Jagged Wings

Chapter 212 Something Happened

After Sagna joined, Arsenal went to Austria for a three-week training camp.They ushered in their second opponent in the summer warm-up match at the Bader-Walterseedorf Stadium. They beat Zhenke Biliz 3:0 and achieved two consecutive victories in the preseason.

Sarnia came off the bench. Although he didn't have much time to show, it also gave the gun fans hope.

There is also good news that the Gunner, who had been away from the game for half a year, appeared on the field. He and Torres seemed to have a good understanding. Coupled with the great help of Reyes in the rear, Arsenal's frontcourt offense was as smooth as mountains and rivers.

In the first two games, Wenger played a new and old lineup, and the team performed very well.So the last game of the three-week training camp was against Red Bull Salzburg.I thought it was a sure-fire game, but Arsenal, who played the main force, fought fiercely for 10 minutes, but finally lost the game 0:1.

However, everyone will not take it too seriously in the preseason. Sometimes the results are more important.

Then Arsenal returned to the Emirates Stadium, where they will sit at home and host the "Emirates Cup" game.The Emirates Cup is similar to Ajax's Four Corners and the Audi Cup, both of which are pre-season warm-up cups.This year is the first Emirates Cup, Arsenal invited Inter Milan, Valencia and Paris Saint-Germain three teams to compete.

On the first match day, Arsenal still adopted a mixed method, dispatching half of their young players, and continued their good form. They defeated Paris Saint-Germain 2:0 and entered the final of the Emirates Cup. , Inter Milan eliminated Valencia and joined Arsenal in the final.

In the final, the two sides drew 1:1 until the 85th minute. In the end, Reyes stepped forward again at the last moment, killing Inter Milan and bringing back the team's first championship of the season!
However, compared to this meaningless championship, what made Wenger more concerned was that Walcott and Hleb were injured one after another during the game. With no one on the right, Wenger sent the jack-of-all-trades Flamini.However, Flamini, who played the right midfielder, was not very excited, but Clichy, who played the right back as a guest, was on the rise, frequently assisting, and performed well!
After winning the Emirates Cup, Arsenal once again rushed to the Netherlands non-stop to participate in another warm-up cup, the Amsterdam Cup.Although Arsenal also won the preseason "double" with two wins, Wenger was not happy.

Because Adebayor was injured again.

In Wenger's eyes, Adebayor is not the same type of forward as Torres and Henry. His presence can enrich Arsenal's offensive system.

Under such circumstances, Arsenal ushered in the team's new season Premier League tour.Team deputy Gilberto had returned to the team when the team played the Amsterdam Cup, but because of participating in the America's Cup, he did not play.

Before the start of the Premier League, the Community Shield was the first to be held. Because Arsenal won the FA Cup and the Premier League last season, the Premier League runner-up Manchester United took part in the Community Shield.

Before the game, it was always believed that the combination of Gilberto and Cesc Fabregas would become the Gunners' starting combination.Although the two haven't cooperated in the pre-season warm-up match yet, no one doubts the tacit understanding between the two.

Last season, it was Cesc Fabregas and Gilberto's offense and defense that allowed Arsenal's midfield to function freely.

But this is not the case. Flamini replaced Gilberto and appeared in the midfielder position, and Gilberto was on the bench.

For the cameras, the game was more focused on Gilberto on the bench, and the cameras kept turning to Wenger and Gilberto, trying to pick out their expressions.

But the expressions of both of them were expressionless, so calm that no one could see anything.

In this Community Shield, Arsenal finally defeated Manchester United 2:1.This Community Shield is not good-looking. Manchester United left Ronaldo this summer, and the newcomer Nani and the team are still looking for a tacit understanding.Ferguson has introduced many players this season, such as Carlos Tevez, Hargreaves, Anderson... They are still in the running-in stage.

Arsenal won not so much because of their strength, but rather because of their tacit understanding.

After this boring game, everyone is more interested in what happened between Wenger and Gilberto?
Being able to appear on the bench means that Gilberto has no injuries, so why can't he play?
The stalking media quickly grasped the cause of the matter: Gilberto has turned 30 years old, and Gilberto's contract has one year left!
In the Arsenal team, this means that Gilberto will face the embarrassing situation of "one signing a year".

Some media even photographed Gilberto's agent's livid face when he came out of the club.

But when interviewed by the media, both Wenger and Gilberto remained silent.

But silence, after all, cannot cover up the undercurrent.The answer appeared quickly. The day before the start of the Premier League, Arsenal announced that Gilberto, the deputy team member, would join AC Milan at a price of 500 million pounds!

As soon as the news came out, everyone was in an uproar!

Gilberto has been the backbone of Arsenal since Vieira left.Although Cesc Fabregas's light is getting better day by day, but no one will deny Gilberto's role.In the Arsenal team, Gilberto is definitely not a green flower!
But in Wenger's calculation, Flamini, Denilson and Diaby are all qualified heirs of Gilberto.Since it is going to be younger, it is natural to copy young players to the top!

More importantly, the departure of team deputy Gilberto can return a large part of the team's internal salary structure, and it can also make Arsenal look profitable!
What did Gilberto have to lose by leaving?
In Wenger's view, in the warm-up matches in the summer, the team still played good-looking football without Gilberto, which proves that - without Gilberto, Arsenal is just as Arsenal accept!
But the facts quickly told Wenger that Arsenal is not that Arsenal!
In the first round of the Premier League, the defending champion Arsenal faced Fulham. After the final 90 minutes of the game, Arsenal was tied 1:1 by the opponent.

This match is considered by most to be a coincidence.In the game, Arsenal's smooth offense made Fulham breathless. They used a variety of actions as if they were playing in Fulham's penalty area.

However, the fluent Arsenal was still unable to cross Fulham's goal line, and because of the reduced defensive ability of the midfield, Fulham's quick counterattack won several opportunities to face Arsenal's goalkeeper Almunia.And they didn't waste such an opportunity, with three shots, they pierced Almunia's gate once!
The unexpected draw in the first round, everyone thought it was a coincidence, but when Arsenal were defeated by underdogs in the second and third rounds, everyone began to realize that something happened to Arsenal!
(End of this chapter)