Chapter 19: Erickson's Good Show

Starting lineups for both sides.

Valencia (4-4-2):

Goalkeeper: Xilaisen.

Defenders: Daniel Voss, Garay, Diakhabi, Gaya.

Midfielder: Ferran Torres, Parejo, Cochran, Guedes.

Forwards: Gameiro, Rodrigo.

Arsenal (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Martinez.

Defenders: Bellerin, Jimenez, Hummels, Robertson.

Midfielder: Kante, Eriksen, Lucky.

Forwards: Aubameyang, Giroud, Mane.

This game also features Lucky's old teammate Kirkland.

Kirkland is a very good defensive midfielder, but he has no use at Arsenal.

On the one hand, Lucky and Kanter firmly occupy the main position, which makes many substitutes have little hope of being promoted to the main team.

The same was true for Cochrane. After suffering for a while at Arsenal, he transferred and left.

His performance in Valencia was very good, but he was also under a lot of pressure when facing Arsenal.

On the one hand, Arsenal today is already one of the top teams in Europe.

On the other hand, based on his understanding of his old teammates, he knew that even if Valencia played for a long time, their midfield would be difficult to compete with Arsenal.

This situation was also confirmed in the game.

"Valencia's defense retreated again and again. When they faced Arsenal's pressing in the midfield and front, their overall rhythm began to waver. The midfielder could not get the ball out, and many times they were even pressed fiercely. , it is difficult for them to move forward, and Eriksen is always able to distribute the ball just right when counterattacking, which puts Valencia's wings under great pressure."

As the commentator said, Valencia's defense on both wings was very reluctant.

Aubameyang and Mane are already troublesome enough.

Giroud and Eriksen, who retreated, helped relieve the pressure and provide support. In this case, their situation became even worse.

"Don't retreat anymore. If you retreat again, they will shoot!"

Valencia's central defender Garay shouted anxiously.

The pressure on both wings also increased the pressure on the center. Their continuous retreat gave Arsenal too much space to pass in the frontcourt.

They need more intense pressure.

"Go up! Press one!"

Garay directed his teammates forward, Cochran gritted his teeth, and he rushed towards Eriksen.

At the same time, he also paid attention to Lucky on Eriksson's side.

Sure enough, when being pressed, Eriksson's body was directed towards Lucky.

Is this a pass?

Corcoran cheered up, stepped forward, stretched out his foot, and wanted to intercept.

But at this moment, Eriksen actually pulled the ball back and easily passed Cochran.

"Kochran was out of position, and his defense was too aggressive, giving Eriksson a chance to dribble forward!"

shouted commentator Paul Mawson.

How could Eriksen miss this opportunity? He quickly moved forward and actively attracted the opponent's defense to him.

When the central defender started to get closer to him, he distributed the ball to his side.

Giroud made an emergency stop, and when the ball came to him, he shot in sheep's clothing, but the ball missed from under his crotch.

“Nice leak”

Paul Merson was about to call for a beautiful missed ball, but in the next second, Daniel Voss crossed the line between Giroud and Mane, and saw him facing the ball and destroying the ball towards the wing.

The solution was completed in an instant.

"Kicking is too complicated. Try to keep it simple. Just shoot when you need to!"

Lucky shouted from behind.

He was very dissatisfied with the playful mentality of his teammates.

Of course, we want to pursue more smooth and exciting coordination for every goal.

But scoring goals is all that matters now.

You can play if you want, but you must have enough advantages. When the time comes, you can play however you want.

Hearing Lucky's shout, Jirou also touched his nose in embarrassment.

After all, he could have shot the ball directly, but he felt that Mane was in a better position behind him, and he completely missed Daniel Voss and the position between the two.

Arsenal's throw-in.

Lucky took the initiative to catch the ball forward.

Although there were people behind Lucky, Robertson still threw the ball to Lucky based on his trust in Lucky, and he quickly retreated to the back to cover.

Lucky unloaded the ball with his thigh. As soon as the ball hit the ground, he felt someone pushing behind him.

Facing the opponent's pressing, with his back turned, Lucky crossed the ball to the right with his right foot, and then turned to the left.

Two consecutive crosses of the ball finally deceived the opponent's center of gravity to the left.

Lucky turned to the right. Although it was not in the offensive direction, it was very good to be able to protect the ball and take it out.

After completing the turn, Lucky passed the ball to Eriksen again and ran towards another open receiving point.

"Many of Kai's moves are very practical. They are not fancy tricks, but they are deceptive enough. Arsenal's offense continues."

Based on the strong control of the midfield, Arsenal's ball possession rate is higher than Valencia's.

And although Valencia is a La Liga team, it is not a stadium known for ball control and technology.

They are more like a Premier League team and like to use more intense methods such as defensive counterattacks and physical confrontation.

This is exactly what Arsenal is better at.

When their strengths were suppressed by Arsenal, Valencia became very passive.

Unlike Manchester City, Valencia's offensive ability is not that strong.

This also put Arsenal's defense in a very stable state, and the ball was not hurried.

Under good midfield organization, they maintained most of the ball possession and could steadily transition from the midfield.

This also gradually reduced Arsenal's pressure and began to control the game.

Mane and Aubameyang on the two wings have begun to gradually gain momentum.

Eriksen is an excellent attacking midfielder, especially with Luka and Kante escorting him from behind, his offensive ability has also been fully developed.

Constant passing and running can always create some gaps and use them to advance the attack.

However, the fatal attack was not launched from the wing, but from the middle.

Eriksen noticed that the two central defenders were very close to Giroud, which was a means of limiting Giroud.

But it also means that there is a large gap behind them.

When Eriksen was holding the ball, his eyes collided with Giroud's, and the two understood each other.

The next second, Giroud ran out of the penalty area.

The two central defenders followed immediately.

When Giroud ran to the penalty area line, Eriksen passed the ball to Giroud, and then quickly moved forward from the side.

Giroud met the ball, gently lifted it with his feet, and then stepped on the ball with his right foot and pulled it behind him.

The ball immediately passed through the middle of the two central defenders and came just in front of Eriksen's forward movement.

A very wonderful wall-to-wall cooperation, which allowed Eriksen to directly enter the penalty area and face the goal.

In a hurry, the two central defenders of Valencia immediately raised their hands to indicate offside, but the linesman's flag was close to his thigh, and there was no intention of raising the flag.

Damn it!

The two cursed in their hearts.

When they turned around, Eriksen had already adjusted in small steps and pushed the ball to the far point with his right foot.

The goalkeeper attacked quickly, but Eriksen's shot was a little high, which made it impossible for the goalkeeper to directly hit the ball or even touch it.

They could only watch the ball go into the net.

In the 21st minute, after a series of left and right entanglements, Arsenal scored a goal through Eriksen.

"Eriksen! A wonderful goal! This was completely directed by him. Giroud played the role of a passing wall. The final shot was also very calm, and the far corner was pushed cleanly. Although the Valencia goalkeeper had already made an attack and blocked, he was powerless in the face of this angle of shot."

"This goal also allowed Arsenal to convert the advantage on the field into an advantage in the score!"

After Paul Merson finished speaking, Dixon on the side shook his head and sighed; "This is Arsenal! They can play a quick counterattack, and they can also slow down the rhythm. After creating a gap, they use running to make threatening passes and finally score!"

"Their options in attack are too diverse, and this is also what every team facing Arsenal needs to worry about. They never know how Arsenal will blast their own goal!"