Super Marshal

Although the two quarreled a few words in front of the media reporters, before leaving, Wenger still accepted Gao Han's invitation and drank a bottle of wine in the meeting room at Stamford Bridge.

But in the end, Wenger still spoke harshly about the upcoming League Cup final.

For Arsenal, the League Cup is like a fig leaf, and they must fight to the end no matter what.

However, for Arsenal, it is not easy to win the League Cup final, because after playing against Chelsea in the league, they will go to Spain to challenge Real Sociedad away, which is the Champions League round of sixteen knockout match.

This season's UEFA Champions League is different from the previous ones. The schedule has been changed. The previous second stage of the group stage has been cancelled. The pressure and burden on players and teams.

Compared with the back and forth with Arsenal, Chelsea's schedule is more favorable.

The blue team will also usher in the new year's UEFA Cup match in the middle of the week. The opponent is Sofia Levski of Bulgaria, but the first round of the match is at home, and the opponent is weaker. Gao Han has basically decided to use the substitute The lineup played.

In other words, Chelsea will recharge their batteries and wait for Arsenal.

Under the ebb and flow, Wenger also seemed a little lacking in confidence in this final.

In fact, Arsenal's back and forth has indeed affected the team's state. Coupled with the away game, the game against Real Sociedad is indeed not ideal.

First, shortly after the opening, Edu scored the first goal, but soon, Real Sociedad equalized the score.

But after the second half, Edu scored another goal, but Real Sociedad equalized a few minutes later.

The two sides came and went, and the fight was very fierce. Arsenal was entangled by Royal Sociedad and it was difficult to get out.

It was not until the 80th minute of the game that the Gunners scored from Pires, and finally beat Real Sociedad 3-2.

From the game process, it is not difficult to see how tragic the whole game was.

On the contrary, Chelsea, although the game was not easy, finally defeated the opponent 2-0. Lampard and Good Johnson each scored a goal, and both scored in the second half.

But Chelsea's main force has been adjusting step by step, waiting for work and waiting for Arsenal.

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"There really aren't many challenges in the Premier League this season!"

In the living room of the mansion on Kensington Garden Street, Gao Han sighed softly.

Lin Xia, who had just flown from Madrid to London and was picked up by Gao Han from the airport, sat next to him, hugging his right hand with both hands, and giggled after hearing his emotion, "Why?"

At this moment, what Gao Han is holding in his hand is the material that Sergio Garcia sorted out after watching the UEFA Champions League match between Real Sociedad and Arsenal in Spain the day before yesterday. It records all the details of the game in great detail. .

Gao Han shook the material in his hand, "Look at Arsenal, the bench thickness is not strong, but Wenger has used the entire lineup to death. From January to now, he has hardly adjusted the team's lineup. Can the team take it?"

"But they seem to have only lost two league games this season."

Gao Han chuckled, "That's right, they all lost to me."

Lin Xia suddenly realized that this guy was proud of himself in front of him.

So, she immediately reached out her hand secretly, and pinched his waist gently, but this annoying guy let out a scream like killing a pig.

Fortunately, there were only the two of them in this house, and Gao Han didn't even invite a servant, otherwise, I'm afraid there would be a misunderstanding.

After the two fought for a while, Gao Han also recovered his seriousness and put away the materials.

"The competition in the Premier League is not very fierce. It has always been a duo between Manchester United and Arsenal. Big loss, but Arsenal, the main lineup is running in place, and the strength is stronger."

"But as I said just now, the problem with the Gunners is that the bench is not thick enough. Therefore, knowing that Henry and Campbell are injured, he can only continue to start with them, because Wenger has no one to replace."

Although Sol Campbell is not young, his role in Arsenal is indeed irreplaceable.

In order to get him, the Gunners even quarreled with North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, but the facts proved that the price Arsenal paid was worth it, and Campbell quickly became the core of the Gunners' defense.

When the veterans are old and the young players can't stand up in a short time, Wenger is still very stingy and refuses to introduce stronger central defenders in the transfer market.

Of course, this has a lot to do with the lack of capable central defenders in today's football.

Almost any well-known central defender can fetch a high price. With Wenger's stinginess, how could he be willing to pay such a sum?

Therefore, all he trusts are players like Kolo Toure, or teenagers like Senderos.

This is true not only in the back line, but also in other positions.

Wiltord is injured, Kanu is not performing well, Henry and Bergkamp have become the pillars of Arsenal's striker.

Oh, by the way, during the winter break, Wenger splurged and introduced Reyes from Sevilla, which performed well.

This player Gao Han almost got Atletico Madrid at the beginning, but unfortunately, he has become an opponent now.

From the perspective of overall strength, Arsenal has not improved significantly compared to previous seasons, but because Manchester United's strength has declined, the Gunners stand out and become Chelsea's number one competitor.

As for Liverpool, Newcastle and other teams, they are just here to get familiar. From the beginning to the end, it is difficult for them to attack the league championship, because their strength has not reached that level at all.

For Liverpool, Husky's scoring ability on the front line is poor. Although the tactical effect is obvious, it is impossible to rely on Owen alone.

And the midfield, the biggest problem for the Red Army is in the midfield.

As the saying goes, the midfielder wins the world. If Liverpool want to rise, they must not only increase their signings, but also reorganize the team's skills and tactics. From this point of view, as long as Houllier is still there, the Red Army will hardly have hope .

As for Newcastle and his ilk, that's even more out of the question.

Thinking of this, Gao Han couldn't help feeling full of pride in his heart, and his whole body became full of vigor.

"Look, not only this season's league title, but also next season's will be decided, and I will also launch an impact on the Champions League. I will not give Manchester United and Arsenal any chance!"

Compared to opponents with many problems, Chelsea's situation is the best.

Especially with the deepening of the league, the team's skills and tactics have taken shape, the players have become more and more tacit, the overall competitiveness has become stronger and stronger, and Gao Han's confidence has also risen with the tide.

He even had a premonition that Chelsea might be able to make a difference in the Champions League next season.

Lin Xia has been watching Gao Han from the sidelines, feeling his strong self-confidence, and couldn't help but be moved.

In fact, a confident man is also very charming.

The two were next to each other, Lin Xia hugged her hands tightly, Gao Han immediately noticed, and with a thought, he laughed.

Lin Xia didn't know what he was thinking, her pink face flushed, she gave him a shy look, and quickly ran away.

Gao Han laughed like a big bad wolf from behind, and chased after Little Red Riding Hood.

"Help!"

"Little girl, don't run away, it's just the two of us here, no one can save you!"

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Northwest London, Kearney training base.

The League Cup final is just around the corner, and Wenger finally got a piece of good news.

Left back Ashley Cole is back!

"Judging from the training effect, it should be no problem to play in the League Cup final." Pat Rice said.

Among the many head coaches in the Premier League, Wenger also pays more attention to data analysis, so after each training session, he will ask the coaching staff to provide a player analysis report, especially for injured players.

"What did the team doctor say?" Wenger beamed with joy.

"They also felt that Ashley Cole could play."

"Great!" Wenger finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In the few games that Ashley Cole has been absent, the left-back has always been the teenager Chrissy, but the performance of this French compatriot is ups and downs, which is really not reassuring.

Of course, this has a lot to do with his young age.

Now, with Ashley Cole back, Arsenal's left can finally stabilize.

As the season progressed, the Gunners' center-back combination was gradually determined. Although Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure both had problems, the combination of the two is the best center-back configuration for Arsenal at the moment.

It's just that Wenger is a little worried, can they guard Ibrahimovic?

For the coach's worries, Pat Rice also empathizes.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is indeed quite a weird central defender, tall and strong, a typical Nordic center forward, but the strange thing is that he has the skills at his feet that are not lost to any professional players, which is very difficult to deal with up.

Just like Campbell, if you fight against him physically, you don't have much advantage, and you don't even think about grabbing the ball.

It was even worse for Kolo Touré. When his body leaned against him, let alone stealing the ball, it was hard to say whether he could hold it or not.

For such a center forward, not to mention Arsenal, even the entire Premier League, who doesn't have a headache?

"Gao Han's vision is really poisonous." Wenger had to sigh, "He said before the season that Ibrahimovic would become the nightmare of all the central defenders in the Premier League. The result is not bad at all."

Throughout this season, so far, no one can completely imprison Ibrahimovic.

But that's not the scariest thing about Chelsea.

With Ibrahimovic suppressing the central defender, Ronaldinho has a very good ability to hold and dribble the ball on the left, and the final pass is also quite sharp, which makes it difficult for opponents to defend.

But Eto'o on the right side is extremely fast, and he has excellent offensive ability. After the sudden start, almost no defender can keep up with him, which makes Chelsea's trident show amazing power in the game .

This is no longer a question of knowing how to defend, but even if you know how to defend, you may not be able to defend!

Not to mention that even if the Trident is defended, Deco and Veron will attack from behind.

It can be said that the entire offensive system of Chelsea was built by Gao Han to be closely linked, layered upon layer, making it hard to defend against.

"This is only his first season in charge of the Premier League!" Wenger said worriedly.

He is not only worried about the upcoming League Cup, but also worried about the future.

If you really want to continue to be oppressed by him like this, let alone Arsenal, even Manchester United, don't count on it.

But sometimes, some things still have to be decisive.

"Pat, this afternoon we will focus on rehearsing the three-pivot style of play."

A trace of helplessness flashed in Wenger's eyes, "League Cup final, we will stick to it!"