Chapter 147: Champions League Storms Begin — Things to Know Before Facing the Reds
In the Premier League's third round, besides the North London Derby being the main event, the Red Devils vs. Liverpool match also drew a lot of attention.
But the game between Liverpool and Manchester United was not that thrilling; Liverpool edged United 1–0.
After three rounds, only Arsenal and Liverpool had three straight wins, sitting first and second in the Premier League table respectively.
Stoke City, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United followed closely.
The inclusion of Stoke City — two wins and a draw — among the Big Six brought considerable attention to the smaller club.
Coincidentally, in round four Stoke were to host Manchester City, and in round five they'd visit Arsenal, so they loudly proclaimed they would make the Big Six taste the ferocity of old-school football.
Many people chuckled at that.
However, at the Colney training ground, many people couldn't laugh.
The injuries to Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Wilshere sucked the laughter right out of the place.
Wenger stayed up all night and on Monday morning called Xia Qi into his office for two hours of discussion, ultimately deciding to play Xia Qi as the attacking midfielder (number 10).
Actually, it didn't matter much to Xia Qi what position he played — after all it was like turning on one-click AFK for him.
But Wenger and the coaches didn't know that!
Moving a player who excelled so much as a winger to a new position took courage for the coaching staff.
Wenger planned to revert to a back four, so if Xia Qi made mistakes in midfield, the defensive line would have better correction capability.
Wenger announced the training plan on the pitch:
The team would switch to a 4-5-1.
Left back: Luke Shaw
Center backs: Per Mertesacker, Samuel Umtiti
Right back: Serge Aurier
Defensive midfield: Gustavo
Deep-lying playmaker: Santi Cazorla
Attacking midfielder: Xia Qi
Left midfield: Aaron Ramsey
Right midfield: Theo Walcott
Striker: Mario Balotelli
In defense, Xia Qi and Gustavo could sweep one ahead / one behind, forming Arsenal's first defensive barrier.
In attack, Xia Qi would become a free man in front.
He would link up the front three; Balotelli, Gnabry and Walcott would move around Xia Qi…
After dividing into groups, Wenger ran A vs B practice…
Thanks to the [Telepathic Synchrony] attribute, Walcott — intimacy 85 with Xia Qi — combined with him far more smoothly than Aaron Ramsey, whose intimacy with Xia Qi was only 65.
That day's training confirmed to Wenger and the coaching staff one thing: Xia Qi could handle the number 10 role.
Only the left-side link-up between Xia Qi and Aaron Ramsey was unsatisfying.
Pat Rice suggested trying the academy youngster Serge Gnabry.
Wenger had promoted Gnabry from the youth team intending to give Walcott a backup.
But Gnabry could also play the left side.
In the next day's training, Gnabry — whose intimacy with Xia Qi was also 65 — actually combined better with Xia Qi than Aaron Ramsey.
The two were only a year apart in age and shared a language, so their rapport warmed quickly.
When their intimacy broke past 80, Wenger was surprised and delighted.
Gnabry and Xia Qi ignited a "spark of love."
The pair not only developed delicate interplay on the left but also interacted well with Balotelli and Walcott.
Arsenal's whole front finally woke up!
Thus, on Friday's starting XI announcement, the "King of London" — Gnabry — replaced the "grim reaper" Ramsey in the starting lineup.
Back in the dressing room, Gnabry impatiently phoned his mother in Germany with the good news.
…
Arsenal's round 4 Premier League opponent was Sunderland.
On September 14 at the Stadium of Light, Arsenal won 1–0.
Training is one thing, matches another.
In this game, Xia Qi — on one-click AFK — provided four exquisite passes for teammates, but only Balotelli converted one chance.
After the match many media criticized Wenger for moving the season's killing machine Xia Qi back to an attacking midfield role, claiming that it made even a relegation-threatened team like Sunderland hard to beat…
Xia Qi also received the worst rating of his career so far — a 7.0.
At the post-match press conference, Wenger defended himself and Xia Qi, saying Arsenal actually played well, Xia Qi controlled the match tempo and created four clear chances for teammates; it was just unlucky finishing.
But media and fans were not convinced and considered moving Xia Qi deeper a mistake.
After this match, Arsenal's odds for the Premier League and the Champions League were each shortened by 2 percentage points by betting markets.
Amid much skepticism, Arsenal faced Stoke City on September 21.
Stoke had been the surprise package of the Premier League this season — after four rounds two wins and two draws, and in round four they held title-chasing Manchester City to 0–0 at home, gaining huge attention…
Meanwhile, an Arsenal squad riddled with injuries were written off by many.
The Sun's sports section even predicted Stoke 2–1 Arsenal before the match.
Stoke used the opportunity to shout "we will win" during press buildup.
Even Sir Alex Ferguson voiced belief in Stoke, reasoning that they'd held a fully-fit Manchester City the previous week — City were the team with the best title chances this season.
If Stoke could hold City, their strength could not be underestimated.
Thus a match that shouldn't have been a focus became a focus.
Arsenal were at home.
Gnabry's parents were invited to the Emirates to attend their son's first home start.
Stoke came out fighting hard and played rough.
But they ran into a Xia Qi who was unafraid of injury and technically adept.
With Xia Qi and Cazorla combining, Arsenal controlled the entire match and gave the dark-horse no chance; Arsenal won 1–0.
The low score was because Xia Qi devoted more energy to defense.
After the match, fans and media used to seeing Xia Qi score hat tricks again criticized the new tactic; some Arsenal supporters even hung banners outside the training base to protest.
But Wenger and Xia Qi knew the team was on the right path.
After two rounds of Premier League baptism, Xia Qi's cooperation with teammates as an attacking midfielder grew increasingly polished.
On September 28 and October 6, in back-to-back away fixtures, Arsenal beat Swansea 2–0 and West Bromwich Albion 3–0 respectively.
Xia Qi scored Arsenal's first goal after the tactical switch in the West Brom match.
By then the media and fans finally realized that despite being injury-hit, Arsenal had gone the month unbeaten.
And they were firmly atop the Premier League table.
Reviews swung their way.
Xia Qi as the number 10 earned high praise; Wenger was hailed as a "tactical master."
Bookmakers cut Arsenal's title odds by another 2 percentage points.
Just as everything returned to normal, Arsenal's Champions League group stage began.
In the 2013–2014 Champions League Arsenal were drawn in Group F with Borussia Dortmund, Olympique de Marseille and Napoli.
On October 8 the whole Arsenal squad departed for Marseille,
preparing for the first group match on October 10.
The team arrived in Marseille around midday; after lunch Wenger told the coaches to let the players rest.
At 3:30 p.m. they traveled to the Stade Vélodrome for a pitch acclimatization session.
The Vélodrome holds over 60,000 and its facilities rival the home grounds of the Big Six.
…
Olympique de Marseille — founded in 1899 — is a storied French club and the only French club to have won the European Cup.
Marseille were third in Ligue 1 this season, coached by Elie Baup.
On October 10 at the Vélodrome.
Only 12 minutes into the match, Xia Qi received a long pass from Cazorla at the edge of the box, danced past a defender and threaded a through ball to the near post.
Gnabry slid in and scored.
He netted his first Champions League goal.
1–0!
After scoring, Gnabry sprinted along the touchline and took off his shirt in celebration, earning a yellow card.
Lately, the understanding between Xia Qi and Gnabry in training had been improving; they could often produce these "telepathic" combinations.
Compared to Arsenal, Marseille's squad value was only half.
Against Arsenal, they intended to defend for a draw and try to nick a win.
Conceding after only 12 minutes dispelled much of coach Baup's pre-match motivational work.
Near the end of the first half,
Arsenal scored again.
This time it was a link-up between Xia Qi, Balotelli and Walcott.
Walcott broke on the right, played a cut-back to Xia Qi; Xia Qi didn't take a touch, sliding a through ball into the central channel of the box.
Balotelli, like a tank, shrugged off defenders and fired a thunderous shot in the penalty area.
The ball hit the top corner!
2–0!
Marseille fans at the Vélodrome quieted their singing after falling 0–2 behind.
The former French powerhouse had long declined and had no answer to this new English challenger.
After halftime,
Baup surprisingly parked the bus despite being two goals down and despite the home crowd.
That actually allowed Arsenal to open up.
In the 65th minute Xia Qi burst into the box to latch on and headed the ball back.
An unmarked Per Mertesacker outside the area struck a world-class shot.
The ball deflected off a defender's leg and into the net.
3–0!
It was Mertesacker's first goal of the season and his first-ever Champions League goal.
Across his nine-year career Mertesacker had scored only 15 goals in total.
After the goal Mertesacker was ecstatic and hoisted Xia Qi onto his shoulders, sprinting around the pitch…
Mertesacker's goal sealed the match.
On the touchline Wenger relaxed and spoke with Pat Rice.
After the match Xia Qi was named man of the match again.
At the post-match press conference Wenger modestly said playing Xia Qi at number 10 was unavoidable; achieving five straight wins was the result of the whole team and a bit of luck.
He also said that in the next Premier League match Jack Wilshere would be fit again and Xia Qi would return to the left wing.
On October 26 came another London derby — Crystal Palace at home against Arsenal.
The teams were not on the same level; Palace never expected to beat Arsenal.
From the start Palace retreated to defend in numbers, even their lone forward dropped into their own half.
But even that defense lasted only twenty minutes.
In the 20th minute, Wilshere swung a left-side corner; Xia Qi met it at the near post with a diving header, cracking open Palace's turtle shell to make it 0–1.
Leading by one, the rest of the match was comfortable.
In the 52nd and 72nd minutes, two 18-year-olds — Gnabry and Luke Shaw — each scored to lock it up.
However, a worrying incident happened in the 82nd minute: Wilshere, who had just returned from injury, went down injured in a non-contact moment.
When it was later reported Wilshere was ruled out for the rest of the season, the 0–3 victory felt like a dish with a fly in it.
At the press conference afterward, media attention shifted from the match to an onslaught against Arsenal's medical staff, accusing them of allowing Wilshere to play before he had fully recovered.
Reporters argued the medics bore inexcusable responsibility — a sin bordering on criminality!
Some media even called Arsenal's doctors "veterinarians."
At the press conference they repeatedly pressed about Kevin De Bruyne's injury; it was clear they no longer trusted Arsenal's medical assessments.
Seeing Wilshere's state, De Bruyne was scared and, after consulting with Wenger, decided to delay his own return.
After the storms, October quietly passed.
Thanks to Arsenal's winning streak, Xia Qi was voted October Player of the Month by the English media, and Wenger was Player of the Month coach.
But voices differed.
Some argued a good coach is not only about results but must show human care for players; Wilshere's injury made Wenger's coach-of-the-month award controversial.
Soon it was November 2: Premier League leaders Arsenal would host second-place Liverpool.
This was a hugely important top-of-the-table clash.
Its build-up quickly eclipsed the Wilshere injury story.
People began to focus on and discuss the match.
Klopp's takeover at Liverpool had been a major success — under him Liverpool had accumulated six wins, two draws, one loss in their first nine league games (20 points), second only to Arsenal's nine straight wins (27 points).
…
At 7 p.m. local time, Arsenal appeared on time at the Emirates.
Xia Qi and the others headed out to warm up; Wenger tidied himself and quickly went to the press conference room.
When he entered, Klopp was already waiting at the table.
Wenger hurried over, greeted him and sat down.
Reporters filled the room, looking at Wenger with admiring eyes.
An injury-hit Arsenal had quietly been taking points amid wide criticism.
By the time this top-of-the-table showdown began people only belatedly realized Arsenal were sitting seven points clear of second place.
"Mr. Wenger, Arsenal are the only team with a winning streak in the Premier League. What's your secret to success?"
Wenger smiled, paused, and said: "Don't let outside matters disturb you. Do what you must, then add a bit of luck, and you'll succeed…"
"Mr. Klopp, about tonight's match…" (END CHAPTER)
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