Captain Lewandowski forcefully kicked the ball back, then charged into Arsenal's half without looking back!
At this moment, Wenger was observing every move of the players on the field with his profound eyes.
He didn't know much about Cambridge United's young Head Coach. The only impression he had was when Cambridge United caused a huge upset by defeating Sven-Göran Eriksson's Manchester City.
If it weren't for Ryan Mason, Huang Hao would have become the youngest Head Coach in Premier League history. But Wenger had no interest in that.
In his opinion, professional player – further study – Head Coach, these were essential experiences for an excellent Head Coach. Whether it was Ferguson or himself.
And the so-called 'academy style' lacked the ability to adapt to the rapidly changing situations on the field. Simply put, it was practical experience.
This kind of experience was not gained through learning, but accumulated through hundreds of matches.
Therefore, his players and he had too many common topics; they knew how to read the game and how to adjust their formation in real-time during a match to counter their opponents.
However, today, Wenger found that his Arsenal seemed to have encountered a small problem.
Although the substitute players on the field were actively pressing high, it always felt like something was missing compared to the starting players, and Cambridge United's players didn't seem to be too afraid of this home pressure.
Facing Arsenal's aggressive pressing, they were mostly able to calmly pass the ball to their teammates.
If Wenger had seen the geometrically increasing difficulty of Cambridge United's rondo training at their base, he might have quickly found the answer.
Unfortunately, at this moment, he could only find a solution by observing the match on the field.
Today's match between the two sides felt very much like a clash of equals.
Although Arsenal had more substitute players, Clichy and Denilson on the right wing were definitely considered starting configurations. And Cambridge United's left wing was also Cambridge United's sharpest offensive weapon.
Just then, Arsenal, through passing from the back, once again penetrated into Cambridge United's front third.
Campbell, after receiving the ball on the left, passed it to Denilson in the center.
As soon as Denilson received the ball, May and Kante immediately closed in from the front.
Although the two of them were not much taller than him, their physical strength clearly overpowered him.
Under their wild collisions, Denilson's ball control became more difficult.
Looking at the two players closing in on him, Denilson had a headache; a breakthrough was clearly unrealistic.
Just then, Denilson spotted Diaby cutting in from the right through a gap between players, and without hesitation, he sent the ball through!
After receiving the ball with his back to goal, Diaby had already noticed Parks behind him, so as he turned, Diaby once again distributed the ball to the wing!
Clichy understood perfectly; the moment Diaby passed the ball, he suddenly accelerated, overtaking Grenier in front of him! Kante and Lovren in the center immediately moved to cover and rushed towards Clichy!
Clichy calmly sent the ball directly towards the goal from between the two of them!
Denilson quickly charged forward and took a snap shot!
Oblak, perfectly positioned, flew up and, with a single hand, tipped the ball out for a corner!
The Selhurst Park Stadium immediately erupted in gasps!
Zhang Lei, who saw Denilson's shot, also secretly clenched his fist; having watched many matches at the Emirates Stadium, he had inadvertently come to regard Arsenal as his home team.
But at this moment, he was surrounded by fans wearing yellow jerseys, so to avoid trouble, Zhang Lei chose to remain low-key.
Nasri took the corner, and Vermaelen headed the ball at the back post, but unfortunately, the power and angle were very ordinary, and Oblak directly pinned the ball under him, ending Arsenal's attack.
From the first 10 minutes of the match, Cambridge United did not press high like Arsenal, but instead quickly retreated their defensive line and specifically marked Nasri, Denilson, and others.
As a result, Arsenal's sharp through balls and wingers cutting inside could not be utilized. More often, Arsenal's passing was done on the outside, unable to find effective means to break through Cambridge United's defense.
Sometimes, Wenger even felt like he was conducting an internal practice match, because some of Cambridge United's defensive strategies were too similar to his own!
However, Arsenal did not have too many problems at the moment, after all, Arsenal's substitute players were also top talents worth over ten million. This was their best chance to prove themselves.
In the 15th minute of the first half, Sagna, from a slightly deeper position in midfield, directly threw the throw-in towards Nasri in the front.
However, Kante got there first, heading the ball directly back!
And at this moment, Arsenal's entire defensive line had already moved to near midfield!
Fortunately, Clichy successfully defended against Lewandowski and forced him to kick the ball out of bounds, earning Arsenal time to get back on defense.
Diaby ran over and picked up the ball. Seeing Nasri not far away, he threw the ball directly to him.
Looking at the ball flying towards him, Nasri was not in a hurry, but stood still and waited.
Suddenly, Diaby shouted: “Behind you!!!”
Just as Nasri was about to turn, Kante sprinted from behind, directly stealing the ball in front of Nasri!
Wenger slammed his fist onto his seat! Such a basic mistake made him furious!
Diaby, Song, and Nasri formed a triangular position, converging on Kante at full speed from different directions.
And Diaby was the only player in front of Kante. Fighting and retreating, Diaby constantly adjusted his steps, lowering his center of gravity, trying to intercept Kante at the edge of the penalty area.
But just as Diaby slowed down and turned, Kante passed the ball directly to him!
Diaby, who hadn't yet adjusted his center of gravity, clearly hadn't expected Kante to pass at that moment! He could only watch helplessly as the ball rolled past him!
At this moment, behind Diaby was not his teammate Campbell, but Cambridge United's captain, forward Lewandowski!
Lewandowski brought down the ball and, with Diaby and Campbell pressing him from both sides, calmly chipped the ball into the top corner of the goal!
Almunia made a diving save, but he couldn't touch the flying ball at all! As the ball nestled into the net, Selhurst Park Stadium instantly erupted! A huge roar echoed throughout the stadium!
1:0!
Cambridge United, in the 15th minute of the opening, took the lead through their captain Lewandowski, once again achieving a dream start!
This was not the first time Arsenal had conceded first in a match, but having their defense so easily torn apart by their opponent still left Wenger very dissatisfied!
So, Wenger left his seat and stood by the side of the pitch, just like Huang Hao.
Seeing their Head Coach's actions, Arsenal's players knew exactly what they needed to do now.
However, this seemingly unremarkable team caused Arsenal's renowned positional play to hit a bottleneck.
Watching the ball circulate on the outside from the left to the center, then to the right, yet consistently failing to penetrate Cambridge United's Zone 14.
Frequent long-range shots, apart from increasing Arsenal's shot count statistically, did not pose any real threat to Cambridge United.
Unbeknownst to them, 30 minutes had passed in the match, and thanks to their stable defense, Cambridge United still led Arsenal by one goal at home.
Arshavin stood by the corner flag; this time he chose the back post!
Vermaelen and Parks both missed the ball, but Vermaelen, with extremely quick second reaction, immediately got up and chased after the ball.
Vermaelen, having reached the ball, successfully attracted the defense of both Parks and Kante.
With his back to the goal, Vermaelen shielded the ball at his feet. Seeing Sagna rapidly overlapping, he directly laid the ball off to the edge of the penalty area!
The overlapping Sagna's first touch and shot were executed seamlessly!
The ball, as if boosted, shot straight towards the right side of the goal!
Oblak stretched his body to the limit, diving to the right, but he didn't touch the ball!
Oblak, whose heart had sunk halfway, hadn't even landed when he heard a thud behind him!
The ball directly struck the right post!
Youngster Van Dijk was the first to rush to the goal, directly kicking the ball out for a throw-in!
Arsenal thus missed their best scoring opportunity of the first half.
When positional play was ineffective, corner kicks became Arsenal's most effective attacking method in the first half.
As Clichy's push shot after overlapping was easily gathered by Oblak, referee Mason blew the whistle for the end of the first half.
Watching Wenger stride quickly into the player tunnel, Zhang Lei still believed that Arsenal would definitely reverse the game and win in the second half.
But at this moment, Wenger's heart did not quite agree with Zhang Lei's prediction. As a highly talented Head Coach, he clearly sensed a hint of danger.
“What do you think?!”
“What do you think?!”
Wenger rushed directly from beside the tactics board to in front of the players, his gaze like a torch!
No matter which player it was, when Wenger's gaze swept over them, they quickly lowered their heads.
“Where is the rhythm! Where is our damned rhythm!”
Wenger almost pressed his face against Arshavin's. Under the immense pressure, this French Head Coach's favorite player did not dare to meet his gaze.
“You're playing too soft!”
“You too!”
Wenger suddenly leaned in front of Denilson again. The unprepared Denilson's body tilted slightly backward.
Then Wenger straightened up again, pointing his finger at every player.
“All of you are the same!”
“You all look like a bunch of f***ing wimps!!!”
An angry Wenger directly swore.
“I don't want to say any more nonsense to you, any nonsense! I hope to see a different team in the second half, a team completely different from the first half! Understand?!”
Wenger leaned forward again, shouting at the players, making Arsenal's youngsters feel immense pressure.
“5 minutes! You still have 5 minutes!”
“Use 5 minutes to ignite your bodies! Focus! Rhythm!”
“Let me see that you are a team, a team! Understand?!”
If Arsenal's locker room at this moment was like a biting winter.
Then Cambridge United's locker room was like a spring breeze, peaceful and harmonious.
After a simple analysis of Cambridge United players' several misplaced positions in the first half, Huang Hao preferred to let everyone use the halftime to get some good rest.
At this moment, there were 3 minutes left until the start of the second half. Huang Hao looked at his watch, then clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention.
“Okay, if I'm not mistaken, the players in the locker room next door are probably not having a good time right now.”
Everyone naturally understood Huang Hao's meaning and smiled knowingly. “This isn't the first time we've led against a strong team, but I believe Liverpool also left a deep enough impression on us.”
“In the second half, Arsenal will definitely increase the number of through balls, so, it's best to find a trustworthy teammate behind you.”
“Also remember, Arsenal will play through balls, and so will we!”
Soon, players from both teams, with different mindsets, once again stood on the field and began the second half of the match.
Although Arsenal's players were full of vigor under Wenger's furious scolding, this did not mean that Cambridge United would simply yield a path for them to attack.
Just as brine curdles tofu, there's always something that can counter another. Sometimes, the phenomenon of clashing playstyles is like Zidane's metaphysics, somewhat inexplicable and unclear.