Chapter 121: Looking forward to meeting a strong enemy
Arsenal defeated Porto 5-0 at home, and Arsenal also advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League 6-2 on aggregate! The Stadium of the Emirates is thunderous, Arsenal dominate the league, and the league title seems to be just a stone's throw away; Arsenal have a good chance of regaining the league title and are doing well in the Big Ears Cup, which they have never touched.
Although Porto's strength is very average, although the current Arsenal has only advanced to the quarterfinals; But the Gunners' performances this season have given fans reason to expect more from them, as Arsenal seem to be getting better.
In the 32 years of the Champions League knockout round, Arsenal have never turned the tables at home after losing the first leg away, and in addition, captain Cesc Fabregas is out due to injury, but Arsenal is still quite strong in this game. With still hopes of winning the league and Champions League promotion strongly, the Gunners are no longer the "pseudo-giants" who always give up halfway this season.
No one expected that the "Gunners" without Cesc Fabregas would sweep the Portuguese Super League championship with five goals. It was the first time in 32 years that Arsenal had come back from a first-leg defeat in the Champions League, while Porto suffered the heaviest defeat in their own Champions League history.
Arsene Wenger had never lost or won the Champions League before the game against Porto, who had qualified for 24 consecutive times after winning the first leg in Europe. However, records and spells don't tell the story, strength is king. As Thierry Henry said before the game: "For Porto, Arsenal are still too strong. ”
With the overwhelming dominance of the Gunners in this game, the so-called curses and records also seem to be a bit of a joke. Like what. Arsene Wenger has been eliminated from the knockout stages of European competition four times. Compared to Arsenal. Porto in the case of a first-leg victory. It has never been reversed, even in the 2003-2004 season under Alex Ferguson. As a result, after beating Arsenal 2-1 in the first leg, the Portuguese media were very optimistic, in their opinion, Arsenal's comeback was even more difficult than their Premier League title, but at the Emirates Stadium, Porto was accidentally beaten into a sieve; And the terrifying gunmen also proved once again that they are no longer Wuxia Amon. The gunners are getting stronger now.
"It's changing on the football pitch at a moment's notice". Arsene Wenger's words came after a furious 5-0 win over Porto. But it's also the same at the team level. Arsenal have also secured key victories in Europe after rejoining the Premier League winning ranks, and the trophy is not out of reach.
This is the third year in a row that Arsenal have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, having done so four times in the past five years. And Arsenal's Champions League results in recent years are evident, with only a narrow defeat to Barcelona in the final in 2006 and a missed final by Manchester United last year. According to the latest William Hill betting odds, Arsenal are fifth in title hopes, behind the other two giants in La Liga and the Premier League.
Compared to previous seasons, Arsenal is undoubtedly stronger now; Although Arsenal lacked the confidence to win the championship in the league, it still performed quite well in the Champions League. Although the Champions League is the most valuable cup competition. But the possibility of an upset in the cup is also the greatest; Arsenal themselves are good, plus they have performed well in the Champions League. So it's worth commending to have achieved such a performance. But at that time, Arsenal was still too young, and even not mature enough; Therefore, Arsenal have not been able to go further, they are considered a very competitive team, but they still lack the confidence to win the title.
Arsenal have been in excellent form this season, with the Gunners already leading the table in the league and a chance of regaining the league title. Although Arsenal are still young, Arsenal's improvement is evident and they are now back at the top of the list.
Xiao Qing's performance is considered to be a key factor, Arsenal themselves are good, but they lack a key player who will determine the trend of the game, they lack enough tough leaders. And now Xiao Qing is very haode to make up for Arsenal's shortcomings, which is also the key to Arsenal's qualitative change this season.
Xiao Qing has scored eight goals in the Champions League, and with this hat trick, Xiao Qing is now temporarily leading the Champions League scorer list; Xiao Qing's performance is now getting stronger and stronger, and after dominating the league scorer list, Xiao Qing once again started his campaign in other territories.
However, although Arsenal is good now, but in order to win the title, Arsenal must also overcome the hidden dangers of the backline. Galla has another month to recuperate, so Arsene Wenger's policy of alternating Campbell and Silvestre with Vermaelen must continue. After all, the advanced Campbell can only be regarded as a surprise soldier, but compared to the previous Silvestre, Campbell's overall performance still won affirmation. In addition, there are areas for improvement in the players on both flanks, which is a key shortcoming of Arsenal's backline that has been criticised this season.
Since Ramsey's broken leg, the Gunners players have always formed a circle after the game to show their determination to "fight for Ramsey". Suffering three broken legs in the past five years, Arsenal have finally matured and not been knocked down by bad luck, not to mention that they have already lost Robin van Persie in the middle of the season. One commentator said: "Arsenal are definitely the strongest title contenders, as long as they take the game seriously. ”
Arsenal's late-season fixtures are relatively easy compared to Manchester United and Chelsea, and they still have a strong chance of reaching the top. Similarly, the Red Devils and Blues are riddled with injuries, which is why Arsene Wenger believes this season is a good time for revenge.
The Arsenal win made Wenger tremble, and in the absence of captain Cesc Fabregas, defensive stalwart Gallas and striker Robin van Persie, the "Gunners" were still able to play such fluid attacking football, which gave Wenger full confidence.
The stubborn Frenchman was asked which opponent he would most like to draw in the quarter-finals, Arsene Wenger said: "If it's a Premier League team, it's interesting for us. We've had a poor season against Chelsea and Manchester United, so I think if we meet again in the Champions League, we'll do better than in the league. ”
Although Arsenal are now league leaders and they are still in good shape to win the title, the old Frenchman remembers his performance against their main rivals. Manchester United have one win and one draw, while Chelsea have one draw and one loss; This kind of performance makes Wenger angry, even if he can win the league title with Zuihou, but perhaps Wenger is still a little dissatisfied, because what he wants is to prove that Arsenal's performance and strength have far surpassed the Premier League giants, and Arsenal are now not afraid of any opponent.
However, Arsene Wenger did not let the big win get carried away, saying: "Although no one looked on us at the beginning of the season, now we have shown that we are capable of it. Still, we have a lot of problems to improve, especially when we could face opponents like Manchester United, Chelsea or Barcelona. ”
Before the game, I believe that no one could predict that Arsenal without Cesc Fabregas could bloody the opponent 5-0, Wenger's call to "let us make history" is not a lie, this season's Premier League, Arsenal in the dialogue with Chelsea and Manchester United average, and the scene is very ugly, after killing Porto, the professor once again showed super confidence; It's not just Arsene Wenger who has confidence now, but also the Arsenal players.
'We don't know who our next opponent will be yet, but the boss thinks a Premier League team would be interesting for us. We haven't done well enough against Chelsea and Manchester United this season and maybe meeting in the Champions League will be a chance to prove ourselves. I'm looking forward to meeting stronger teams now, and now the ones who can stay in the Champions League are really strong teams, and if we want to win the title, we can't do without real tough battles! But I would prefer to meet Barcelona because they are the defending champions; Because they are also considered the most haode offensive team. Of course, this side is also selfish, for example, Henry, for example, the defending champion cannot defend the Champions League. Xiao Qing is full of confidence, and he is also full of expectations for the upcoming draw for the Champions League quarterfinals, and he also believes that at this time, Arsenal will definitely encounter the first real hard bone of the season in the Champions League.
"I'm looking forward to the battle between the top attacking teams and I'm looking forward to playing against the best players. Thierry Henry has left a brilliant record at Arsenal, and now Messi is becoming a better player step by step. I'm looking forward to playing against them, and of course, maybe our boss is also trying to prove that Arsenal are not copying Barcelona football. Xiao Qing smiled, he was really looking forward to playing against Barcelona, because this game would mean a lot to Xiao Qing, even Wenger.
When 1995 George? After Graham left Arsenal, that one was called David? Dunn's old man began to have a headache finding the team's head coach. A year later, he finally drew a circle around Arsene Wenger's name. Previously, the biggest honour of Arsene Wenger's managerial career was to lead Monaco to the Ligue 1 title, but the former vice-president of Arsenal at the time made his choice without hesitation.
Before Arsene Wenger took charge of Arsenal, the Gunners' style of play was an outlier in the Premier League, which was popular at the time, and after the Frenchman took over, "flashy" became synonymous with this team. It was here that he had enough honours and results to make Arsenal now one of the favourites and one of the most competitive in the Premier League.
Although Arsenal is very good, although Wenger is very good; But the only regret is that Arsenal haven't won the title for several years. If this situation continues, maybe the professor will say zaijian to the Gunners, and there will be many fans who are no longer obsessed with the professor, but the legend of the professor will continue, and Wenger's characteristic Arsenal road will finally get the credit it deserves.
It's time for Arsenal to prove themselves again, and it's time for Arsene Wenger to prove himself again; The draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League is about to begin, and Arsenal are about to start their new journey!
The quarterfinals of the Champions League have been announced one after another, and basically there is not much surprise from fans and media; Although the quarterfinals are very topical, what fans and the media are looking forward to is naturally the games that have not yet started and the quarterfinals that are about to begin! (To be continued......)