It was not because he was visiting the Lion King Stadium in the league. This game was not to mention booked in advance. I am afraid that Wenger was mentally prepared before the start of the season.
What gives him a headache is that Arsenal is beginning to show signs of being unable to retain its core.
During every transfer period, Arsenal's players such as Vieira, Ibrahimovic, Pires and others are the protagonists in the whirlpool of scandals.
Arsenal has two limitations. One is financial resources.
There is no doubt that the boss is rich. The names of Arsenal's major shareholders can be seen on the Forbes list. However, the club's business strategy is based on self-sufficiency. In the context of borrowing money to build a new stadium, Arsenal is very strict about financial management.
Strictly speaking, the club's largest expenditure is player wages. In other words, Arsenal has cut expenses and squeezed the wage system, resulting in a relatively low salary cap for big-name players.
Is it possible to give high-level salaries to big-name players alone? Yes, but it is very risky. This will cause hidden dangers in the locker room. The salary system must be reasonable, and there is an old Chinese saying that is more appropriate: Don’t worry about scarcity, but worry about inequality.
.
Vieira is a world-class player. It is normal for others to earn about 50% less than him, and everyone takes it for granted. But if Vieira is given a salary that is 2 times, 3 times or even higher than that of ordinary main players, other main players will think
Willing to accept?
Arsenal has just renewed the contract with the main players in the team. The salary that can be provided by this renewal is already the limit of the club's recent financial budget. Wenger's headache is that in two or three years, if these big names ask for higher salaries, Arsenal may not be able to do so.
bear.
To compare Arsenal's salary system quantitatively, Millwall's maximum weekly salary is 70,000 pounds. In pure salary, the average weekly salary of the first team is around 50,000 pounds. If bonuses are included, the average weekly salary will be more than 60,000 pounds. There are many players in the team.
The veteran earns more than £100,000 a week.
Who is the highest paid player at Arsenal?
Campbell, the highest-paid player in the Premier League, earns 70,000 pounds a week. An additional 30,000 pounds is calculated from the free transfer signing fee and is paid according to salary. This is to prevent him from getting into trouble after taking enough signing fees in one go.
transfer.
As for the salaries of other Arsenal players, the one with the highest weekly salary does not exceed £50,000!
You can imagine Wenger's headache. Even Anelka, who left after the transfer, had a weekly salary of more than 50,000 pounds when he went to the new club. How much could a star of Vieira's level get if he transferred?
?
The next time Arsenal raises their players' wages is expected to be two to three years from now, and they will have to see how their financial situation is then.
Arsenal is not the only one who has headaches over player wages. Manchester United signed Veron in the summer, and 99% of the team's contract renewal work has been completed, but the 1% is the most important. Beckham rejected Manchester United's offer of about 80,000 pounds.
Weekly salary contract, Manchester United and Beckham's contract extension are still in protracted negotiations.
Another limitation is Arsenal's lack of honors over the years.
The two most important honors of the club are the league championship and the Champions League championship.
Arsenal has never won the Champions League title in its history, and the last time it won the league title was in 1998.
Players don't necessarily have to play for a championship team.
Because this is not accurate.
The five major leagues. French Ligue 1 and Bundesliga cannot retain stars. England, Italy, and Spain are the "first stage" and a place where stars gather. There is a lot of attention here, a lot of money is made, and the level of competition is also high.
In England, Italy, Spain, plus the Champions League, there are only four championships each season. Three or four clubs can win the club's highest honor.
The championship also takes turns to be the winner. La Liga is in troubled times now, and it is a gap between two heroes. In recent years, the Serie A championship has been like beating the drum and passing the flowers, everyone has a share, but in the Premier League, Millwall is the only one in three consecutive championships.
Players cannot predict which strong team they will play for next season to win the league championship or the Champions League.
It is possible that the team that won last season's championship may win nothing in the following years.
Therefore, there is an intuitive consideration of the team's competitiveness, and Arsenal is generally pretty good at this point.
There is only one league championship in each season, and Arsenal are in the top four every year. It seems that they are in the championship ranks and can enter the Champions League at the same time. This is more important than winning the domestic cup, because the Champions League is the highest stage of European club competition. Players Performing in the Champions League is in itself proof of strength. At the same time, it is important to maintain form and increase commercial value. Playing in the Champions League is very important. Therefore, whether a team has the qualifications for the Champions League is an important factor in attracting stars.
For first-class stars, Arsenal is a good choice, but for world-class stars, it can be frustrating to always fail to win championships.
Wenger's rhetoric before the season was really not aimed at Millwall. He knew whether Millwall could overturn Millwall's dominance. He had a chance, but it was not big. His external remarks were actually to stabilize the morale of the military and boost morale. I'm not telling Millwall to make Millwall feel in crisis, but I'm telling the Arsenal players: We have a chance to compete for the championship!
When it's time to play Millwall in the league, look at the standings. There is a 13-point gap, and the league has only played 16 rounds!
It is almost 1 point per round on average. According to this trend, by the end of the season, Millwall will be more than 30 points behind Arsenal?
Wenger looked gloomy when he came to the Lion King Stadium, like an old man suffering from depression, or thinking about national affairs with concern and compassion.
He had to admit that Millwall had established a dynasty and made its status as a ruler visible and concrete. It made people feel chilled when they heard about this team, especially when they saw Aldridge, invisible pressure gathered. On the top of the head.
Aldridge still looked good, wearing a smart suit and leather shoes. He walked to shake hands with Wenger before the game. Wenger seemed hesitant to speak. After shaking hands, he paused for a moment before turning around and walking back to the visiting team's coaching bench.
Aldridge was confused by Wenger's two-second hesitation, which clearly meant he had something to say but didn't say it.
Walking back muttering something, Aldrich started his favorite kind of thinking again.
What exactly did Wenger want to say?
After Millwall slaughtered Manchester United 7:1, Wenger also paid attention to the game, especially Aldridge's wild words after the game, saying that other giants in the Premier League had conspiracies.
He actually wanted to tell Aldrich face to face: Even if we really had a conspiracy, you were the one who forced us to do it!
Millwall is now the richest team in the Premier League, the strongest team, the most stable team, and the most united team...
Other teams are not as good as Millwall, and things continue like this. Wenger doesn't know about other clubs. He is worried that some of Arsenal's first-class stars will choose to retreat and look for championship opportunities in other leagues because they have no future in the Premier League.
Wenger's worry is not unreasonable. In the Premier League, no matter how famous you are, if you are not playing for Millwall, you can only play a supporting role. Looking at the scenery of Millwall and watching others win the championship, you have to be in the background every season. We are being ravaged, and our own club does not have strong financial resources. If we can spend as much money as the Serie A teams do, buying two or three big-name players in one transfer period to boost our morale. This life will be easier, just by shouting slogans , who believes it?
Only Manchester United and Liverpool can share some of Millwall's glory because they have England internationals who support half of the England national team. Arsenal, with Adams representing a group of old international players entering the retirement rhythm. This many foreign players The team they formed has a good-looking, delicate and technical style of play, but they don’t win the championship. No matter how good-looking they are, they become the object of repeated ridicule in Fleet Street, especially Arsenal’s inability to take care of the European war. They are slightly wrong in the European war. , the pressure of public opinion will sweep in.
"In the 17th round of the Premier League, Millwall will face Arsenal at home. The London derby is about to begin. The leader Millwall is 13 points ahead of the third-placed Arsenal. Even if Arsenal win away from home, they will not be able to shorten the gap. To single digits. I hope the situation in the standings will not affect the enjoyment of today's game. We hope to see Arsenal bravely challenge Millwall. Just like Wenger said before the season, they will try to End Millwall's dominance. If they can cause Millwall a defeat here, it will be a very heavy blow to Millwall because it will be their first defeat at the Lion King Stadium."
"Yes, the result of the game will definitely have a lasting impact on the team's status. Millwall has a huge lead. If no team can attack Millwall before the end of the half, then it will be difficult for a miracle to happen in the second half. Because in the past few years, it has become the norm for Millwall to exert strength in the second half. Their players all know that if they fight hard, they can enjoy the wonderful taste of the championship and then enjoy the holiday. Take a look at the starting lineups of both sides, Millwall All of your main players went into battle, and Arsenal also sent all of their main players.
Arsenal started 442.
Goalkeeper: Seaman.
Defenders: Lauren, Campbell, Keown, Sylvinho.
Midfielder: Ljungberg, Parlor, Vieira, Pires.
Forward: Bergkamp, Ibrahimovic."
Since Arsenal does not have the historically rising Ashley Cole, Wenger retained Sylvinho in the summer and recently tried to transform new summer aid Van Bronckhorst into a full-back, but the Dutchman adapted The Premier League still needs some time.
Ten minutes after the game started, the fans in the stands were almost asleep.
Arsenal played their usual defensive counterattack. Millwall did not speed up the pace, and did not use high-pressure pressing tactics. It was a more balanced 433. There were not many offensive changes. It almost relied on players to fight alone on the offensive end, but Arsenal took the initiative. Defensively, and surrounded by tough double midfielders, personal performance was greatly restricted.
Wenger stood on the sidelines and looked at each other with Aldridge.
Wenger spread his hands with a helpless expression on his face.
Aldrich smiled casually.
Wenger was speechless.
Shameless on Millwall.
Arsenal's sharpest thing is the side counterattack. Millwall did not press forward. Their counterattack fell into a circle after halftime. Millwall's defensive players first cut the formation through their positions, and then pinched. Pires and Ljungberg failed to contact Bergkamp in the middle, so he directly kicked the ball to Ibrahimovic. Due to the interference, the quality of the ball was not high, and the offense was unable to pose a threat.
Millwall's side is similar. Both sides have four players at the forefront of the attack, and they both have two midfielders on both sides, but their positions are different. Arsenal has two midfielders plus two forwards, while Millwall has two attacking midfielders plus three forwards.
, but in the change, Millwall's local advantage is greater, because
If Henry and Nedvěd lean to one side at the same time, there will be three people in the area. On Arsenal's side, Bergkamp's position is more flexible, but Ibrahimovic basically doesn't move at the center position. He doesn't move to the side. Arsenal is in
There are only two people at most in local attacks, unless the midfielder and full-back provide assists.
While both sides are using a slightly static and conservative defensive strategy, Millwall has another major advantage that is gradually revealed, and that is the role of Pirlo as a deep-lying organization.
Arsenal weakened the attack in the middle and insisted on two forwards. Millwall weakened the number of forwards in the penalty area and strengthened the midfield. Pirlo organized in the midfield, Vieira and Parlor were all afraid of losing their position.
If they dare to attack rashly, if Ljungberg and Pires come to help defend, their positions will not be able to suppress Zambrotta and Schneider. If Bergkamp retreats, Pirlo and Gattuso can also
Let his pressing be in vain unless Ibrahimovic comes back to participate in the defense.
Obviously, Arsenal's frontcourt defense is relatively weak, Bergkamp is older, and Ibrahimovic is very proud of himself. He is a center forward, and his task is to score goals, not to do the dirty work.
Therefore, as long as Pirlo does not move to the midfielder area, it is easier for him to organize attacks in the midfield area behind Nedved. The most important thing is that he is stable!
After the opening, Pirlo frequently planned the transfer of attacks, left, right, left, right. Of course, Millwall did not kick back and forth like this, but the direction of each attack was different. When there was an opportunity, they launched the attack firmly, making
Arsenal's defense had to move back and forth.
Aldridge put his hands in his pockets on the sidelines with a calm expression, but he was snickering in his heart: Let you run for a while first.
