Chapter 25: Facing Manchester City

The heavy rain continued until the next day.

The gloomy weather and rolling dark clouds in the sky also made the Manchester sky feel depressing.

The Arsenal bus left the hotel on time for the Intihad Stadium.

Along the way, Arsenal's players did not communicate much.

When approaching the stadium, the atmosphere had already become warm.

Even though it was still raining in the sky, it could not stop the enthusiasm of Manchester City fans.

There were also some reporters who stared at the rain and insisted on reporting.

"This is the front reporter of Sky Sports. A minute ago, Arsenal's bus passed here. They will arrive at the Intihad Stadium in three minutes."

"For Manchester City, which has won six consecutive games, Arsenal, the defending champion of the Champions League, is a strong enemy. Guardiola has also said that Arsenal has always been an opponent he cannot ignore. Although Arsenal's current state is ups and downs, we can still look forward to how the two teams will perform in this game!"

In front, Arsenal's bus has arrived at the Intihad Stadium.

Lekai and others ran into the venue in the rain.

After arriving at the locker room, everyone began to prepare for warm-up.

They put the short spiked boots they usually used into the cabinet, and took out the long spiked boots and put them on their feet.

In this rainy environment, long spiked boots are more conducive to grip.

After changing shoes, everyone walked out of the player tunnel and started warming up.

The rain was cold. Although the area in the stadium was lively and the weather was not particularly cold, the rain still felt extremely cold.

"Be sure to warm up fully. The rain will soon take away the heat from our bodies. If you don't want to get injured, train seriously for me."

Lekai instructed his teammates.

Compared with the captain now, Lekai seems to play more of a nanny role.

Lekai never thought that one day he would do such a thing.

But no matter what!

The bridge between the players, coaches and clubs is the captain.

And the captain also needs to be responsible for the players.

Lekai can certainly let it go, but if he really does so, Arsenal will probably be ruined!

Led by Lucky, Arsenal's players are warming up.

It can be seen that even in the warm-up phase, Arsenal is orderly and no one is lazy.

Guardiola stood under the roof of the coach's seat, looking at Arsenal's half.

This Arsenal team that eliminated them in the Champions League semi-finals left a deep impression on him.

Last season's Arsenal gave Guardiola an unstoppable feeling.

Whether it is the player's state and morale, team atmosphere and competitive state, they all surpassed Bayern Munich at the time.

Arsenal made sufficient preparations to win the game, and they successfully won the victory and advanced to the final, and even won the Champions League.

Guardiola admitted that Arsenal last season was difficult to beat, but after the start of this season, Arsenal fell into championship syndrome and a series of troubles. Although it has gradually stabilized now, it is particularly difficult to return to the state of last season.

Although they have completed six consecutive victories, they are in high spirits.

But that Arsenal team gave people a feeling of being invincible and tenacious.

The newly formed Manchester City is certainly good, but it still cannot shake Arsenal's position.

But now it's different!

Arsenal's situation is much more complicated than the performance.

Even Wenger needs a headache.

So for Guardiola, he thinks Manchester City has a great chance of winning this game.

Both sides returned to their own locker rooms to prepare for the final stage of preparation before the game.

Patel also announced the starting lineup.

There is basically no big difference, it is still the main 11.

Among them, Mustafi still did not get the opportunity to start, he was really suppressed by Mertesacker.

"This is LeTV Sports, and the game that is about to start is the 2015/2016 season Manchester City home game against the new Champions League champion Arsenal!"

After completing the opening remarks, Zhan Jun briefly explained the current situation of the two teams.

"Manchester City and Arsenal have a 10-point gap in the standings. Compared to Manchester City, which has won six consecutive games, Arsenal has been stumbling since the start of the season, with ups and downs."

Zhang Lu: "In the beginning, Wenger's departure had a great impact on Arsenal. This impact was not only in terms of skills and tactics, but more in terms of psychological panic, which also led to Arsenal's dismal start. It was not until the fourth game that they won a victory. That game against Liverpool was certainly a relief, but it was more about Lucky's explosion."

"This kind of individual player's explosion is best restricted. It's nothing more than mobilizing more people to suppress!"

"Watford did this in the European Super Cup and the last round, and the effect was also very significant!"

Zhan Jun: "So, will Guardiola also restrict Lucky in this game?"

Zhang Lu pondered for a moment and said; "Of course he will restrict him, but he won't be too focused. Compared to restricting a certain player, Guardiola's Manchester City is more about running in their own system. They will not pay attention to or restrict a certain player, but play in their own style."

As the two were talking, the camera showed that the two teams had walked out of the player tunnel.

The starting lineups of both sides also appeared on the big screen.

Manchester City (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Joe Hart.

Defenders: Kolarov, Mangala, Otamendi, Sagna.

Midfielders: De Bruyne, Delph, David Silva, Fernandio, Sterling.

Forward: Aguero.

Arsenal (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Cech.

Defenders: Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal.

Midfielders: Luka, Wilshere, Kante.

Forwards: Aubameyang, Suarez, Sanchez.

Manchester City's lineup shows that they have never thought about targeting a certain player. They want to play their own game.

In other words, the so-called tactics of restricting Luka are not worth mentioning in Guardiola's eyes.

He thinks that Manchester City's midfield is enough to suppress Arsenal, and compared to the so-called tactical victory, he wants more running-in of the lineup system.

To put it bluntly, Guardiola does not think Manchester City has any special need to target Luka.

In a one-on-one situation, both David Silva and others have the ability to limit Lucky.

Lucky also noticed Manchester City's lineup.

This made him feel relieved.

In two consecutive games, Lucky was closely watched. Although this is common in football, it feels really bad to be watched by the opponent throughout the game.

In this game, Manchester City did not pay too much attention to Lucky.

This also made Lucky feel a little more relaxed.

"Okay, the two captains have finished choosing their sides. Suarez stands in the center circle and Arsenal kicks off first."

Paul Mossen looked forward to it: "Will Manchester City win and continue their seven-game winning streak, or will Arsenal beat Manchester City and end the opponent's winning streak?"

As soon as the voice fell, the referee blew the whistle to start the game.

Suarez decisively kicked the ball.

Wilshere received the ball and passed it back, but did not run forward too much, but wandered around Lucky.

Lucky took the initiative to retreat to receive the ball.

In this game, Lucky's position returned to the defensive midfielder.

But this does not mean that he will not participate in the attack.

Lekai retreated and gestured to Mertesacker, who passed the ball decisively.

Lekai took the ball with his back to the goal, and passed it to Wilshere.

The next second, he heard the hurried footsteps gradually disappear.

Manchester City's front game was very hard!

Lekai frowned slightly.

Wilshere passed the ball back to Lekai.

At this time, De Bruyne rushed to Lekai and wanted to steal the ball.

Lekai flicked the ball horizontally and made several consecutive feints, but failed to shake De Bruyne. Finally, he pulled the ball to open his position and then passed the ball to Kante.

Kante immediately passed the ball diagonally forward.

Lekai started decisively at this time and caught up with the ball.

Faced with this change, De Bruyne was somewhat unable to react.

When he turned his head, Lekai had completed the pass.

Lekai did not look down at the ball, but focused his eyes on Aubameyang.

You said that you are very fast.

You said you hoped your teammates would create enough running space for you!

Lekai looked down at the ball and kicked it out with his right foot.

The ball was fast and sharp, and flew straight forward like an arrow.

At the same time, Aubameyang also got rid of it and ran away!

At this moment, Aubameyang's speed was fully exerted, and he was far ahead!