Chapter 196 Champions League Semi-Final, Inter Milan VS Arsenal
Like Barcelona, Inter Milan also chose to arrive in London early to prepare for the upcoming Champions League semi-final.
Arsenal is not the only team in North London, there is also a team called Tottenham.
Although Tottenham is not a wealthy club, it is also a strong team in the Premier League, especially this season. Tottenham has been among the top four in the Premier League for a long time, suppressing its city rivals Arsenal.
If they can maintain this performance, then at the end of the season, Tottenham will have a good chance of getting a place in next season's Champions League.
Therefore, Tottenham was quite polite to Inter Milan, which came to challenge Arsenal, and provided very thoughtful hospitality in all aspects. They hoped that Inter Milan would kill Arsenal. Even if they couldn't kill them, they would at least make Arsenal suffer a lot, so that they could continue to suppress the Gunners in the league.
Tottenham were so polite that everyone in Inter Milan felt a little embarrassed.
If we really lose this game, it would be a shame for Tottenham's hospitality.
……
When Inter Milan arrived in London, Arsenal immediately set their sights on them.
Wenger attaches great importance to this opponent and has specially sent people to keep an eye on Inter Milan's every move.
If Inter Milan conducts open training, their training tape will be delivered to Wenger's desk that evening.
Although in terms of strength on paper, this Arsenal is still much stronger than Inter Milan.
But this Arsenal is much weaker than the Gunners' peak two seasons ago.
Vieira's departure has significantly weakened Arsenal's overall strength.
The Ice Prince Bergkamp is getting older and older and is no longer as brave as he used to be.
In addition, Arsenal began to borrow money to build a new stadium, and investment in transfers began to become tight, making it difficult for Arsenal to invest large sums of money to strengthen the team's lineup at this time.
Therefore, Wenger could only introduce a large number of young players from his native France, and try to find some young players of good quality and low price through lottery.
The impact of this is that Arsenal's squad is very young.
Take this season's Arsenal defense as an example, 23-year-old Eboue, 25-year-old Kolo Toure and Ashley Cole...
Except for Campbell, the other three main players are all born in the 80s.
On the other hand, all the members of Inter Milan's defense were born in the 70s.
In midfield, Arsenal's lineup is also quite young. Fabregas and Alexandre Song are both under 19 years old, Flamini is only 22 years old, Larsson is 21 years old, and Diaby has just turned 20 years old.
The average age of the two teams, Arsenal is three and a half years younger than Inter Milan. This is when Lin Feng has significantly lowered the average age of Inter Milan. If Lin Feng is removed, the age gap between the two sides will only be bigger.
Young players are young, energetic, and highly adaptable, and are willing to listen to the head coach.
But the shortcomings are also obvious, that is, lack of experience, easy to get impatient, and unstable mentality and emotions.
The reason why other giants do not use young players on a large scale like Arsenal is because their shortcomings are too obvious and can easily cause the team's performance to fluctuate.
The reason why Wenger is so bold in using young players is because he is short of money and has no other choice!
As long as he has money, he is willing to buy, buy and buy. Wenger spent tens of millions of euros to buy Sanchez and XX.
During those seasons, Arsenal had just paid off the debt owed for building the stadium and finally had some money in their hands.
Wenger is very clear about the team's situation, especially at a time when the core players of the team, Henry and Pires, have both thought about leaving the team. He knows very well that this is Arsenal's only chance to win the Champions League in recent years or even in the past decade.
Therefore, he paid special attention to the pre-match preparation stage, carefully studying every confidence of his opponent, not wanting to miss any details, striving to find all the advantages and disadvantages of his opponent, and thinking of ways to deal with them.
Wenger certainly hopes that the team can eliminate the opponent 2-0 in the first leg like they did in the last round against Juventus, but Inter Milan is not Juventus after all.
I heard that Juventus' poor record is due to the impact of the phone-gate scandal, but Inter Milan does not seem to have any worries in this regard, so in order to defeat the opponent, they must use hard power to defeat the opponent.
Arsenal has confirmed that it will move to its new stadium, the Emirates Stadium, in July this year. Wenger really hopes to take a Champions League trophy to the new stadium.
And nothing could be more suitable than a victory to serve as a farewell ceremony for Highbury, the old stadium that has been Arsenal's home for 93 years.
At the pre-match press conference, Wenger expressed confidence that Arsenal would win the game:
"This is not disrespect to the opponent, but this victory is very important to us. This is the last Champions League game held at Highbury and the first Champions League semi-final in Arsenal's history. We hope to leave a good memory for all Gunners fans here tonight!"
Reporters from English newspapers of all sizes who were at the scene gave warm applause upon hearing the words, and some reporters even translated Wenger's words into Italian for Mancini.
Mancini glared at the reporter: I have played in the Premier League after all, is it necessary for you to translate for me?
Wenger is not speaking French, so why can't I understand him?
In his view, this was clearly a provocation by the British journalists.
So he said bluntly:
"We are here not to be a stepping stone for others, but to win and become champions!"
Several Italian reporters who came to the scene asked quickly: "Mr. Mancini, are you and your team confident that you can win an away game?"
Mancini nodded affirmatively: "Of course, because we have a secret weapon!"
Wenger was quite intimidated by the 'secret weapon' Mancini mentioned at the press conference.
He didn't know what kind of "surprise" Mancini had prepared for him, but he didn't like waiting passively like this. He preferred to take the initiative into his own hands.
So, Wenger stayed up late to study and review the videotapes of all Inter Milan's games in the past season, and finally concluded:
Inter Milan’s trump card could only be their No. 8, Lin Feng!
After figuring out the culprit, Wenger breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time, I felt a little indignant:
Why do people outside say that I like to exploit young players?
Isn't this guy Mancini more outrageous than me?
Lin Feng is not even 18 years old yet, but he has been exploited by Mancini. He plays in almost every game and he has never had a rest!
What a waste of resources!
Such a good seedling, it would be great if he could come to our Arsenal!
…Although Mancini also expressed confidence in winning, British reporters unanimously believed that he was bluffing.
Before the game, English newspapers of all sizes were very optimistic and believed that Inter Milan was no match for Arsenal, especially after they had just suffered a fierce Milan derby and it was even more impossible for them to win away from home.
So many Arsenal fans shouted "March to Paris"!
This season's Champions League final will be held at the Stade de France in Paris. Whichever team can defeat its opponent in the four semi-finals will get a ticket to Paris.
Considering that Arsenal has a large number of French players, this game held at home is obviously more realistic for them.
On April 4, AC Milan's home game against Barcelona was the first to kick off.
Because of the huge consumption in the Milan derby, AC Milan not only failed to beat the opponent at home, but was also defeated by Barcelona and eventually lost the game with a score of 0:1.
This is the first time that AC Milan has lost in the Champions League semi-finals. They have reached the semi-finals many times before, but have never lost in the semi-finals.
This is a very terrifying record, which means that as long as AC Milan reaches the semi-finals, it will definitely enter the final.
But this time, their good luck ended.
Although there was still one round left for them to change their fate, after the game, no one outside was optimistic that AC Milan could make it to the final.
The entire Inter Milan team watched the live broadcast of the game together under the arrangement of the coaching staff.
This match is worthy of being the focus of the Champions League. The technical and tactical levels of both sides are very high and the game is exceptionally exciting.
In the first half, AC Milan, playing at home, had a slight advantage. Shevchenko and Kaka even had two very threatening shots, testing Barcelona's goal.
Gilardino's powerful shot in the 14th minute hit the outside of the goal post directly, but unfortunately his luck was a little off and the ball bounced out.
In the second half, both teams stepped up their attacks, but AC Milan gradually lost some of their energy after the intense game.
Barcelona, keenly aware of the opponent's changes, quickly launched an attack. Last year's Golden Ball winner Ronaldinho made a precise over-the-top pass in the 57th minute, and Giuly made a high-speed run and shot with his left foot, giving Barcelona a 1-0 lead.
After that, both sides attacked and defended each other, but AC Milan did not find any chance to score. As their physical strength gradually declined, they became more and more passive on the field. In the final moments of the game, Barcelona almost expanded their lead.
AC Milan should be thankful that the score of 0:1 was maintained until the end of the game, as they almost lost all suspense of the game to their opponents at home.
It is precisely because of this that the outside world is not optimistic about AC Milan's ability to advance.
After the game, many people reviewed and agreed that it was the Milan derby that harmed AC Milan and made them lose the first leg.
If that’s the case, can the other party in the Milan derby, Inter Milan, escape the curse?
A day later, at Highbury Stadium, Inter Milan, like their city rivals, was in a huge crisis!
"GOAL!!!!"
"Goal from the King of Highbury, Thierry Henry!"
"He is like a god descending from heaven, unstoppable. Inter Milan's defense is as fragile as a piece of paper in front of him!"
"Henry is worthy of the title of King of Highbury. This is truly his paradise!"
"Is Arsenal heading to Paris to join Barcelona? There are rumors that Henry is about to move to Barcelona. Will this be a battle for him to prove his strength to his future club?"
April 4, Champions League semi-final first leg, Highbury Stadium.
Wenger, who is usually gentle and polite, had an extremely ferocious expression on his face at the moment he scored the goal. He clenched his fists excitedly and shook his arms violently.
He was so excited, Henry's goal was worth a fortune!
There has never been a nameless game in the finals since ancient times, and the same is true for the semi-finals.
Because the pressure on both sides is too great, they tend to be conservative in their tactical choices.
In this kind of high-level game, it is already very difficult for both sides to score goals, and it becomes even more difficult with the conservative tactics.
Those who can make it to the semi-finals of the Champions League are not weaklings, and it is impossible for them to score many goals easily like in the group stage.
Therefore, this goal may help them reach Paris!
The Gunners' lead made Arsenal fans excited, but it made Inter Milan and Lin Feng fans feel like they were in an ice cellar.
"Alas, the price paid for the previous Milan derby was too high. It looks like Inter Milan will follow in AC Milan's footsteps!"
"Yes, a bloodbath caused by the Milan derby. If the two teams had not chosen to fight to the death in the Milan derby, they might not be in such a passive situation now!"
"It's too late to say anything now. Inter still has a chance. I hope they can give it some effort in the second half and at least score a goal. Losing is not scary, but if they don't score an away goal, that would be scary!"
"Yes, losing 1:2 is at least better than 0:1, but we are worried that they won't be able to score. Arsenal's tactical intention today is very clear, which is to limit Lin Feng's performance!"
"It seems that Wenger has really studied Inter Milan's games. He specially arranged Gilberto, a defensive midfielder, to closely guard Lin Feng, while the other three midfielders are also keeping an eye on Lin Feng's every move and are ready to join in the strangulation at any time. In this situation, Lin Feng has no room to move at all."
"Mancini has to find a way to solve this problem, otherwise Inter Milan's attack in the second half will not be able to start!"
Gilberto is called the invisible wall by fans because he is very low-key and is always the least noticeable one on the court.
But his defensive ability is outstanding. He is neat and tidy in defense and decisive and fierce in tackles. Moreover, his intercepting, pressing, fighting and running abilities are all very good. Anyone who meets him will not be able to get rid of him easily.
It was like hitting a high wall, impossible to get over.
If it was only Gilberto, Lin Feng would not be afraid. He had been targeted many times in Serie A and the Champions League.
But Wenger was too shameless. In addition to arranging Gilberto to restrict him, he also arranged Flamini to ambush him.
These two can be said to be the two best defensive players in Arsenal's midfield. Usually only one of them can be on the field, but in this game, Wenger sent them all on the field with the purpose of restricting Lin Feng.
Wenger knew very well that if Lin Feng was restricted, Inter Milan's attack would be silenced.
But even if we exchange two midfielders, with Fabregas, Pires, Ljungberg and Henry, there will be no problem of lack of firepower.
And his bet was right. In the 41st minute of the first half, Henry scored the goal that changed the score with the assist from Pires!
Henry's goal has pushed Inter Milan to the edge of the cliff!
(End of this chapter)
