The next day, Arsenal Colney training base.
Inside the U17 training ground, the camera on the platform was set up early in preparation for the subsequent filming.
A fierce confrontation between young guys is about to begin here!
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Arsenal U17 players appeared on the field and started warm-up training.
Soon after, Liverpool's young players also arrived by bus and started changing clothes and warming up as soon as they entered the stadium.
In European football, where the youth training system is well developed, it is not uncommon for youth teams to play friendly matches away from home.
The club has invested generously in the youth team and spared no effort to create a better growth environment for young players.
Because as long as you can cultivate a good seedling, the benefits will be thousands of times greater!
More than ten minutes later, some Arsenal fans who heard the news began to flock to the sidelines.
Most of them were holding popcorn and beer, ready to watch the game comfortably.
"Come on, boys!"
"You will definitely win! No matter if you are a trial player or a contract player!"
"Down with Liverpool!"
"..."
Arsenal fans shouted loudly. Most of those who came to watch the youth team's game were die-hard fans of the team.
Is willing to give everything to support the team and pay attention to the team's future.
What's different from usual is that there are a lot of people coming to the stadium today, about three hundred in total.
Presumably, they had also heard that Mr. Wenger would be there, and were ready to get a close look at the first-team coach.
"Oh... it's coming! It's really coming!"
They didn't have to wait long before a tall figure suddenly appeared at the entrance of the stadium. He walked towards the team's coaching seat with vigorous steps, ready to sit with the coach who was directing the game.
"Clap, clap, clap..." There was applause from the audience. This was the fans' way of expressing their love and support for Wenger.
When Wenger heard that this was caused by him, he turned around and greeted the fans in the stands, causing another commotion.
However, a few people with calm expressions in the corner of the fan area caught his attention.
They were several middle-aged men around 40 years old, dressed very seriously, holding a notebook and a pen in their hands.
Scout?
Wenger looked at them deeply and turned his head away.
If they were thinking of loaning them out, he would welcome them and accept it.
But if he wants to take advantage of the situation and bring a few people back to his club, he will not give these people a good face.
"He just saw us."
In the stands, a scout from Leeds United smiled and reminded the people next to him, "Should we tell him that we want their U17 captain Gilbert?"
"Looking for trouble, don't you know that Mr. Wenger hates this the most?"
A Sheffield United scout frowned at him and said, "I think Gilbert will be in the first team next year or the year after. He won't go with us. He can only be loaned out."
"uncertain."
Another Burnley scout joined the conversation and said: "If you can offer a high price, given Arsenal's finances and character, they will not refuse."
"Then why don't you try to buy Fabregas and Wilshere from the first team?" The Sheffield United scout retorted and rolled his eyes.
"I can't do that, but it's easy to run a few youth team players."
The Burnley scout smiled and said, "Okay, it's almost time to start. Stop talking. Scouts judge people based on their own abilities."
The people around turned their eyes to the court, hoping to discover one or two good talents through this game.
......
At 3:30 in the afternoon, players from both sides started fighting on the court.
Maher stood on the left side of Arsenal's formation, playing as a winger. He roughly observed Liverpool's formation, which was a traditional 4-2-3-1.
This should be a continuation of the style of their first-team coach Benítez, who will launch high pressure in the frontcourt to force Arsenal's backcourt to not easily pass the ball. "There will be a lot of high balls, but headers are not my strong point. I have to pay more attention to the second penalty after the header."
Maher made a judgment in his mind and was waiting to get the ball and kick it into Liverpool's goal.
Glancing at the opponent's goalkeeper, he smiled faintly, with a little anticipation.
"Beep!!"
Soon, the referee blew the whistle to officially start the game.
Liverpool U17 got the kick-off in the first half and their black center forward kicked the ball back.
"Press! Move up to the midfield near the center line, be careful not to go too high!"
Arsenal captain Gilbert waved his hand to command his teammates, leading three lines of players to run forward and exert pressure.
However, they did not adopt a high-pressure approach.
Liverpool's style of play has always been simple and rough. If they move too forward, the pressure on the back line to defend the ball behind will become very great.
"Boom! Boom!"
After Liverpool's simple two-pass pass in the backcourt, they made a long pass to the side of Arsenal's backcourt, trying to advance the offensive line.
The ball was headed away by Arsenal's right back and posed no threat.
But Liverpool's tactical goal has been achieved, and all their players squeezed to the right side of Arsenal's backcourt, waiting for an opportunity to move.
Maher was the farthest from his team's right side and did not pay too much attention to the team's defense. Instead, he kept observing the Liverpool defender who was defending him.
He was waiting for the chance to catch the ball.
"Oh!"
Liverpool's attack ended with a cross, but the quality of the cross was not high and was directly caught by Arsenal goalkeeper Hopkins.
Hopkins took a rough look and saw that there were a large number of Liverpool players gathered in his own half, so he no longer had the idea of making a short pass.
He threw the ball up with one hand, leaned sideways and kicked the ball forward, looking for Gilbert in the middle.
Even though Gilbert is number 10, he is 187cm tall and has a certain ability to compete in headers.
"Crack!" After jumping up, Gilbert pushed the ball to the back, trying to catch Liverpool's defense off guard.
It is rare to maintain accuracy with this kind of back-and-forth pass, so see if you can take advantage of the opponent's lack of reaction and directly pass the ball behind you, letting your own players chase after it.
After falling to the ground, Gilbert quickly turned his head to observe the situation in the front court.
He saw the ball land on the left side, where Maher was racing with the opposing defender.
"My ball!"
The Liverpool defender obviously ran a little faster and caught up with the ball first, preparing to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper.
But Mahel reacted in time. When he realized he could not catch up, he gave up the pursuit and rushed towards the opponent with all his strength.
This is a relatively thin and agile full-back. From the outside, his confrontational attributes are basically zero.
"boom!"
There was a dull thud of physical contact, and the Liverpool defender suddenly fell to the ground like a kite with a broken string. He then waved his hands at the referee with an unwilling look on his face, "Hit! Wasn't it a foul?!"
The referee shook his head, indicating that the ball was fine and let him get up.
He hurriedly used his hands to support himself and tried to get up, but Maher had already dribbled the ball past him and headed towards the middle.
"Bang!!"
Seeing that he was within shooting range, Maher didn't hesitate and drew his bow and shot the first shot of the game today.
Compared with before, he adjusted quickly this time and still played with good quality.
The football just flew over the crossbar. Looking at the confused expression of the Liverpool goalkeeper, you can tell that if the ball had been hit straight, there would have been no problem scoring a goal.
"Keep coming!"
After trying it out, Maher's confidence increased again, and his desire for the ball increased even more.
Please give me a monthly ticket and a recommendation ticket! I don't know if anyone is watching it, brothers.
(End of this chapter)