to it, he never disappoints the fans......"

Newcastle fans are full of confidence.

The Arsenal fans who came were a bit worse and they were expecting Arsenal to win, but as you could tell in their answers, they didn't have a lot of confidence.

Finally.

The stadium is open.

Fans actively queued up at the ticket gate, poured into the stadium one by one, and after finding their positions, they shouted cheering slogans to look forward to the official start of the game.

Nothing else happened before the game.

Both Newcastle United and Arsenal were playing in a normal league, just normal training, warm-ups, and then almost time to return to the middle of the pitch, stand in their positions and run to the referee's whistle to announce the start of the game.

As soon as the game began, Arsenal went on the attack.

The insertion of the two full-backs made the whole formation look very forward, and the attack also hit the bottom line, and failed to complete the final cross, but compared to the first wave of attack, it was quite a threat.

Newcastle then went on the attack.

Arsenal dropped back very quickly, with all but Bam Adebayo in front, all of them retreated to their own half, showing everyone their determination to defend.

In the face of Arsenal's tough defense, Newcastle United also failed to find a chance, the attack only hit the halfway line and was tackled, and then Arsenal launched a quick counterattack, Cesc Fabregas's pass was blocked, Denilson Jr. grabbed it back and passed the ball back to his teammates, so that the tense situation was relatively stable, and Arsenal's continuous passes at the back also slowed down the tempo a little.

This is an important point in time.

Most fans and media feel that Arsenal needs to carry out a buffer, and after stabilizing the rhythm, they will continue to carry out the fast attack that they are good at, but then Arsenal's attack speed is not fast, the passing cooperation between players is slower, the lateral pass is several times more than the forward pass, and the midfielder and wing attack the front court are not much.

When Newcastle United go on the offensive again, they will have to face Arsenal's tough defence again.

One offense and one defense.

Two offenses and defenses.

More than ten minutes have passed since the game, and the attack and defense of the two teams and the overall situation have become somewhat clear.

Many were surprised to find that "Arsenal's tactics have changed. ”

No.

It should be said that the offensive and defensive focus has been adjusted.

Arsenal is considered to be the representative of England's attacking football, many people think of Arsenal's style, can think of fast-paced, offensive and other words, the game on the field is completely different, Arsenal plays in the 433 formation, they seem to imitate Mourinho's three back tactics, Fabregas, Denilson Jr. and others have become 'back midfield', two of the three forwards on the wing, also stay near the midline for a long time, when there is danger, they will immediately retreat, and there is only one center Adebayo who is really involved in the attack.

"It's a defensive counterattack, right?"

The fans in the stands only saw Arsenal's formation at the back, and the Newcastle United players on the pitch felt that every attack, no matter which way it started, had to face the entire Arsenal defence.

Arsenal's offensive is very average, the opening one was the most intense, and then the pace became slower and slower, the attack seemed to be delaying time, constantly moving sideways passes, and there was no rush to attack and score.

It's a bit out of the normal style.

Now Arsenal's performance on the field gives the feeling that they are constantly defending, most of the players are pulling back, and the only player who is trying to attack is only Adebayo.

Defend.

Defend.

Defend again.

The match commentators all pointed out that "there was something unusual for Arsenal today, their main focus was on defence. If you just look at the performance on the field, it's hard to believe that it will be Arsenal......"

Alan Shearer quipped, "If I didn't know it was Arsenal, I thought it would be Fulham, or West Ham? ”

The BBC commentator will invite two people who are supporters of both teams, and the other person besides Alan Shearer is Arsenal legend Stuart Robson, who has played for Arsenal for six seasons and occasionally speaks out on Arsenal matters.

As a guest of support for Arsenal, Stuart Robson certainly spoke for Arsenal, "That's the right thing to do. If he played in a normal way, Zhen Shaolong would give Arsenal a headache, and defending against him alone could drag down Arsenal's defense. Arsenal have taken the way of surprise, football is like that, it's important to stick to style, but it's also important to deal with opponents in a surprising way on occasion. ”

"Arsene Wenger has chosen the right way, solidifying the defense at the back and seeking to use Adebayo's points to play counter-attacks, which can minimise the role of Zhen Shaolong."

Stuart Robson's analysis is what Wenger thinks.

The last game left a deep impression on Wenger, he found that he had no way to take Zhen Shaolong, such as this kind of top-notch, somewhat unreasonable player, it is impossible to completely target, rather than spending a lot of energy, on the opponent's player, simply change the overall strategy, stabilize the defense and counterattack.

Although it is not necessary to be able to keep the goal, it is enough to reduce the opponent's goals.

There is no need to win the first leg, just to reduce the score difference, even a small defeat is good for Arsenal, and the players on the pitch may take the lead if they perform well.

There is also a positive attitude towards Arsenal's approach.

While focusing on defense can make the game ugly, Zhen Shaolong is indeed a huge threat, and it is difficult for Arsenal to win with normal strategies, and the effect of surprise can often help.

Of course.

It still depends on the performance of the players on the field.

Zhen Shaolong is still the object of attention, the camera lens frequently points to the past, and he can become the focus without holding the ball.

In the past game time, Zhen Shaolong had three touches of the ball, both times he took the ball in a crisis, was stealed by the opponent without taking two steps, and once passed the ball back to his teammates.

In the face of dense defence around the Arsenal penalty area, it is too difficult to rely on your technical prowess to find opportunities.

Zhen Shaolong realized this.

Fifteen minutes into the game, even without the help of outsiders, the players on the pitch were aware of the change in Arsenal's tactics, but the good thing was that Newcastle United would not be suppressed and there were more attacking opportunities.

Zhen Shaolong retreated twice in a row to get the ball, and one side found an opportunity on the periphery.

Hanging doors!

Under the extremely powerful "Calibration" auxiliary bonus, Zhen Shaolong's hanging door kick out is a dead corner, causing a direct threat to the goal, but unfortunately, the position of the shot is still too far, and the football has no strength at all when it falls in front of the goal, and no matter how tricky the angle is, it will be saved by Almunia.

"This won't work!"

After Zhen Shaolong tried for the second time, he couldn't help but shake his head, the continuous hanging shots did have a chance to score, but the chance was too small, and the blockade at the front of the opponent's penalty area was also very tight, and the closer the distance, it was impossible to find a shooting opportunity.

If the game continues, it may be in Arsenal's favour.

"Forget it!"

"Let's go first!"

Zhen Shaolong sighed and made a decision, and then he beckoned to Gremi and said, "Pay attention to my position, pass the high ball!" ”

"Okay, got it!"

Gremie nodded continuously.