My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 240 The fateful showdown ()

Sky Sports' "Football Special" column was staged as scheduled.

Jeff Sterling, Chris Kamara and George Catlick sat in the studio to comment on the just-concluded seventh round of the Premier League.

"This is the first round of Premier League matches since October, and the two teams that are going head-to-head are still Arsenal and Manchester United."

This past weekend, in the seventh round of the Premier League, Arsenal defeated West Bromwich Albion 1-0, improving their record to six wins and one draw.

The trip to the Hawthorn Stadium was not smooth sailing. After Arsenal won five consecutive league games, West Bromwich Albion pragmatically retreated at home, leaving Arsenal to face a difficult battle.

Kevin De Bruyne scored the winning goal, and his wide-open style often creates opportunities to break the game in such deadlocks.

Arsenal left the Hawthorns with three points, but their ranking is still second in the league. Manchester United is still ranked first in the league.

"Black Cat" Sunderland is obviously no match for Manchester United. Alex Ferguson's team shredded their opponents 2-0 and occupied the top spot in the standings with their first seven consecutive victories.

"Manchester United is first, Arsenal is second, and they are gradually opening up at least one game behind their pursuers." Chris Kamara said with emotion, "This standings reminds me of the twenty-first century Years ago, the Premier League at that time was a duo of these two teams."

"This season has been huge for Sir Alex Ferguson. He has put off his retirement plans in order to win Manchester United's 20th league title. He is the only one who can make the life of the whole United team. What we are seeing is Sir Alex Ferguson’s last ditch effort, no player wearing a Manchester United shirt dared not to give everything for Sir Alex Ferguson. What we saw was the most terrifying Manchester United in recent years.”

George Catlick's tone was firm.

"So George, do you think Manchester United has a good chance of winning the championship?" Jeff Sterling asked him.

"Very big. In fact, I think the champion this season is Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson retired with the 20th title in Manchester United's history. This is a good story. It also complements Cesc Fabregas' Manchester United. , finally made up for their midfield weakness. They did not lose their iron-blooded defense, and also had a top offensive group, which opened a huge gap between them and other teams."

"No, George, maybe you underestimate Arsenal too much." Chris Kamara said, "Manchester United are only two points ahead of Arsenal, and Arsenal are younger and beat Manchester United last season. This is a talented team team, not to mention when facing Manchester United, Arsenal will never show mercy."

"No mercy, oh wow." George Catlick laughed. "Just two seasons ago, Arsenal suffered a disastrous defeat of 2-8, which is rare in their team history..."

"There was a lot of serendipity in that game, and we're talking about this season, George."

"Chris, we all know that Arsenal are a team that looks like a title contender before Christmas, but next spring you'll find them fighting for the top four."

George Catlick nonchalantly said, "Arsenal will fill its fans with hope and then kill it. Hasn't that been the case for so many years? Look, Chris, I don't want to argue, but Arsenal's youth is a A double-edged sword.”

"George..."

"If, I mean if, Arsenal and Manchester United fight fiercely in the final rounds, do you think Ferguson and Manchester United can maintain a stable state, or Arsenal and their young coach?"

"It's really full of suspense..." Jeff Sterling came out to smooth things over. "The first match between Arsenal and Manchester United will be three rounds later. I think it will be a game full of topics. And, Chris, George, we Continuing to look at the performance of other teams, Mourinho's Chelsea and Rodgers' Liverpool are not far behind."

……

Arsenal players are laying siege to the Norwich goal at Carrow Road.

Norwich, ranked 19th in the Premier League, has a shaky defense.

The recent schedule has been very friendly to Arsenal, with most of their opponents being mid-to-lower teams.

This season's Premier League is clearly divided. There are no dark horses that everyone expected, and the performance of the lower-tier teams is also very stable - stable.

For example, Norwich City had few wins since the start of the 2013-14 season.

Arsenal broke through Norwich's goal early. In the second half, Chen Yao asked Theo Walcott and Wilshere, who had returned from injury, to come on as substitutes.

Walcott cautiously withdrew his kick at first, but he soon discovered that Norwich had no intention of playing.

They stayed in their own half, and when they occasionally got the ball, they drove forward as if the ball was hot.

As a result, Walcott is always roaming in the dangerous area near the Norwich penalty area without having to expend energy on running back and forth and defending. In the 75th minute, Theo Walcott broke through the defense of Norwich's left back and sent a precise cross through the crotch. Eymeric Aubameyang pushed the ball into the goal.

2-0, Arsenal proudly took home another victory at Carrow Road.

While United are in trouble at St. Mary's Stadium, Southampton are fifth in the Premier League after the first seven rounds.

There is no shortage of strong players in Southampton's lineup. Lovren, Luke Shaw, James Ward-Prowse, Adam Lallana and other players are all in good form. Manchester United has encountered a tough nut to crack.

In the end, Manchester United was tied 1-1 by Southampton away from home.

At the end of the eighth round, Arsenal tied with Manchester United in points, and the two teams tied for first place.

Both teams have a record of seven wins and one draw, and are unbeaten in eight games.

……

Arsenal's seven-game winning streak came to an abrupt end at Selhurst Park.

In the Champions League in midweek, Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund battled for ninety minutes at Signal Iduna Park.

Chen Yao and Jurgen Klopp are also old rivals who have met many times in European competitions. This season, Guardiola took charge of Bayern Munich, which brought new challenges to Klopp and Dortmund.

After dormant in Dortmund for many years, Klopp and his team have become the top team in the Bundesliga and the first-class level in Europe. Dortmund defeated Arsenal 2-1 at home with high-intensity pressure and crazy impact.

What is even more depressing than losing three points is that Arsenal's main players have consumed a lot of energy in the European war, so much so that Chen Yao had to make a significant rotation in the Premier League over the weekend.

The narrow venue at Selhurst Park made it difficult for Arsenal's offense to launch. Zaha and Aubameyang, who started the game, were lost in the crowded penalty area of ​​Crystal Palace and made no achievements.

When the game entered the second half, Zaha played feverishly in front of his old club, insisting on passing people from the left to attack the penalty area, which almost paralyzed Arsenal's offensive cooperation.

Chen Yao replaced Zaha and gave Bergkamp a one-on-one lesson, but the result could not be changed.

In the away game against Crystal Palace, Arsenal drew 0-0 with their opponents.

Manchester United defeated Stoke City at home and once again regained the top spot.

November 3rd, the tenth round of the Premier League.

Ferguson's Manchester United easily defeated Fulham, winning eight and drawing two, ranking first with 26 points.

The next day, Arsenal were defeated by Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.

The game was not as one-sided as the final score of 2-0, at least that's what Chen Yao felt.

Brendan Rodgers did bring a lot of changes to Liverpool, but Arsenal's pressure and transition did not give Rodgers' team many chances.

However, the balance of the game was broken in the 45th minute. Gerrard's seemingly unintentional long shot penetrated Arsenal's goal before half-time.

Szczesny was distracted and his reaction was a little slow, but even Arsenal fans admitted that Gerrard's world wave was of impeccable quality, whether it was blinded or not.

In the second half, Arsenal had several good chances, but Olivier Giroud's shooting speed meant that the chances that were close at hand were repeatedly saved by Liverpool.

In the 84th minute, the 19-year-old Raheem Sterling, whom Rogers replaced at will, quickly and powerfully blasted Arsenal's tired wings. Although his shot in front of the goal was directly kicked, Luis Suarez The supplementary shot scored the second goal.

Arsenal's unbeaten streak was broken. Their record became seven wins, two draws and one loss, and the gap with Manchester United was back to two points.

In the upcoming eleventh round of the league, Arsenal and Manchester United will face off at the Emirates Stadium.

(End of this chapter)