As the minutes ticked by, the score remained the same.

The Red Rebels are becoming more and more calm in their defence, and Arsenal's attack is becoming more and more patient, and both sides seem to have adopted a safe tactic in the hope of defeating each other in a more secure way.

Curtis, except for the first 10 minutes of the first half, did a good job of limiting Henry's play at all times, causing the latter to hardly get any decent chances in the first half and was forced to pull back frequently.

In Essien, Curtis and Colo? Arsenal's attack down the left was also unsounding under Toure's combined defence, Pire had a couple of crosses, but John Terry was solid enough to keep the ball safe and Bergkamp didn't get the slightest chance under his defence.

Seeing that there are only three minutes left in the first half, plus stoppage time, it will probably be about five minutes.

Henry was clearly reluctant to end the first half in a draw, so he took advantage of a close encounter and made a gesture to Pire, who was a golden partner with Henry, and immediately understood Henry's thoughts.

In the 44th minute, Arsenal attacked again, Henry dropped back to get the ball on the left side, and took it diagonally to the arc of the penalty area, Bergkamp also leaned to the right, and Essien pasted Henry.

Henry had suffered a few losses from Essien, and was very clever enough to lean on him, using his long legs to protect the ball, and only when Bergkamp started to move, did he cleverly knock the ball to the right.

Ljungberg, who had not made much movement, suddenly started to catch the ball before Patrice Evra and sent a low ball into the box.

Ljungberg's clever pass, just between the centre-back and the goalkeeper, made it difficult for either side to react easily, while the old Bergkamp cut in suddenly, but he cleverly missed it under Terry's close marking.

Pire, who was on the left, didn't know when to shoot the horse and hit the ball.

It was a must-have shot in everyone's eyes, especially since Cech had been deceived by Bergkamp into losing his centre of gravity and was no longer able to keep out Pire's shot when he was far from the other side of the goal.

But just when everyone thought that Arsenal was going to score, a figure suddenly slipped out, fell to the ground and blocked Pire's shot with his legs, and once again tried to keep the goal open!

........................ "Is it Curtis?" Davies, oh my God, the Red Rebels once again used their tenacious defensive will to defuse a certain goal from Arsenal, and Lady Luck really favored them, twice at the most critical moment, both of the Red Rebels' central defenders blocked an inevitable shot from the opponent! ”

Andy? Gray shouted in amazement again.

Although the score on the field is still 0:0, he has to say that this game is not dull at all, the pace of both sides is relatively fast, and the play is very smooth, although it is a defense and an attack, but it does not make people drowsy, but feels very enjoyable.

"I have to contradict you, Andy, it's not luck, the Red Rebels' defensive will is very strong, this kind of savior's move at a critical juncture, it is not unheard of in their games, but the opponents they faced before were not as strong as Arsenal, so we ignored them, in fact, this is a very tenacious team!"

"Don't lose to Liverpool!" Andy? Gray agreed.

"Yes, their fighting spirit is not lost to Liverpool at all!" Martin? Taylor laughed.

"Maybe Wenger on the sidelines is also worried at this moment, because two years ago his team was also in the FA Cup final, facing Liverpool, the first goal, but Liverpool is very tenacious, relying on Owen's two goals to overtake Arsenal to win the championship, and now the Red Rebels will be upset!"

Andy? As soon as Gray spoke, Martin? Taylor immediately laughed again.

"I have to contradict you again, Andy, this is not an upset, any team that reaches the final is eligible to win the title, especially the Red Rebels, they are determined to win the treble this season, who dares to say that Arsenal will win?"

Andy? Gray laughed and shook his head.

…………………… Pire's corner was played to the first point, and Curtis got the ball out before the Arsenal players could clear it.

Hleb, who retreated from the right, received Curtis's header and immediately drove up the right with the ball.

The Arsenal defense immediately retreated, and Villa and Kaka in the middle also followed, especially Kaka, who immediately leaned to the right and had a beautiful one-two with Hleb past Gilberto, and at this time, Ashley? Cole was still in the Red Rebels' half, and in front of Hleb was a large open space.

'Oh my God, the Red Rebels took advantage of an Arsenal corner and launched a counter-attack, Hleb singled himself into the Arsenal half, hit the penalty area, Keown was forced to press Hleb, who crossed to Kaka, Kaka passed to Villa, and Villa crossed diagonally into the box.

"Keown couldn't defend back, Hleb received the ball and formed a single knife!"

"Beautiful, the ball is in!" Andy? Gray shouted loudly.

"Hleb, in the stoppage time of the first half, Hleb single-handedly brought the ball into Arsenal's half, and after a few clever combinations with his teammates, he almost destroyed the entire Arsenal backline, and then faced the goalkeeper and calmly scored the ball! 1:0, the Red Rebels take the lead before the end of the first half! ”

"It was a beautiful goal, Kaka, Villa and Hleb played a brilliant upfield combination, in front of them, Gilberto and Keown were like wooden posts, they couldn't intercept the ball at all, they could only watch them send the ball into the box and into the goal!"

Martin? Taylor also seemed very excited, "This is a typical Red Rebels-style cooperation goal, the cooperation of the four people in the front field is very tacit, especially in a small area of continuous touch transition, at this moment, Arsenal's aging backline shortcomings are revealed, they simply can't keep up with the speed of the Red Rebels!" ”

"That's efficiency, even if the Red Rebels were at a disadvantage in the first half, even if they were suppressed by Arsenal, they were able to take advantage of the few chances to score, and if it wasn't for the referee blowing a goal, the score would have been 2:0 now, and the game would have completely lost its suspense!"

Manager Jose Mourinho looked so excited that he was thrilled to run along the sidelines with his arms raised after Hleb's goal, and although the action caused a lot of displeasure among the Arsenal fans in the stands, it made the Red Rebels fans follow suit to vent their ecstasy after his team took the lead.

Yes, the Red Rebels are ahead of Arsenal!

'It's fantastic, it's an incredible team, they're so tenacious, they're holding on to the back of the net against Arsenal's onslaught, Cech, John Terry and Curtis, they don't hesitate to block Arsenal's shots with their bodies, they save three shots that are going to be the bottom of the net!'

'Hleb, Villa and Kaka, they put on a brilliant attacking combination to break down Arsenal's aging backline, Ashley? Kerr is to blame for his own greed, he should have stayed at the back, at least when the corners were frustrated, he should have been the first to think about defence, and if he was there, Keown would not have faced Hleb directly. ”

'There's no doubt that Jose Mourinho's tactics worked, and he had clearly set up the direction of the team's counter-attack before the game, which was to hold Ashley while holding Arsenal's attack on the left flank? Cole's loophole was designed to hit the gap between his front and back insertions, and he used the speed and skill of Villa, Kaka and Hleb to hit the aging Keon and Luyunny, and he succeeded! ”

From the moment the Red Rebels scored, Arsene Wenger clearly felt his heart being struck with a hammer, which made him feel a little tired, and he thought that even if there was no goal in the first half, it should at least be 0-0.

And when Henry attacked, Wenger thought he could take the lead, but who would have thought that he would concede a goal in an instant!

The Portuguese celebrated their goal in the distance, but Arsene Wenger's heart was as cold as ice.

He knew very well that in the current situation, the Red Rebels would have played a more thorough counter-attack in the second half because they were ahead, and if Mourinho didn't know how to do that, he would be a fool.

The price of falling behind means that Arsenal can only press out in the second half, and the holes in the back line will be infinitely magnified, which will make the Red Rebels' counter-attack more like a fish in water.

In this moment, Wenger misses Sigan and Vieira, and if they were there, the game would not have been so embarrassing, especially Patrick Vieira, who was in midfield and could help the team in attack and play a key role in defence.

Hleb, Kaka, Curtis and Cech, the four players that Wenger fancied combined to beat Arsenal, and in this first half, Keown and Luyani were completely defeated in the battle with Curtis, who almost had nothing to do with Henry.

Hleb and Kaka gave Arsenal a hard time.

If I bring all of these players to Highbury during the winter break, they should be playing for my team right now!

Wenger thought weakly.

It also rekindled his belief in the desire to get players for the Red Rebels, but he was well aware that the team's finances simply did not allow him to get all the players he wanted, and he had to choose one of them.

It's a tough choice to make, as all four players are the most desperately needed players for Arsenal, with Hleb being able to improve on the flanks and Kaka being able to play in the middle and work with Thierry Henry, which can greatly improve Arsenal's attacking prowess.

Curtis is the most favourable addition to the backline, or John Terry, and there have been times when Arsene Wenger has really complained about Xiao Yu because his side have taken up two of England's best centre-backs at once.

Petr Cech can make up for Seaman's departure, and the Czechs have been selected for the national team and can apply for a labor certification.

But Wenger only has a headache when he thinks of Xiao Yu, because the latter is notoriously difficult, and with Arsenal's current finances, he may only be able to win one of them!

Damn it!

Thinking of this, Wenger couldn't help but want to scold his mother!

But he soon came to his senses and had to accept that his team had fallen behind in the first half and start thinking about how to fight back in the second half, but he had to admit that there were very few counter-attacking tactics he could come up with in front of Jose Mourinho's side.

At the moment when the referee blew the whistle for the end of the first half, Arsene Wenger had already walked into the tunnel of the players, and on the other side of the Red Rebels coach's box, Mourinho had already returned to the dressing room, and he had already begun to arrange in the dressing room to be transmitted to the players at half-time to deal with Arsenal's tactics for the second half!

(To be continued)