The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 52: Wenger almost signed Gaio
From the start of the game, players from both sides seemed particularly excited.

Pierce wanted the players to keep the tempo steady, let the French U21 attack, and he himself would seize the opportunity to make long passes.

However, the rhythm could not be maintained at all due to the leadership of France U21.

The offense and defense transitions between the two sides were very fast.

England U21 kept passing the ball from the flanks into the penalty area.

Let Crystal Palace striker Zaha compete for the header, and others look for opportunities to take the next shot.

France U21 has two high-quality central defenders, Mangala and Varane, and it is difficult for England U21 to score a goal with a header.

Attack and defense again and again.

Neither side made any progress.

After the initial excitement, the players' physical decline naturally slowed down their pace.

In the overall situation, England U21 has the advantage, but in terms of absolute opportunities, France U21 has the advantage.

The England youngsters took control of the midfield.

Although both sides used a 4-4-2 formation, Pierce sent out four midfielders and Montbael sent out four forwards.

Naturally, the tactical effects will ultimately be different.

Courtside.

Coaches from both teams were whispering with their assistants.

Monbael said, "Griezmann and Lacazette's movement was okay. They performed well, although they missed an absolute chance. But overall, Mangala and Varane were also good. Their defense was okay, but Mangala's physical fitness was strong, but his awareness was not good. Varane's physical fitness and awareness were good."

Pierce on the other side was saying something similar.

Wenger, who was on the sidelines, and his assistant coach "Uncle Rice" Patras stood on the platform to see more clearly.

Their focus is naturally on several Arsenal players.

But Wenger was somewhat dissatisfied, even lamenting, "Lansbury's spirit is almost worn away."

Having worked with Wenger for so many years, Patris naturally understood the meaning of this. Although Wenger had said at the beginning that Lansbury would become a superstar, after several years of training, he proved that he was not up to the task.

He was loaned to West Ham United this season and had very few opportunities to play.

Patris said, "Nottingham Forest is making an inquiry."

Wenger replied directly: "Agree if it's over one million euros."

"it is good."

In just such a friendly match, Wenger decided Lansbury's future.

Oh!
Suddenly, cheers from the players were heard on the field.

England U21 scored!
France U21 made a mistake in the attacking pass and was counterattacked.

Sterling, the young striker who plays for Liverpool, received a pass from his club teammate Henderson and used his speed to shake off Kolcha, the right-back of France U21 and the captain on the field.

Then cut inside and scored!

In the 38th minute, England U21 took the lead.

Applause from the England players rang out on the field.

Wenger saw the cooperation between Henderson and Sterling and couldn't help but say, "It's a pity that they were both bought by Liverpool."

The morale of the French U21 players was hit.

In the next few minutes, although some counterattack opportunities were organized, the effects were minimal.

Instead, Sterling almost counterattacked with his speed.

Gaio on the bench kept staring at the situation on the field. Sterling is indeed fast, but he is not that happy at the moment.

"Geo, go warm up."

Just as Gaio was staring at the game in a trance, the assistant coach came to call him.

"it is good!"

Gaio immediately put on his substitute vest and went to the sidelines to warm up.

He was joined by several other teammates.

In this kind of friendly match, there were no substitutions, just random substitutions. England also had their players start warming up.

After all, the second half is about to begin.

Wenger and Patel looked at the players who were about to take the field, some of whom they knew and some of whom they didn't.

And Gaio caught the attention of Patras.

"That kid, I remember we almost signed him three years ago, but we didn't expect him to make it to the French U21 team."

"Who?" Wenger was a little curious.

"That tall, skinny white kid." Patras pointed at Gaio. "Gaio, some French media outlets have been reporting on him lately, and his popularity is skyrocketing."

Wenger's mind instantly flashed with relevant memories. Although he had met countless players and even signed and wanted to sign many players, he had a good memory.

"That kid from Lille's youth academy has great dribbling ability. Yes, we almost signed him, but unfortunately he went to Chelsea and we never heard from him again."

Wenger lamented the disappearance of a genius.

But now, this disappeared genius appeared before him again.

Combined with some reports from French domestic media.

Wenger suddenly became interested.

"Geo, you'll replace Brahimi as right winger later. Cooperate more with Griezmann and use your dribbling ability to attract more players. If you can break through and have an opportunity, you can shoot if you want, but for the sake of safety, you can pass the ball to Lacazette, Griezmann and others."

Before the start of the second half, Montbael planned to let Gaio come on the field and emphasized to him again how to play later.

"it is good."

"Go, come on."

Before coming on the field, Gaio tapped his toes on the sidelines and then entered. On such an ordinary afternoon, he started his national team U21 debut.

Gaio does not have the same tactical leanings as Bastia in the national team.

Even from what Montbael had just said, Gaio was aware of the hidden meaning behind the other party's words. He just wanted to use his breakthrough to restrain the opponent, not to make him the one who finished the game. He wanted him to pass the ball more.

For three minutes, Gaio didn't touch the ball.

But when he touched the ball for the first time, he immediately attracted the admiration of the players on the scene.

Gaio received a pass from Coquelin in the middle, and facing Henderson's rush to tackle him, Gaio did a fried meatball and got rid of Henderson on the spot.

After taking two steps forward, he passed the ball to Griezmann.

"it is good!"

Wenger couldn't help but applaud Gaio's escape this time. He could see at a glance that Gaio's sense of the ball was really good. He didn't feel unfamiliar with the ball for the first time and his movements were very smooth.

France U21's attack is not over yet.

Griezmann dribbled the ball forward from the middle and Gaio immediately moved forward.

Griezmann's advance was blocked. He looked at the situation in front of him, hesitated, and passed the ball to Gaio who had more space.

Gaio held the ball, Danny Rose came up to press, and Chamberlain also followed up to defend behind him.

His top-notch ball sense talent was undoubtedly demonstrated at this moment.

Gaio made a sudden stop to avoid Chamberlain's pressure from behind, lowered his shoulders and changed direction, pretending to push straight to the right side.

Danny Rose followed immediately.

Chamberlain hesitated for a moment and did not move immediately. There was a gap between the two of them. Gaio turned his feet, dribbled the ball to the left, and passed through the gap between the two.

Get rid of the two people and complete the cut inside!
Wow!

This escape completely shocked the players and coaches on the sidelines.

It's so rare to see such a pass in the U21 team!

Wenger put all his attention on Gaio. It is not enough to just pass him, but also depends on how he handles the game next.

What happens after passing the test is what separates geniuses.

however,
The next scene immediately rekindled Wenger's desire to sign Gaio again.

(End of this chapter)