Chapter 11 — A Forward Who Isn't a Good Defender Isn't a Good Forward
The football shrine,
Anfield.
Matchday: the 54,000-plus stadium was packed.
At the pre-match press conference, Brendan Rodgers and Arsène Wenger displayed "brotherly affection":
"Although we only have one point from two matches, the players are recovering form. Last round we held leaders Manchester City to a draw. This round, three points is our goal."
"Three consecutive draws is unacceptable — we must take Liverpool or risk dropping out of the title race too early."
In such a razor-edge atmosphere, while the two teams aren't mortal enemies, the Reds' fans gave the derby the kind of passion it deserved.
From the moment Arsenal got off the coach they were bombarded with fierce jeers and curses; Xia Qi took about eighty percent of the fire.
Xia Qi had done nothing and had a pot drop from the sky.
Arsenal had failed to score in two consecutive games; this round Wenger, for better or worse, took the rookie Xia Qi.
Arsenal: Well, it's already a mess — throw everything at it.
Liverpool: Damn! Treating us like easy pickings! Who does that kid think he is?
Xia Qi was an innocent bystander!
The boos rolled over him like a raging tide as he warmed up on the pitch.
"Kid, besides your face what else do you have?"
"Did you sell your arse to get on the squad?"
"Get outta here — this place doesn't welcome you, you pansy."
"…"
"Don't be afraid!" Thomas Vermaelen comforted Xia Qi:
"They're scared of you. I always dreamt of one day being the enemy of the supporters, enjoying the boos all around. Too bad there was van Persie before and there's you now, but never me."
Xia Qi puffed out his chest and answered boldly: "Captain, such petty tactics are like cheap trash, flogging a rotten horse."
Vermaelen: I don't understand, but I'm deeply moved!
If it weren't for your one wild long-range shot exposé, I might have believed you — you're the man who once hit the green bar 26 times.
Xia Qi: There are two trees before my door — one is a jujube tree, and the other is also a jujube tree.
…
The match kicked off with Xia Qi on the bench.
Liverpool quickly asserted home advantage.
They played aggressively with high pressing.
The front three — Raheem Sterling, Luis Suárez, and Fabio Borini — interchanged constantly, making Arsenal's goalmouth tense and nervous.
Arsenal were powerless going forward, collapsing into deep defense.
Liverpool's backline easily carried the ball over the halfway line, the space behind them turning into a vast green meadow.
Wenger glanced at Xia Qi and thought: bringing him was the right call. Either Rodgers hadn't studied Xia Qi closely, or was forcing my hand?
On the pitch,
Sterling went down the flank and tried to cut inside but was intercepted by Santi Cazorla.
Sterling didn't force it and slipped the ball to the inside man Luis Suárez.
Cazorla turned immediately, preparing to combine with defender Kieran Gibbs for a two-versus-one.
Suárez, unafraid of being sandwiched, charged at Gibbs.
Fast and ferocious!
Gibbs made a full-bore challenge!
Strength against strength!
Attitude was right, but the strength was lacking!
Suárez clearly had more power; Gibbs stumbled backward, failing to buy time for Cazorla and exposing goalkeeper Vito Mannone to Suárez's shooting range.
Suárez didn't hesitate: he curled a shot that flew into the net.
In the 16th minute Liverpool took the lead.
Conceding a goal, Arsenal finally found some rhythm and countered, but Liverpool defended desperately, and both teams fought a midfield grinding battle.
Arsenal repeatedly won possession, but when Cazorla and Mikel Arteta had the ball,
they couldn't find a threatening passing lane and had to reorganize the attack from deep.
Once-fluid Arsenal play had become the stumbling steps of an old lady — these attacking moves made observers anxious.
[Look at Arsenal's play — what is this?]
[Where's that mercury-flow passing of old?]
[Since Cesc, Arsenal lack a midfield conductor.]
Netizens and pundits debated Arsenal's attacking chaos.
On the Chinese streaming platform Penguin Live, pundit Zhang Lu had a different take.
"Arsenal's midfield is indeed weaker than before, but this chaos is actually a forward problem."
"The forwards' movement lacks threat, making midfield passes ineffective. Arteta and Cazorla still have decent range and passing…"
"Giroud and Podolski's movement? If I didn't look at their shirts I'd think they were opposing defenders. Gervinho does the worst — completely invisible. They'd be better off starting Xia Qi."
Zhang Lu's partner Zhan Jun laughed: "Many fans came just to see Xia Qi; they hope he gets on early."
"If Arsenal were leading Wenger would probably bring him on. If behind, for the sake of protecting the youngster I doubt he'd risk it."
On the field,
Arsenal's few counterattacks missed the mark, fueling Liverpool's swagger.
Their attacks became ever more reckless; the fullbacks joined forward frequently, essentially committing to an overloading attack.
In short,
Arsenal had no forward force!
This completely liberated Liverpool's attack.
In the 32nd minute Sterling's heel pass found Suárez, who scored his second.
Liverpool led 2–0 at half-time.
In the dressing room silence reigned.
Wenger walked in with a serious face.
Without thunder and fury, he calmly narrated the situation: "There's nothing wrong with our tactics — it's a lack of spark between midfield and front. Both sides don't understand each other's intent and can't combine."
"Xia Qi, if you come on in the second half can you spark chemistry with Cazorla and Arteta?"
Xia Qi, who had thought he'd have no chance if they were behind, froze then leapt up from the bench and shouted loudly:
"Boss, I can do it…"
"That's surprising. I thought you'd only be able to spark things with girls like the rest of us."
"Ah..."
"Haha! Ha!"
"No, that's not it, Boss…"
Xia Qi hadn't expected the usually scholarly Wenger to joke.
Seeing his teammates laugh, the gloom vanished. Xia Qi seemed to understand something.
Old hands have sharpness!
Wenger began to outline Liverpool's defensive weaknesses on the tactical board.
"Their backline sits high and likes to play an offside trap on our counters — it's a double-edged sword…"
The second half began.
Xia Qi came on for Gervinho amid a storm of curses and jeers.
Xia Qi hoped he couldn't understand them, but heard every word clearly.
Damn! Filthy!
I wonder if van Persie took that magic stick when he left… the one good stick and the bad stick.
"Ding-dong"
"Please choose 'Training' or 'Match' mode."
"Match."
"Please choose your pitch position: A Forward, B…"
"A."
"Detected: host's team in predicament. Matching host with [Defensive-Forward Pinnacle] attribute."
"A forward who is not a good defender is not a good forward. The stronger the defense, the stronger the host."
Xia Qi stared dumbfounded — was this a joke?
Torres lived perfectly fine playing in other roles,
that was because his coach arranged him to play left-back at times.
But Wenger was asking him to play up front.
Can that be the same?
"Please choose 'Autonomous Mode' or 'One-Click Auto' mode."
"Friendly reminder: during auto mode, the system will automatically perform all necessary actions for the host."
Pick what?
Not listening to tactical orders?
Does the Professor take me for a beast?
When a genteel man gets angry, he's the scariest!
"Please make your choice."
"Please make your choice."
Pick your granny!
Liverpool's 4-3-3 lineup:
Goalkeeper: 25 Pepe Reina
Defenders: 16 Sebastián Coates, 34 Martin Kelly, 37 Martin Škrtel, 2 Glen Johnson
Midfield: 24 Joe Allen, 21 Lucas Leiva, 8 Steven Gerrard
Forwards: 31 Raheem Sterling, 29 Fabio Borini, 7 Luis Suárez
Arsenal's 4-3-3 lineup:
Goalkeeper: 24 Vito Mannone
Defenders: 25 Carl Jenkinson, 28 Kieran Gibbs, 5 Thomas Vermaelen, 4 Per Mertesacker
Midfield: 2 Abou Diaby, 19 Santi Cazorla, 8 Mikel Arteta
Forwards: 12 Olivier Giroud, 27 Gervinho, 29 Lukas Podolski
(END CHAPTER)
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