Chapter 1 Starry, Romantic Night in North London

"And it's in again!"

"Cazorla with a guided long pass, Walcott on a long-distance raid! Sanchez finishes it off! Arsenal extends its lead!"

"They've been stuck in the Champions League Round of 16 for five consecutive years! They've faced cosmic-level teams like Barcelona and Bayern Munich countless times, always just short of the mark! Eliminated three times due to fewer away goals! Eliminated twice with a total score of 3-4!"

"Tonight in North London is a starry, romantic night for all Gunners fans!"

Duan Xuan and He Wei had been commentating on matches for many years.

They had developed a sense of the game's flow: Bayer Leverkusen couldn't beat this Arsenal team.

They couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Li Kang.

It's okay, he's still young. Leading his team into the Champions League Round of 16 is already outstanding.

.....

Livestream room.

-【Arsenal is awesome! The draw is really good this year.】

-【No need to bring on Wilshere, Cazorla as a single core is enough to deal with Bayer Leverkusen!】

-【The ceiling for Bayer Leverkusen is the Champions League Round of 16. Without Li Mingdeng, they might have been eliminated in the group stage!】

-【You can't win every time. Losing is inevitable! Li Kang is 17 years old this year, he has a bright future.】

-【What are you talking about? There's still time left in the game! And there's the second leg! Who said Bayer Leverkusen is out!】

....

Emirates Stadium.

Leno picked up the water bottle next to the goalpost and took a few sips.

He really wanted to yell at Jonathan Tah and Papadopoulos.

After hesitating, he shook his head helplessly.

There's no point in yelling. Bayer Leverkusen's defense is just at this level.

Brandt walked back to the center circle with his head down, feeling guilty for wasting the opportunity to equalize.

Son Heung-min patted him on the shoulder and said a few words... his voice was instantly drowned out by the roar of tens of thousands of fans at the Emirates Stadium.

.....

Sideline.

There's no time to stand there dumbfounded.

Bayer Leverkusen's coaching staff was engaged in a heated discussion.

Dino nervously held a piece of paper and said anxiously, "Boss! The thermal imaging report is out!"

In 2015, how intense was the competition among the Premier League powerhouses?

Most of the home stadiums were equipped with thermal imaging equipment from Prozone.

The imaging effect is a true "God's-eye view" event stream.

Coach Toppmöller took the report, his hands still trembling, his expression solemn: "I can't fucking understand this stuff!"

On the other side.

Arsenal assistant coach Bould ended the discussion. After consulting with Wenger, he rushed to the sideline and made tactical gestures to Cazorla.

The latter nodded and relayed the gestures to his teammates in the midfield and defense.

In the course of modern football's development,

The "involution kings" realized that in actual combat, it's difficult to convey tactical needs quickly with voices. It's almost impossible to accurately communicate in the cheers of tens of thousands of fans.

The tactical gestures of the major schools are becoming more and more abundant, like the hand signs in Naruto!

Guardiola deeply understood this. He said in an interview: "In the youth team, I would say a lot and a lot of things in the game, because there were few spectators, and the external noise couldn't drown out the verbal communication between players."

"Gradually, I realized that too much verbal communication in intense games would affect my breathing rhythm."

"After entering the first team, there were also many foreign teammates with whom it was difficult to communicate verbally, so I tried to develop more gestures to communicate, including later landing in Serie A..."

Even more exaggerated was a world-renowned coach who coached many foreign teams. He didn't speak the same language as the players and even the team leaders. He couldn't even speak English when he coached in the Premier League, but that didn't stop him from competing for more championship awards.

The top five leagues aren't like the Chinese Super League with its slow pace where you can say a lot of things.

Even in amateur games, you only shout a few phrases like "Hey, hey, hey!" "Here, here, here!" "Behind you!" "Pass the ball to the leader!"

By the time you finish saying a bunch of words, the situation has already changed dramatically.

.........

Li Kang put the ball back in the center circle.

Returned to his position.

In God's-eye view, countless dense red arrow lines disappeared one by one.

All event stream replays were completed.

He turned his head and made a few gestures to his teammates behind him.

Kramer and Bender understood.

.....

The game continued.

Kießling kicked the ball back to Li Kang.

Li Kang touched the ball once! Passing it diagonally to Brandt on the right.

Sanchez and Cazorla double-teamed him at the same time!

Borges' support hadn't arrived yet.

Brandt in his developing stage was completely ravaged by the muscular Sanchez!

Cazorla stretched out his foot and easily completed the steal.

"Sanchez is playing very smart. He doesn't choose to confront Li Kang head-on, but always puts pressure on Brandt!"

"Arsenal's gorgeous attack is coming again!"

"Bayer Leverkusen is in danger!"

....

Cazorla once again initiated a quicksilver-like smooth attack!

All of Arsenal's attacking players were like a school of fish, frantically eroding Bayer Leverkusen's rotten flesh.

The trajectory of the ball was like a crisscrossing steel wire.

Strangling Bayer Leverkusen's defense.

Li Kang quickly retreated to the 30-meter area of his own half.

Kramer and Bender no longer insisted on their respective marking assignments, but moved closer to Li Kang's rear!

A few seconds later.

Arsenal's sharp blade stalled.

Li Kang blocked Cazorla!

The latter couldn't find a vertical passing option in an instant!

Sanchez and Bellerín were stretching Bayer Leverkusen's defense.

The real two support points, Walcott and Ramsey, were cut off by Kramer and Bender.

Are they crazy?

We're stretching the depth of the attack!

Are you guys giving up on width in your defense?

Snap!

Cazorla didn't get entangled with Li Kang.

He tapped the ball with his heel.

The ball rolled to Coquelin, who was moving forward.

"Oh, Arsenal has slowed down!"

"They need to reorganize their attack!"

...

Sideline,

Coach Toppmöller's eyes lit up, and he snatched the thermal image from Dino's hand.

He was excited: Arsenal's attacking style in this game is different from the past. They've reduced the proportion of transitioning from the left to the right... and strengthened their vertical attack! It's not difficult for Bayer Leverkusen to respond...

"Damn it! Li is a genius, he's thinking the same thing as me!"

Dino was confused: "Boss, what are you talking about?"

Coach Toppmöller thought for a while and explained in the simplest way: "If a beer can is flattened, it will hurt a lot if it hits my head! Li's idea is to give me a sharp mohawk hairstyle! And pop the beer can open!"

Dino suddenly understood and asked: "If Arsenal resumes its previous attacking style... we're not afraid of that! Just follow the defensive assignments arranged before the game! But what if they open up the width of their attack?"

If Arsenal resumed its previous attacking style, Bayer Leverkusen wouldn't be afraid. Mourinho and other Premier League managers provided textbook-style defensive frameworks.

Coach Toppmöller smoothed his afro and laughed: "Open up the width? Then Li will have plenty of time to adjust and eat their core playmaker! He's simply a genius! That's what I think too!"

While speaking,

Bayer Leverkusen's coach gently stroked the mineral water bottle and murmured: "The defense problem is solved, what about the next attack..."

On the other side.

Wenger felt around for a long time but couldn't find his upper pocket.

His smile was a bit bitter.

"Every generation's number 4 from La Masia is always so clever."

"We don't have time to make more complex tactical adjustments. According to the previous attacking style... Walcott and Giroud don't have the individual ability to break through their defense... they will target Sanchez and Cazorla even more..."

Assistant coach Bould said: "Boss! We're leading by two goals! As long as we defend well..."

"We still have Wilshere! He will make our attack..."

Wenger said with a worried look: "His injury hasn't healed for many days, it's too risky."

.......

Madrid.

Modrić knocked on the table heavily.

His eyes sparkled with brilliance.

"It's completely different from what I thought! But it briefly solves the problem on the defensive end!"

"Let me see your counterattack!"