Because three days later it was the Champions Cup, and it was away, at the same stadium. So instead of returning to Nottingham, the Forest continued to live at nine o'clock to prepare for the Champions League quarter-finals in midweek.

In order to relax and decompress the players, Donn sacrificed valuable training time and gave the team a day off.

Players are free to choose whether to stay in their hotel room or go out shopping. However, Donn will continue to study the game footage with his fellow coaching staff at this time to prepare for the final game of the trilogy.

The players can relax, the coaches, especially the managers, can't relax at all.

Shania wanted to have a meal with Donn, but she didn't have time. It's just busy in the dark. Even if you chat on the phone, you can only talk in a hurry. Shania could hear the obvious absent-mindedness in Donn's voice and response, Uncle Tony's body and heart did not belong to her at this time, and his mind was full of "football".

Shania was jealous, but she couldn't help it.

She would never really ask Don to retire and spend the rest of her life with her. Because she can't be with her husband for half of the year because of her own career, when she can be with Don, she can't care about being half of her husband's love by football. She even felt guilty, feeling that she was sorry for Don, so she admitted that she had been wronged.

So she hung up the phone after reminding Don to take a break again.

Don waited for Shania to hang up the phone before he came back to his senses and began to wonder if he had behaved too badly just now.

"Wife's phone?" Chrislac, who was unable to study the footage, heard the door being pushed and turned his head to ask.

Don snorted.

"Actually, if it's time for a meal, there's still some, right?" Chrislak simply turned around and said to Donn. "Let's call her back again."

"Yes, yes, but I'm afraid of being distracted." Donn shook his head and rejected the assistant coach's suggestion.

Chrislak smiled, "I envy you, Tony. You see, the woman in our family never calls me to care about me. ”

"You're all old husbands and wives." Don smiled and sat down next to him and continued to watch the video.

"It's because of the old husband and wife that I envy you...... It feels like you're getting married every day. ”

"That's just because we don't spend a few days together all year round." Don smiled wryly. "Okay, stop talking about women, let's talk about the Arsenal game. We don't have the physical strength to match theirs right now......"

"Do you want to rotate, Tony?"

Don was silent for a moment, considering whether he really wanted to rotate. In a game like the Champions Cup, he still hopes to play with the strongest team. But after fighting two games in a row, he is using the strongest lineup. This third ......

"Let's rotate a few positions." After thinking about it for a long time, Don said. "Shaheen is not physically fit, change it out. We play double striker. ”

“442？”

"Hmm......" Donn muttered for a moment before turning to his assistant "what do you think Wenger thinks we are going to take in this game?" ”

Chrislak frowned and thought for a moment. He thought about it a little long. Don didn't wait for his answer, he stretched out a palm and said, "Come, let's analyze our strengths and weaknesses." First, they're physically better than us, they've had two home games in a row and we've had two away games in a row. Secondly, they have home advantage and the referee will definitely take that into account and we can be more closely watched in the game and they are the opposite. ”

Speaking of which, Chris Rac interjected: "Whoever told you to always emphasise in front of the media that our football is rough and rough, and Rijkaard's Chelsea can only go back crying when they come." ”

Don scratched his head in embarrassment.

He coughed and continued, "Third, hmm...... Thirdly, they were only one goal behind in the first leg, a margin that was so small that it was almost negligible. Arsenal are a team that is good at attacking, and a goal down is nothing to them. I believe that losing 0:1 away from home was also intentional by Arsene Wenger. ”

"What's the fourth?" Chris Rac asked.

"There's no fourth." Don clapped his hands. "These three points are enough to put us at a disadvantage across the board. The outside media were not optimistic about us either, and from the end of the first leg, they were clamoring that Arsenal would definitely qualify and we would have to be eliminated. Now that we have won Arsenal in the league, they have found a reason to say that we decided to focus on the league and give up the Champions Cup......" Speaking of this, Tang En sneered and said something in Chinese: "The ambition of the bird? ”

He then went on to say in a language that Chris Lak could understand: "I think Arsene Wenger would think the same way. If I don't have good fitness, or away, I will definitely choose a more conservative tactic and Arsenal grinding. Even if they score a goal, there will be extra time and penalty shootouts to play. Anyway, if you want to advance, it's always right to be conservative. ”

Speaking of this, Don suddenly laughed: "But this time I'm going to surprise him." ”

※※※

In the evening tactical meetings, the players, who had relaxed all day, sat in the conference room provided by the hotel and listened to the manager.

No one lingers out and the discipline of the team is not an issue.

"The day after tomorrow, we don't play defensive counterattacks, we don't play the whole game." Donn stood in front of a group of players and said loudly that the conference room was a bit big, and a team was still unhappy, and he had to raise the volume, otherwise the sound would be emitted in this large empty conference room, causing some people to be unable to hear clearly.

"Let's attack!" He waved his hand.

There was a slight jolt in the room, but it quickly subsided. They knew that the boss must have a reason for arranging this, so they just listened to it anyway.

"Now everybody out there thinks we're exhausted, but we're going to show them through this game – we're still going to have energy! They didn't expect us to attack away from home, so we surprised them! Strive to beat them out at the beginning! So we had to be simple and effective in this game, so I decided to cut one midfielder for that. ”

Shaheen already knew he was going to be replaced. The head loves the double back waist very much, and he also attaches great importance to the wing, so sacrificing a midfielder must be his front midfielder.

"Aaron, Mi starts in place of Nouri."

Mitchel nodded, and Shaheen nodded. Both men accepted the arrangement.

"We call 442. With Aaron in front of goal, we need to play more on the wing. In addition, George and Fernando, you two, don't always stay behind, you have to press forward aggressively, create pressure on the Arsenal defence, and let them take care of one or the other. Mind you, I'm talking about attacking Arsenal from start to finish, not allowing them to take the initiative in the game, not allowing the game to get into their rhythm. From the first second, they were disrupted and scattered for me. ”

"As long as we can get into the game faster than them in the opening game, then we don't have to worry about their offense at all!" Donn confidently told his men, "They won't have a chance to threaten our goal. So the two full-backs also have to be active in assisting. Scoring first is key! ”

"Fabregas will be handed over to George, Fernando, you pay a little attention to the others."

"Anyway, remember, the game the day after tomorrow is attack! Offense offense, offense, offense, offense, offense! ”

He rarely says this, he usually says "defense defense defense, defense defense, defense in addition to defense, or defense".

After the meeting, the players went back to their rooms. But on the way back to the room, they were also discussing the arrangement, and they were also interested in the head's idea. Playing against Arsenal? It's rarely tried. In the past, against Arsenal, Donn has mostly put himself on the underdog, opting for defensive counter-attacks, using brutal fouls and defensive movements, as well as tireless physical fitness to counter Arsenal's delicate attack.

For this reason, there has been a lot of media demonization of Nottingham Forest, and it is indeed a big contrast to put the two teams together - Arsenal's football is beautiful and beautiful, like watching a classical concert, which is refreshing. Nottingham Forest's football is much more utilitarian, not very good-looking and unlikable. Aside from their own supporters, there are only a handful of neutral fans in the world who like Nottingham Forest.

Now, that may change in two days' time. Tony. Donn is finally going to put aside his conservative approach and play a dignified battle with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Nottingham Forest's players also have a chance to prove that they are not inferior to Arsenal and that they are not inherently conservative. Beating Arsenal with an attack, or at Arsenal's home turf, is indeed a tactical arrangement that can arouse their positivity.

※※※

For the next day and a half, Don focused on attacking drills, with a wide set and a strong attack in the middle. No media knew about the training, and Don once again declined all forms of interviews.

This made those media find new evidence of his denunciation.

“…… Tony. Once again, Donn turned down our requests for interviews and filming. You could tell he was nervous. Although it is Arsenal who are behind, everyone is optimistic that Arsenal will qualify, and there are many conditions that are more favorable to them. And this nervousness of Coach Donn is also a strong proof of this. ”

"Actually, Don himself is not confident, otherwise he would not have engaged in any closed training."

'In the last league game they had players from their own team clash in front of each other in the game, and they were close to punching each other, Tony. Don must have been tossed and turned around in the last few days, right? Too much pressure on a team can lead to a collapse and I don't think Nottingham Forest are close to a collapse. ”

"I asked Pepe after the game what happened when he clashed with Akinfeev during the match. He said that it was not a big deal, that we were all for victory, and now the contradictions have been resolved...... You see, what a formulaic answer. I've interviewed countless players and had a lot of infighting in a game, and their answers are almost exactly the same as this one, so much so that I suspect they all used the same answer template. ”

"Nothing is wrong with the Forest? Ghost believes! Tony. Don was under pressure like he was going to have a heart attack at any moment, his players almost got into a big fight in the game, and if it wasn't for their luck in reversing Arsenal in the last minute, I don't know if Donn would have been hospitalised again. ”

"Is there really no contradiction between Pepe and Akinfeev? Is it true that the performance of the two of them in the live broadcast of the game will not affect the morale of the team? Isn't Down really going to let Pepe go to the bench to 'rotate and rest'? I think there's too much to watch in this game. ”

“…… Anyway, I'm bullish on Arsenal, they have too many advantages. Nottingham Forest? I only saw a group of remnants who were crushed by pressure and physical strength, and Don was so focused on how to put the team back together, and how could he think about tactics? ”

The media is so loud, and their demagogic energy is so strong, that even Forest fans are a little confused about the situation – is there really something wrong with our team? Are we really going to be knocked out of the Champions Cup? Tony. Is it true that a manager as strong as Donn can no longer control Forest's dressing room?

Amid such fears and the media's continued peeping, Nottingham Forest welcomed the final of their three-game run against Arsenal.

The fateful final game.

Behind the Nottingham Forest is an abyss, and there is no way back. If you are eliminated, then all the hard work put in before this season, the victories that gritted your teeth and fought hard, will be meaningless.

And the league champions? We're sorry, but we're aiming for three championships. The English FA Cup, the English Premier League, the European Champions Cup, all three, one championship is indispensable.

※※※

On the night of the match, the Emirates Stadium and its surroundings were brightly lit up, and fans from both teams flocked to the pitch in anticipation.

The official music of the European Champions Cup was playing on the radio at the scene, and the enthusiasm was pouring up, and I wished that the Mars collision would start soon.

Meanwhile, in the dressing room, the coaches of both sides are making final preparations for their teams to play.

Arsene Wenger looked at his players with a calm expression: "We lost two games, we can't lose again. If we lose again, we'll lose all of our season......"

Some people may think it is strange, even if you lose the Champions Cup, isn't there still a league? They are still three points ahead of Nottingham Forest, how can they be overturned so easily?

But where did they know Wenger's mind? In the past 18 years at Arsenal, he has won countless championships, but he has never been involved in the European Champions Cup, what a pity. At the age of sixty, he doesn't know how long he can stay in this industry, and he is not willing to let go of any chance to lift the Champions Cup. For this, even if it is at the expense of the league...... He also did not hesitate to do so.

'Arsenal have never won the Champions League in their history and I hope you can make that embarrassing history a real thing this season.'

On the other side, Donn led the team with a fist in his hand and shouted: "We just won them in the league, why can't we win again in the Champions Cup!" Kill Arsenal three times in a week, so that they will be scared when they see us in the future! Remember your mission - offense, offense, offense! In addition to the offense, it's still a fucking offense!! ”

(To be continued)