After defeating Millwall, while winning three consecutive games, York City also consolidated its lead in the standings.
So the Scunthorpe team, which has been chasing York City closely, has fallen behind.
They have lost consecutive games against Bolton and Sheffield United in recent rounds, and have even dropped to fourth place in the standings!
York City currently ranks first with 16 wins, 8 draws and 1 loss with 56 points, while Sheffield United ranks second with 16 wins, 5 draws and 4 losses with 53 points, followed by Bolton with 50 points and Scunthorpe with 49 points.
point.
English League One is like that. If I’m not careful, I’ll lose everything!
And Pan Yi also saw the momentum of York City's east slide, and introduced Alonso in time, which not only strengthened the strength but also stabilized the morale of the army, and finally was not really killed.
Fortunately, January happened to be entering, the winter window also opened, and Pan Yi took action in advance, so he was able to deal with Alonso so quickly.
Then, Pan Yi had more ideas when he missed Donglai's FA Cup third round match against Arsenal...
After the team started heading to London, Pan Yi stopped by the Chelsea Club to visit Arteta and chat with him.
A few days ago, Chelsea just lost 0:2 to Tottenham Hotspur, finally ending their 13-game winning streak.
But even so, Chelsea continues to lead the Premier League standings, and is 5 points higher than second-placed Liverpool.
Therefore, Pan Yi did not talk too much about tactics to Arteta. He just chatted with good friends and reminisced about old times.
Since he can lead the team to a 13-game winning streak, it means that he now has a methodology for defeating enemies from all walks of life;
And the current defeat to Tottenham is because his methodology has encountered setbacks in practice-sometimes the reason is simple, because Pochettino made a mistake, and Arteta did not notice or respond in time.
You must continue to improve amidst setbacks in order to make further progress!
Pan Yi believes that Arteta has the ability to study and solve such setbacks, and only then can he break through his own bottleneck and reach a new level!
Pan Yi then returned to York City's temporary training ground in London and watched player training with Scaloni.
For York City now, if they play against a strong team like Arsenal, there is almost no suspense in the lineup.
The strongest eleven are already in the formation!
The only variables are no formation, no kick, -1, no no.
There is nothing I can do about it. After all, York City is not a big club and does not have a strong lineup. When I want to fight with the wrong team, I can use all the main players.
"Do I really want to kill Arsenal and continue to advance in the FA Cup?" Scaloni suddenly asked Pan Yi.
Pan Yi laughed: "I don't want to?"
Scaloni smiled too.
No, who wouldn't want to?
Is that a good thing that can serve multiple purposes?
No matter how well I play in English League One, the attention I receive will be limited.
Is it just like Porter leading a Swedish team, no matter how good the team is, no one can notice it, but if he beats Arsenal once in the Europa League, he will be known immediately.
Is this also the case in York City now?
If we can defeat Arsenal in the FA Cup, will the team's reputation be greatly improved?
Before they heard about York City, it was because their boss was Pan Yi;
And if that team is likely to beat Arsenal, then everyone will look at them differently: "It turns out they are really such a strong team!"
This will also attract the attention of more players, and it will be less difficult for Pan Yi to find people in the future.
At the same time, the commercial value of York City will continue to rise, and Director Horta will be able to use his commercial talents in the market.
——It’s a bit like when “Deadpool” took over Wrexham later, everyone paid attention to it because of the boss. Only when Wrexham really shows its strength, everyone will pay more attention to its strength itself.
And for Scaloni, this is the best moment to prove his ability!
Defeating the world-famous coach Wenger is really a perfect proof of strength!
"Actually, there is no cocoa." Pan Yi said, "Arsenal's situation in the Premier League is not very good. Although Wenger attaches great importance to the FA Cup, he should have reservations. After all, they can't always
It’s a League One team!”
Scaloni nodded.
In the current Premier League standings, the BIG6 are entangled, while Arsenal is ranked fifth.
Although there is only one point behind Manchester City and Tottenham in front of them, it is obvious that it has now reached a critical moment for the fourth place.
Especially after the FA Cup, Arsenal is looking forward to another London derby, an away game to challenge Chelsea at the top of the list!
In that case, with Wenger's "guaranteing four first" thinking guiding the club, they are bound to make a certain degree of aggression in the FA Cup.
Then, York City will have a chance.
After all, although Arsenal is strong, their bench is mediocre.
"He did not recommend playing, focusing on defense and waiting for opportunities to counterattack." Pan Yi said, "A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Even if Wenger is on the bench, he is stronger than them."
"Does he feel that way?" Scaloni nodded. "He will convene a small meeting with the players later and talk about some relevant points. Can I please do some pre-match mobilization or something?"
"Haha, that's necessary." Pan Yi laughed, "He begged them to know that their boss was not prepared to give up that game, so no one was allowed to give up that game!"
Scaloni listened and immediately started laughing too.
——
In the hotel conference room, all the players were silent, they were all looking at their boss.
Scaloni has just talked about all the tactics that need to be mentioned, and now it is Pan Yi's turn to speak.
"In those days, everyone he met from Yorkshire to London told him that he didn't need to play against Arsenal in the FA Cup and could just give up."
Pan Yi was very direct when he opened his mouth: "He doesn't even think about it. How can they, a English League One team, beat Arsenal? It's not embarrassing to lose anyway, so just lose."
With that said, Pan Yi stopped and looked at the players.
Those young guys didn't shut up, but there was a hint of anger in their eyes.
"No, they must not admit defeat in any game!" At that time, vice-captain Westman stood up, "If admitting defeat becomes a habit, they will never be able to become a truly strong team in the future!"
Pan Yi nodded with satisfaction.
It seems that placing a "drag" among the players is not very important.
"Well, in fact, everyone who knows him knows that the word 'admit defeat' has never been in his dictionary, even if he fails to face Arsenal."
"People all over the world think they will lose, so they just want to show them a good game!"
"In the FA Cup, anything can happen. In the 2012-2013 season, Luton, who was in the fifth tier at the time, defeated the Premier League team Norwich 1:0. Luton became the first team in the Premier League era.
Amateur teams knocking out Premier League teams.”
"In the 2003-04 season, Shrewsbury, who were in the fourth tier, defeated Everton 2:1, causing the biggest upset in the FA Cup."
"In the third round of the FA Cup in the 1990-91 season, Woking, who were in the fifth tier at the time, eliminated West Brom in the top league with a score of 4:2..."
"There are many teams like that. So, as a team ranked first in the third level, can they really not beat Arsenal?"
With that said, Pan Yi spread his legs and asked all the players in front of him.
Everyone raised their heads and stared at Pan Yi with red eyes.
"No, they can win!" De Ligt was the first to stand up and yell.
"Wrong, they can definitely win!" Alphonso Davis shouted.
"Win! Win! Win!" Thomas Amon also echoed.
At first, all the players in the entire conference room stood up and shouted: "Win!" "Win!" "Win!"
"Well, since we are confident, he is even more confident. Tomorrow, they will play well at the Emirates Stadium and tell everyone that they are against York City. They are afraid of any mistakes! Even if they come from the Premier League's super strong
Team, they can beat them all the same, because they York City are fearless!"
As Pan Yi finished his speech, everyone's blood boiled.
Everyone is looking forward to tomorrow’s game!——
January-July, Emirates Stadium.
Players from Arsenal and York City stood in the aisles, with their heads above the roaring fans' stands and their ears listening to the tsunami-like cheers coming from the stands.
Arsenal's captain Giroud will be on the field tomorrow, and he and York City's captain Westerman stand at the front of the queue.
The two of them were not familiar with each other, so they just held hands and looked forward.
Alonso, standing in the middle of the York City team, was obviously the player that the Arsenal generals were most familiar with, and everyone exchanged greetings with Long.
When the chief referee and the assistant referee took the lead out of the players' tunnel, there was an even louder round of applause and cheers, mixed with boos.
Obviously, part of it is for the home team Arsenal, and the other part is not a "gift" to the visiting team York City.
For this game, a total of nearly 3,000 York City fans came from Yorkshire to support the team.
Although they thought the game had little chance of winning and the distance was long - it took four hours to take the train from York to London - they came anyway.
"The players are out! Audience friends, what they are seeing now is one of the third round games of England's 2016-2017 FA Cup, with Arsenal playing York City at home!"
Sky Sports also paid close attention to that game and specially arranged for Lineker to provide on-site commentary.
"Let them take a look at Arsenal's starting lineup first. It is still Wenger's usual -1. Compared with the Premier League match in mid-week, Arsenal's starting lineup made a significant difference in this game.
The goalkeeper position started in Ospina, and the defense was in. The teenager Niles served as the right back, and Gabriel replaced the injured Koscielny, while the other two defenders still missed Mustafi and Monrey.
Yar.”
"In the midfield, Ramsey and Xhaka form a double midfielder, Sanchez takes a rest, Chamberlain replaces Sanchez as the left winger. Iwobi continues to serve as the attacking midfielder, Lucas Perez is the right winger, and Giroud is the single arrow
Serving as the captain of the field. It is worth mentioning that Welbeck, who has been injured for 8 months, returned from injury and joined the bench in this game."
"That kind of fighting may affect Arsenal's performance on both offense and defense to a certain extent, but Wenger is obviously not very confident in his lineup."
"After all, their opponent tomorrow will be a team from League One. Although York City has just introduced Spanish star Xabi Alonso not long ago, the total value of their team is still not as good as Arsenal's
Sanchez is alone in the lineup."
Speaking of which, Lineker said with a smile: "Of course, they all know that the most important reason why Alonso is willing to play from the Bundesliga to the English League is York City's owner Pan Yi.
"
"It can also be said that the reason why the York City team is what it is today is because of their boss Pan Yi. Because of Pan Yi's existence, York City has attracted countless players and coaches to come and play, and it has also attracted
A lot of capital injection.”
"They also know whether Pan Yi could beat Arsenal when he was coaching. So, when he becomes the boss, how will his team perform when they face Arsenal?"
"As he just said, the values of the two teams are not at the same level at all. It must be an extremely difficult task for Pan Yi to take advantage of Wenger's presence that time..."
At this time, the stadium was here, and the referee had already put the whistle to his mouth, and soon blew the whistle to start the game.
From the first minute of the game, York City's players were engaged in a desperate fight, including the forwards who retreated to the midfield.
York City will use a defense-focused formation tomorrow, but they are closer to their own midfield than Alonso and Rice's defensive midfielders.
Keep it relatively close.
In this way, the space can be minimized to limit the transmission of Arsenal's midfield.
Everyone knows that Wenger's team is best at using the space on the court and allowing the team to play smoothly!
In the current Arsenal team, Swiss star Xhaka, who just joined the team in the summer window of this season, is now the team's absolute main force.
With outstanding physical ability, fierce fighting and strong aggression, he is like a bulldozer on the pitch, making up for Arsenal's defensive deficiencies in the midfield.
Amid his aggressive fighting, York City couldn't control the ball.
Compared with him, Rice Jr.'s physical fitness is as thin as a piece of paper, and it flies away in one stroke.
And what about Xabi Alonso? He is already a veteran who is ready to retire, so how can he withstand such a bulldozer? Not to mention that Xhaka has "Reaper" Ramsey beside him to assist him.
However, Arsenal quickly took control of the midfield.
Five minutes after the opening, Xhaka successfully intercepted the ball in a scramble and then passed it diagonally to Chamberlain on the left.
Chamberlain was very fast. He tried a fake move on Fuan Jianyang, swung his wrong leg, and then passed a low ball directly to the east end.
Westerman cleared the ball before Giroud grabbed the point, and it was a foul ball!
"Fu'an, don't rush too far ahead, pay attention to your position!" Westerman reminded Fu'an Jianyang from behind.
Fu'an Jianyang turned around and nodded in agreement, but he stared at Chamberlain nervously.
That guy is extremely fast and has excellent physical fitness, so the impact is also very strong. I just need to relax a little. After being passed by, I won't be able to catch up even if I try to catch him.
When he was in League One, Fuan Jianyang had never encountered such a powerful opponent!
"Don't worry, Fuan, they are there!" Winger Kulusevski also retreated to help Fuan Jianyang defend.
Compared with Fu Yasu Jianyang, although he is equally young, Kulusevsky has never seen the world, so his mentality will be more stable.
At that time, Arsenal threw a throw-in, and Ramsema transferred the ball with a big kick and gave it to Lucas Perez on the right.
The 28-year-old Spanish midfielder just joined Arsenal this season and cost Wenger nearly 20 million euros.
However, it is difficult for him to show his value in the team, so he is mainly asked to be used as a breakthrough player.
Now after he got the ball, he saw the wrong left back Alphonso Davis in front, so Lucas Perez wanted to use his speed to attack Alphonso Davis alone.
Unexpectedly, after just two steps of speeding up, Alphonso Davis had already rushed over and used a fierce tackle to shovel him out of the sideline with the ball.
When it comes to speed, Alphonso Davis has never been afraid of anyone!
That was a wonderful defense!
"As soon as the game started, the scene became very heated. Arsenal player Lucas Perez got up from the ground, stared at the left back of the wrong team with an indignant look, and seemed to be muttering to the referee.
What, should I be complaining that the wrong side’s movements were too big, but the referee just signaled the game to continue!”
The fans at the Emirates Stadium immediately responded to the referee's wrong decision with dissatisfied boos!
"Well done, Alfonso!" Scaloni stood in front of the coaching bench and shouted encouragement towards Alphonso Davies.
In that game, York City clearly had the upper hand due to their superior strength, so they had to play with energy to have a better chance.
And a tackle like Alphonso Davis obviously boosts morale!
Pan Yi, who was in the stands at this time, also applauded gently.
He could tell that the young players in the team were a little uncomfortable facing a strong team from the Premier League for the first time.
Do you want to be as fearful of tigers as a newborn calf like Alphonso Davis?
And with that tackle, the game entered into a fast-paced attack, defense and fight almost from the beginning, and the scene even became very explosive.
Although York City lost a lot to Arsenal in terms of overall strength, in the first ten minutes of the game, they relied on their tenacious fighting spirit and ferocious fighting to compete with Arsenal. Even though the situation was still overwhelming, Arsenal could not win.
Keep it firmly in your legs.
But there is a gap in every hundred secrets.
In the 20th minute of the game, Mustafi from the Arsenal backcourt made a long pass and directly found Giroud. The latter headed the ball a little. After receiving the ball, Iwobi directly made a through pass, and Chamberlain immediately hit the ball.
Diagonally inserting into the restricted area.
Westerman's shortcoming of slow turning was infinitely magnified at that moment. He didn't even have time to beg to pull Chamberlain, and could just watch the fast England star send the ball into York City's goal.
goal.
1:0, Arsenal ushered in their first goal tomorrow!
At this moment, "Zhang Wuji" incarnates as "Zhang Jinchu", and he scores a goal!
Amid the cheers of Arsenal fans in the audience, Scaloni immediately called the players on the sidelines: "They're crazy, guys! They did a great job. Remember, continue to follow their plan."
Come play, you know?"
The players agreed in unison.
Conceding the goal first against a strong opponent like Arsenal was something that the York City coaching staff could not have expected before the game.
After losing the ball, you must stabilize your mentality and defend better, so as to avoid being scored by the wrong leg again.
Assistant coach De Zerbi also kept shouting on the sidelines, asking the players to quickly organize their defensive formation.
But no, after Arsenal scored the first goal, their morale became stronger.
The situation on the field became even more one-sided. York City was almost trapped in the half and could not get out, so they could constantly make clearances and steals.
In order to cope with Arsenal's indiscriminate bombardment, Scaloni even pulled forward Baker back to the backcourt, and the defense of the four midfielders also retreated to the front of their own penalty area. In front of them was Thomas, the fastest player from Dongliu.
Armand roamed around the midfield, making York City's formation look like.
Seeing York City's posture, Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger also made some tactical adjustments, whether to strengthen long-range shots to break York City's iron barrel formation and try to kill the game early.
Facts have proven that such adjustments are effective.
In the 35th minute of the half, Giroud took the ball with his back and gently pushed the ball in front of him before Westerman and De Ligt tried to pinch him on both sides of him.
Xhaka in the midfield rushed in and fired a clean volley!
York City goalkeeper Isaacson's sight was blocked, and by the time he could see where the ball was coming from, it was too late to make a save.
The ball went in, 2:0!
That was almost a goal that could have sentenced York City to death early.
Because if you want to recover the disadvantage of two goals at the Emirates Stadium, I am afraid it will be difficult to do it even if Chelsea and Manchester City come, let alone York City.
The Arsenal fans in the stands suddenly cheered again, shouting the names of Giroud and Xhaka.
After that goal, Arsenal also deliberately slowed down the pace.
After all, they have a crucial battle with Chelsea in three days. As long as they can win the FA Cup, there is no need for a leg.
Just like that, the 2:0 score remained until the end of halftime.
During the halftime break, when Scaloni and De Zerbi led the players back to the locker room, Pan Yi was walking in the stands, thoughtfully.
It seems that with the current strength of York City, it is really difficult to compete head-on with Arsenal.
"But they do have weaknesses." Pan Yi stood up, "I just hope they can seize that weakness and get the score back. It's not impossible..."