knife guard

Chapter 868
(first update)
This is the hometown of Sherlock Holmes and James Bond. This is the capital with the largest population in Europe. This is the center of British football. There are 13 professional football clubs here. This is London!

November 3rd afternoon.

Star-studded Barcelona came to this thousand-year-old city under the leadership of 39-year-old marshal Pep Guardiola. The most important football city in the UK opened the prelude to the two offensive football duels.

After the Catalan stepped out of the cabin and set foot on this familiar land, he immediately felt the familiar boos coming to his face. Among the fans who came to pick up the plane, except for the Barcelona fans who arrived in advance, the fans from all over the world Reporters, as well as Gunners fans who came to put pressure on them.

Frantic Londoners want to boo to tell the Catalans whose territory this is.

The arrogant Barcelona stars have visited London many times, and they are not surprised by this kind of scene. They smiled and waved to the Barcelona fans, answered reporters' questions casually, and turned a blind eye to the boos and middle fingers of the gun fans.

After staying at the airport for more than ten minutes, all the players, coaches and staff of Barcelona got in the car and left quickly, rushing to the hotel where they stayed.

At the same time, thousands of Barcelona fans are still flocking to London in various ways, many of them are provocative fans on the forum. When the battle between Barcelona and Arsenal is about to start, the duel between fans is also Instantly.

There are still 28 hours before the game. During this time, all kinds of media comments and the voices of players and coaches from both sides are the best food to fill the void in the fans' brains.

"The Sun" analyzed in detail the difference between Arsenal and Barcelona's two possession-based styles of play.Think Arsenal are more direct and forward passing, more passionate and direct.Barcelona has more crosses and inversions in the midfield, and their desire to control the game is stronger.

"Daily Sports Daily" discusses Barcelona and Arsenal from the perspectives of history, culture and nationality, and believes that the reason why the two art stream representative teams present characteristics that are quite different from their own football is mainly because Arsenal is a French football and Arsenal. The product of the combination of English football, while Barcelona is a hybrid of Dutch football and Spanish football.

The more rigorous "Times" uses data to verify the outcome of the two teams from the historical record, current state, and the situation in the league and cup competitions.Historical record, the two teams have played three games, and Arsenal has lost no wins.Both teams are now the leaders of their respective leagues, and they are sure to win the championship.In the cup, Barcelona and Arsenal are fighting on two fronts.In terms of the number of goals scored by both sides and the number of wins, Arsenal has the upper hand.

The "Daily Mail" elaborated on the characteristics of the two offensive football teams from the composition of the players, and focused on the irreplaceable role of Chinese defender Li Huan and Argentine Messi in their respective teams.

Barcelona's mouthpiece "World Sports Daily" even compared the 11 main players of the two teams in an all-round way to predict the possibility of both sides winning.

First the goalkeeper comparison:
Valdés has quick reflexes and is excellent at single-handed shots, but sometimes his brain short-circuits.

Almunia is balanced in all aspects, but it has no characteristics.

It can be said that it is half a catty, and Valdez, who is experienced in the competition, is a little stronger!
Because the team plays offensive football, there is no need for a great goalkeeper. Now that two attacking teams meet, the performance of the goalkeeper will become very important.

2nd, left: Messi is attacking the left-back Krishna Road, and Krishna, who is confused in defense, is likely to be blown up, but because Arsenal also has the extremely fast Walcott in this road , Alves, who likes assists, has not yet reached Maicon's level of defense. He has the same style as Clichy, and he is likely to be caught by Walcott in the space behind him.

On the left, Messi and Alves have a big advantage

No. 3, on the right. Not surprisingly, Henry is facing Li Huan, and Nasri is facing Abidal.

The contest between the Gunners' new and old kings is destined to attract the attention of fans the most. Compared with Henry, who is going downhill, the World Footballer has a great advantage in terms of technology, speed, and reaction.

Abidal's offense is not strong, but his defensive ability is trustworthy. In addition, he is facing his teammate Nasri of the national team. He is so familiar with him, so his defensive success should not be a big problem.

The tie between Abidal and Nasri is the key to the duel between Li Huan and Henry.

Arsenal have the upper hand this way.

Fourth, the comparison between central defenders and forwards:
The combination of Campbell and Will Mullen against Ibrahimovic, Campbell's experience and Vermaelen's reaction may make the advantage under Ibrahimovic's feet disappear, while the combination of Puyol and Pique must be easy to challenge Bendtner, even two A central defender also has the opportunity to assist in turn.

Comparing these two positions against each other, Barcelona has a clear advantage
Fifth, midfield matchup: Harvey and Xiaobai have been a dual-core combination for many years, one can pass, the other can pass and attack, plus Toure, the bodyguard, Fabregas brought Song and Diaby two relatively rough helpers It is difficult to compete against the two fellow villagers.

In the midfield contest, Arsenal were also at a disadvantage.

"World Sports News" believes that the possession of the midfielder and the efficiency of the striker will determine the outcome of the game. In the comparison of the above five positions, Barcelona has an absolute advantage. Only Arsenal, where Li Huan is on the right, has the upper hand. According to the comparison of the strengths of the two sides, Barcelona will win this contest between offensive football.

However, the British media believes that although there is a certain gap in the strength of the players of the two sides, the two teams started with teamwork. Whoever cooperates more tacitly between the two teams will be able to gain the upper hand. It is a mistake to fix the position of right back. Li Huan's role is actually equivalent to a striker and a defender. At the same time, the power of Li Huan's free kick also exerts a great influence on the contest between the two sides in the midfield.

In addition to the noisy media and fans, Arsenal and the visiting team Barcelona did not make too many voices, but this silence is the calm before the rain, the darkness before the dawn.

On the afternoon of March 3, less than five hours before the game, in the conference hall of the Emirates Stadium, the coaches of Arsenal and Barcelona attended the pre-match press conference hosted by UEFA.

Journalists from all over the world have already got the news. There are still 10 minutes before the press conference starts. From Côte d’Ivoire in Africa to China in Asia, more than 400 journalists have already packed the spacious conference hall. Everyone is waiting for the arrival of the two head coaches.

The first to arrive was Barcelona's coach Pep Guardiola. The 39-year-old marshal wore a dark suit, deep blue eyes, and a very sexy beard. He looked very stylish.

Guardiola didn't speak, and sat down on the rostrum seriously, waiting for the professor's arrival.

About 3 minutes later, Professor Wenger arrived. The professor, who has always attached great importance to his external image, also wore a suit and leather shoes today. A red tie made the old man look much younger.

At this time, the spotlight flashed non-stop, the recording pen and the microphone were ready, and the last press conference before the competition would be broadcast to every corner of the world from the Internet and TV media at the same time.

The first to speak was Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger. The professor welcomed the return of former captain Henry and sent a signal to Arsenal fans all over the world that they would avenge Barcelona.

"We're all happy Henry is back in London and I think he'll get the applause he deserves. But once the whistle blows, we're enemies and we won't show any mercy and we'll do everything we can to beat him and him. his team."

"We met in the final in 2006, but unfortunately we got into trouble too early when Lehmann's red card led to Arsenal playing with 10 men. Now times have passed, both teams have improved a lot and tomorrow night is a big one for us. Good chance for revenge. I hope the players don't get into their game and play their own style. As long as the lads play well, we can beat any team in the world."

The professor also talked about the comparison between Li Huan and Messi, which has been hotly discussed recently, "They are two different types of players, and their positions are completely different. If there is a comparison, Li Huan is stronger and more decisive than Messi. . His help to the team is all-round."

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said that away goals are very important, and both sides have opportunities. "We will attack in an orderly manner, but at the same time we must defend every ball. They like to have the ball, just like us. Arsenal have a group of energetic players, they pass a lot, you can imagine tonight. It will be a very good game if Arsenal are willing to play."

Guardiola also talked about Fabregas: "Fabregas is a very capable player. Not only is he stable on the court, but as a midfielder, he is also very capable of scoring goals. But he is now Arsenal. Man from Arsenal, if one day Arsenal want to move him, I think we will think about it."

However, in order to cover up, Guardiola went on to talk about Li Huan, "Of course, if Arsenal want to transfer their World Footballer, we are also interested. Li Huan and Messi are world-class, they are two of the best in the world. Players, the future of world football will be a contest between them."

In the ensuing press questions, both coaches were vague about their starting XIs, with Guardiola saying it was more likely that Iniesta would not play than play, and there was no guarantee Henry would start. .Wenger said that his midfielder Cesc Fabregas may not be able to play because he has a bad cold.

Subsequently, the speeches of the two head coaches were spread to TV stations all over the world. Various media commented on the press conference that the two first had a contest at the press conference. The professor exerted pressure on the referee and used revenge to Encourage fans and players.Guardiola, on the other hand, forced Arsenal to take the initiative to attack with Fabregas and aggressive methods.And the Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, and Henry they said will definitely start playing.

(End of this chapter)