They know that the club does not attach too much importance to this competition, but this is the best way for them to show themselves and maintain their condition. After all, the main players are not ironclad, and there will still be a certain degree of rotation. They are in good condition and perform well.
There is a chance to come on as a substitute.
So Southampton's opponent in this round, Oyewell, who was already at the bottom of the English Championship, was in bad luck.
This team has had a hard time playing in the English Championship this season. They are now at the bottom of the standings and relegation is almost a foregone conclusion. Under such circumstances, of course they have no intention of playing more in the FA Cup. Although this game
The game is away from home, and they can get a lot of box office revenue. However, Southampton's stadium is not as big as a top club, and the stadium revenue is not that high, so even the financial stimulation is not exciting enough for them.
So in the end, Southampton won without a fight. The substitutes performed well. Vardy and Klose both scored twice, and with Drinkwater's goal, they swept their opponents with a score of 5-0 and advanced to the next level.
Fifth round of the General Cup.
"The substitutes performed very well. As the main players, don't you have any ideas?" Ji Ya said, looking at all the players.
"Kill Arsenal!"
The main players waved their fists one after another.
Their opponent in the twenty-third round is Arsenal.
After Arsenal lost to Manchester City and drew with Chelsea, they have maintained a six-game winning streak, which allowed them to score 51 points in the 22nd round. This is the first time Arsenal has scored at the same stage in the entire Premier League.
The second highest number of points is second only to the 52 points they scored in the season when they won the championship undefeated. Under such circumstances, they are certainly worthy of pride.
However, Noriya believes that their strength is not that strong, but that Arsenal this season has safely obtained the points they can get.
In fact, their performance against strong teams was not outstanding. Especially in the game where they were beaten 6-3 by Manchester City, they did not have the style of a strong team at all.
Their overall strength is still somewhat poor.
"Arsenal's offense is good, but the defense is actually a bit weak. There are many things we can take advantage of. For example, their two midfielders are not very strong defensively... These are all things we can take advantage of. I understand.
Is this? This game is our home court. Our winning rate against strong teams this season is actually not high. We have defeated Liverpool and Manchester City before, and the other games were draws... Under such circumstances, we must perform well.
It only takes one moment to defeat Arsenal and we will move towards defending the championship!"
Encouraged by Noriya, the Southampton players waved their fists and rushed out of the locker room. What greeted them was the crazy shouts of more than 30,000 Southampton fans!
Southampton's performance this season has been somewhat ups and downs, but they are still in the running for the championship, which makes Southampton fans quite satisfied, not to mention that they have also reached the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Southampton fans actually don't care too much about how long they can advance in the knockout stages. After all, honors like the Champions League are rare. On the contrary, defending the league title makes them even more eager.
Arsenal fielded a 4231 lineup for this game. Because Wilshere and Ramsey were both injured and absent, they could only use the combination of Arteta and Flamini in the defensive midfielder position, and the goalkeeper
Szczesny, the two full-backs are Sagna and Monreal, Koscielny and Mertesacker partner as central defenders, and the three attacking midfielders are Cazorla, Ozil and teenager Gnabry
, Giroud stepped forward alone, and Chamberlain sat on the bench, probably because he wanted to be a substitute.
Noriya fielded the main lineup he is accustomed to this season.
A characteristic of Southampton this season is that the main lineup is actually very stable. Noriya liked to rotate before, but this season basically kept the main lineup intact. If you want to rotate, you have to use the substitute lineup together. This seemingly magical operation is actually
There is nothing we can do about it. After all, the main lineup has changed by six people. How can we form a tacit understanding if we don't play many games together?
If only two or three main players were changed, it would be easy to form a new tacit understanding. Now, more than half of them have been changed in one breath. Without a large number of games, it is indeed difficult to establish a tacit understanding.
If Casemiro, Luke Shaw and Otamendi were not the main players last season, their lineup would be even more unstable.
Now, the tacit understanding of their main lineup has been gradually established.
This game was played in the rain. The rain was not heavy, but it kept falling. This would cause some problems for both sides' ball control tactics. However, for Southampton, they are more adaptable to such a difficult venue. Once they come to
It's the home ground, and secondly, Southampton is a port city with a lot of rain, so they have long adapted to this environment.
As for Arsenal? Although it is rainy in London, it is not as rainy as Southampton. Under such circumstances, they are obviously more uncomfortable than Southampton.
Southampton began to gain possession of the ball on the court and then continued to launch attacks.
The field is relatively slippery and it is difficult to control the football. This begins to better test the players' basic skills and reaction ability. It is like when the ceiling is only 60 points, players with 60 points and 80 points seem to be on the same level, but
When the ceiling reaches 80%, the gap will be clearly reflected.
De Bruyne kept getting the ball in the midfield, and then kept passing the ball. The slippery field did not hinder him much, and on such a field, Lukaku's physical fitness and Suarez's reaction were also more
The good ones showed up.
Only three minutes into the game, Lukaku forced a breakthrough and his shot was blocked by the opponent's defender, creating a corner kick. Mkhitaryan took a corner kick. Suarez grabbed the spot and shot in the penalty area, but Szczesny struggled to save it.
.
"This guy performed well." Ji Ya was surprised.
However, compared with Navas, Southampton's goalkeeper is obviously more reliable.
Arsenal launched a counterattack. Giroud got the ball in the frontcourt and passed it to Gnabry. Gnabry broke through and passed to the front of the penalty area. Cazorla followed up and shot, but Navas moved his feet and blocked it.
in front of the ball, and then hug the ball.
"Continue the attack."
Noriya made a gesture to the field. It was not that he was showing off, but that except for this attack, the ball possession on the field was basically controlled by Southampton. Arsenal had very few possessions of the ball. Nan'an controlled the ball very rarely.
Puton already has a considerable advantage.
If you are playing against a team like Chelsea, then the advantage in ball possession rate does not mean anything, but Arsenal also relies on possession of the ball. Under such circumstances, they cannot control the ball, and the disadvantage is obvious!
