"The 2001-02 English FA Cup final will be played at the Millennium Stadium. Today the stadium is packed with people. Fans of both teams, including local neutral fans in Wales, are very enthusiastic. Flags of both teams are flying in the stands. The atmosphere in the stadium is extremely enthusiastic. During the game
In the previous prediction, Arsenal has a slightly higher probability of winning the championship than Millwall, because Millwall will send a substitute lineup to play this game. Arsenal put away some of its main players in the final game of the Premier League to recharge their batteries.
Just to prepare
In this final, Arsenal may have the advantage in terms of strength and physical condition of the players, but Millwall has cultivated championship genes in the past few years. They have never failed in the finals, but today may be a serious one.
Challenge, because even Aldrich Hall led the team, it was the first time that 10 substitutes were sent in the finals, with only the main central defender and captain Southgate holding down the line. Now that the players from both sides are entering, let's take a look at both sides
starting list.
Millwall started 4312.
Goalkeeper: Pagliuca.
Defenders: Neal, Metzelder, Southgate, Baines.
Midfielder: Pedretti, Alonso, De Rossi, Larmour.
Forwards: Klose, Villa.
Millwall arranged a 4312 formation today. Larmour withdrew from the previous forward line to play as an attacking midfielder. Klose and Villa partnered to attack. This is not the traditional British 442. In fact, Hall coached these
In 2006, he used the traditional British 4-4-2 formation, but abandoned it completely a few years ago. The 4-4-2 used in the past two years is a brand new technical and tactical system.
Arsenal started 442.
Goalkeeper: Seaman.
Defenders: Laurent Keown, Campbell Sylvinho.
Midfielder: Ljungberg, Vieira, Parlor, Pires.
Forwards: Bergkamp, Ibrahimovic.
It is worth mentioning that Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic has significantly improved his ability, team awareness and teamwork ability this season. His partnership with Bergkamp and interaction with the wing have played an obvious role in the game. And he himself
His technical ability is also eye-catching. This season, he has had a wonderful performance of breaking through three defensive players in a small area and then passing the goalkeeper to hit an empty goal.
Because of his outstanding performance, he became the main force in Wenger's account. People are saying that he is the second Anelka trained by Wenger, but Ibrahimovic said that he will not become the second anyone, he will only be the second Anelka trained by Wenger.
Will he become the great Ibrahimovic? Will this young man who is full of ambition and arrogance become the key player in today's game? Haha, we will look forward to his performance."
From the beginning of the game, Aldridge and Wenger stood on the sidelines supervising the battle.
Wenger observed for a while and his face darkened.
Millwall is determined to play defensive counterattack.
Arsenal have an advantage in terms of paper strength, experience, and physical fitness, so they have the initiative on the field.
But this is where Wenger has a headache. There are praises and criticisms for Arsenal from the outside world. The criticism mainly comes from their lack of changes, which is different from the lack of changes of mid- and lower-tier teams, which rely on one set of play styles.
You may be able to settle down, but you will definitely not be able to make a name for yourself because of their limited strength. Arsenal can do it because they have a strong team of players.
But in the European war stage, Arsenal's lack of changes is the fatal reason why it is difficult to go further. On that stage where there are many strong players, once the opponent figures out your technical and tactical play and has targeted restrictions in place, Arsenal will be unable to do anything.
, the European war is weak.
Today is not a European war, but Millwall has clearly figured out Arsenal. Aldridge has sent a substitute lineup, and he has also been embarrassed to fight against counterattacks. In other words, Arsenal has taken the initiative to fight positional warfare. This is not their
What they are good at is exquisite organization from an overall perspective. They lack the traditional No. 10 jersey, so Vieira has organizational ability, but can he compete with players like Zidane and Pirlo in terms of organizational ability?
Wenger is already brewing the idea of transforming Arsenal in the next stage in his mind. To take Arsenal's beautiful football to a higher level, it is imperative to introduce No. 10 players.
What you do in the future will not affect the present.
It is very difficult for Arsenal to play positional warfare now.
It’s not that Arsenal will have a headache when they play positional battles. In fact, at their level, in the league, most of the games will involve the strong against the weak in the face of the opponent’s strengthening defense, and they performed two things particularly well. The first is
The wing counterattack storm that depends on survival, Pires and Ljungberg are on one side, Bergkamp and Vieira who insert from the back
Or Parlor forms a combination in the midfield and frontcourt, and Ibrahimovic sometimes acts as a bridgehead in front of the ball. This season's counterattacks are full of passion and dazzling. The second is personal ability, Pires, Borg
Kemp and Ibrahimovic have the ability to break away in a small area, and can tear apart the opponent's defense line from part of the positional battle to defeat the defense line.
Millwall has all these abilities of Arsenal, but the overall organizational ability that Millwall possesses is what Arsenal lacks. Therefore, even if Arsenal refreshes its own points record in the Premier League era,
Still unable to shake Millwall's dominance, this is part of the overall strength comparison.
In response to Arsenal's style of play, Millwall made countermeasures today.
First of all, focus on defense and do not give the opponent any space to counterattack. Outside the 40-yard area, the opponent can attack in any way, and the defense cannot attack.
Secondly, Pedretti, Alonso, and De Rossi strengthen the protection of the wing and back line, compress the space, and reduce the occurrence of one-on-one breakthroughs by the opponent.
Arsenal uses the regular lineup of wingers and forwards. Obviously, it is impossible to penetrate Millwall's defense. The ball will be harassed from the wing. The coordination between the wing and center also cuts off the passing line because Millwall has more defensive players. This must be
Arsenal's full-backs and midfielders are required to assist, and when they assist, Millwall's defensive pressure will be particularly great, but as long as the defense is successful, when the defense turns to attack, Millwall's key person in the connection between the front and backcourt is Arsenal
Ronso, the one who controls the offensive rhythm is Larmour.
Lamore, who is characterized by his excellent game reading ability, was given a more important task by Aldridge.
Instigating a counterattack?
No, it’s not just that. When you have the best opportunity, you must increase your speed and counterattack. If there is no good opportunity, the path forward of Klose and Villa will be blocked. When there is lack of space for movement, Larmore will have to
Control the ball and maintain a steady rhythm. This will allow Arsenal's players to run back and defend, going straight up and down to consume.
Today, Welsh fans are greatly disappointed. Millwall and Arsenal are examples of England's so-called beautiful football. The collision between the two teams should be a gorgeous and peak showdown. But what comes into view is a game that lacks exciting scenes.
It was difficult for Arsenal to find shooting opportunities, and Millwall's counterattack was not very effective. It even gave people the feeling that they could not even counterattack!
Wenger also couldn't understand. Larmour was clearly unmarked when he got the ball in the half, but he did not move forward firmly to pass the ball. Millwall's counterattack opportunities took the initiative to slow down the rhythm, and so on.
The pressure on the backline eased, and they patiently cooperated and reorganized the attack. It turned into a positional battle, and a positional battle. If they did not go wide, they could hardly get past Vieira and Parlor's defense zone, and only Neil
After assisting, he looked a bit more threatening.
The advantage of playing fast is high threat, but the disadvantage is low success rate. Maybe out of 10 through passes, only 1 will succeed.
The advantage of playing slowly is to ensure possession of the ball, but the disadvantage is that the threat is low. When Arsenal arranges the defense line and then launch a positional battle attack, the probability of success can be imagined to be much lower than that of counterattack.
However, Aldridge's requirement for the team is to seek stability first. On the one hand, it is to gradually increase confidence, and on the other hand, it is also to ensure that Arsenal will not attack quickly in a short time because the counterattack fails.
The tempo slows down and Arsenal's players run back to set up the defense. It will take a certain amount of time to attack again, and Millwall's defensive pressure will not be too great.
In the 31st minute of the first half, Arsenal almost scored. They passed a cross from the wing. Bergkamp perfectly stopped the ball with his feet and passed it directly to Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic turned the ball at a small angle and tried to get away first.
Southgate, but Southgate was not fooled. When Ibrahimovic tried to shoot again, the ball was blocked by Southgate with his feet. The distance from the goal was less than 10 yards. It was very dangerous. This was Arsenal's first win since the start of the game.
best opportunity.
7 minutes later, Pires shot a long-range shot from outside the penalty area into the far corner. The shot was wonderful. Pagliuca was well prepared and blocked the ball with one palm, trying to keep the goal intact.
It was not until the 42nd minute that Millwall created a considerable threat on the offensive end from Klose. He used the change of rhythm to stop and pass. While stopping the ball, he shook off Keown's defense and did not wait for Campbell to fill in.
Klose volleyed from the penalty area line. He did not dare to make any other moves. Vieira rushed from behind him aggressively.
Seaman also made a wonderful save. The two veteran goalkeepers were not tested much in the first half, but their performances in the face of threatening shots were both commendable.
Before the end of the first half, Vieira made an assist, knocked over De Rossi and then shot a long shot that missed the crossbar and flew into the stands.
After the first half ended with 0:0, Southgate followed the referee and put pressure on the referee, believing that Vieira had fouled De Rossi before. De Rossi himself felt very aggrieved.
, he felt that his strength was adequate, but compared with Vieira, it was still a bit behind. Being hit suddenly was a bit too much.
Aldridge walked calmly towards the tunnel. About five meters behind him, Wenger frowned.
How could Arsenal crack Millwall's tactical set-up today?
If it goes to a penalty shootout, would it be a good deal for Arsenal?
Arsenal should have the upper hand in all aspects, and Wenger would definitely not want to pin his fate on a penalty shootout.
“The first half was uneventful. This was a final that decided the championship. It’s understandable that both sides played a little conservatively, but as the game time gets shorter and shorter, I believe both sides will try their best to win.
Victory, overall, Arsenal had a slight advantage in the first half. They appeared more active on the court and their players performed better, while Millwall was slightly passive. Of course, the lineup that played today was slightly weaker than Arsenal.
This is the reason why their performance is limited, especially in terms of experience. It can be seen that when Vieira assists, De Rossi and Alonso cannot take any advantage in the head-on confrontation with them, and they can only rely on being more active.
Fighting and complementing each other to avoid holes in the defense. During the halftime break, whether Millwall will strengthen this link, we can only wait until the second half begins to observe." (To be continued...)
