Chapter 14 Three Battles

Since Donn and Carl Spike's bet, Nottingham Forest won two consecutive league wins - after defeating Chelsea, they defeated Middlesbrough away. As if they heard the urging call to set off, the army has made great strides on the journey. Perhaps each step is not so steady, a little tired and staggering, but they are always moving forward. His ranking has also climbed to third, with only Liverpool being ranked between them and Arsenal.

On April 2, the Forests ushered in the Champions League quarter-finals opponent Arsenal at home.

Nottingham Forest will play Arsenal three times in a row in the next week. Two home and away games for the Champions League, as well as one league game.

This week will be the key week to decide what the Forests can gain this season. Some media have already been eager to play the title of "Decisive Battle" for hype.

"... Tony Donn said he wanted to win the league championship this season, that was clearly going to face Arsenal head-on. Coincidentally, they also had to play two final games with Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The results may be many, no matter which one is interesting enough for us audiences. Arsenal double-killed Nottingham Forest, or Nottingham Forest double-killed Arsenal, or Forest was eliminated from the Champions League, and Arsenal was subject to the Champions League, which eventually allowed Forest to reverse the league successfully. Of course, we cannot rule out that Forest eliminates Arsenal and gives up the league for the Champions League..."

"…Tony Donn and Wenger have a good personal relationship, but in this week, they will definitely forget all their private relationships and fight for the final season championship. The game may be very good..."

"...This is the first time that the two teams have met in the Champions League since the 2005-06 season. The last time Forest team eliminated Arsenal by penalty shootout in the semi-finals. In the end, they lost to Barcelona in the final. Will Arsenal succeed in revenge this time?"

"...Arsenal is in good shape now. They have maintained nine consecutive victories in the league, and the gap with Nottingham Forest is still six points. But we cannot underestimate Nottingham Forest's energy in the cup. I think Tony Donn is a coach who is good at playing cups. His team has a momentum, and this momentum is very suitable for playing cups. So the ideal ending should be that Forest team give up the league and eliminate Arsenal."

There are many different opinions about the ending of the two teams, and it suddenly seems that everyone is very reasonable.

Of course. Supporters of each team must think that their team can get the best results.

At the gate of Wilford, Done was blocked by a group of reporters.

"I don't predict the result of the day after tomorrow." Countless microphones reached his mouth, and Tang En just waved his hand. "Yes, I have a good personal relationship with Asena. He is a coach I respect very much. But these have nothing to do with the game after tomorrow. Don't put a trap on me, I'm smarter than you think."

He seems very cautious because the team has consumed a lot of physical energy recently. Three consecutive fierce battles in a week may have any negative impact on the team - for example, physical fitness collapse at the last moment... He doesn't want to say too much now. He doesn't want to put too much pressure on the players.

Seeing that he was about to squeeze out the siege, a reporter shouted anxiously: "Will the three consecutive games against Arsenal have an adverse impact?"

"No, I think this is a good thing, and I have concentrated all the troubles together to solve them. Arsenal was solved in this week. We can concentrate on other opponents." Don Eun was stubborn and did not let others see his true thoughts.

At the same time, at the Kearney Training Base in North London, Wenger was surrounded by the same number of reporters.

"I look forward to fighting with Nottingham Forest again. Tony Donn is a very capable coach. You can tell by looking at the number of championships. Arsenal will handle it carefully..."

Some reporters were tired of such official answers. He asked loudly: "After Alex Ferguson retires, is it only Tony Don't you think you are the opponent, Acena?"

Wenger looked up and saw the reporter asking questions. He smiled and said, "All coaches are my opponents."

"I mean, is Tony Donn the 'special one'?"

"Of course he is the special one, and he is a news person wherever he goes." Wenger avoided this topic that may cause disputes in a joke.

The battle of words between the two head coaches did not start, which disappointed the media.   When Ferguson was there, Donn would not mind having a big battle of words with Ferguson every time he met Manchester United.         This is really boring.

Or for Wenger. Tony Donn is still not the "special one". Alex Ferguson, who has retired, is the "most special one". It's like when Mourinho left England, Donn felt a little lonely. I wonder if Wenger often feels like this after Ferguson retires.

Sesque Fabregas, Arsenal's current captain, the flag of Emirates Stadium. He is still the core of the Spanish national team's midfielder and can be called a superstar in the world football world. But there is always a shadow in his heart that he has never mentioned. The shadow was buried deep in his heart before he became famous. Remind him at any time - he is not the most powerful person in the world.

He still remembers that he met George Wood when he thought he was the best young player in the world. It is undeniable that the venue was bad that day, which was not conducive to his performance. But the opponent was indeed an unknown ordinary young player. After losing to Wood, he came back to collect information about Wood, which surprised him even more - George Wood was a newcomer who had only received professional football training for less than a year! A complete rookie!

The blow to him was really big at that time. Think about his famous family - the best player in the World Youth Football Championship who came out of the famous European youth training camp Lamacia, would lose to a rookie who had only received professional football training for less than a year. He even began to deny whether he was suitable for playing football.

This is obviously not what Wenger wants to see. At this time, Wenger played to his strengths of being good at coaching young players. He comforted Fabregas psychologically. He told him that losing to Wood was just an accident because the venue conditions were too bad. He could not deny himself because of this. He could only say that the enemy was too cunning. As for George Wood... Wenger told Fabregas that although he is still unknown now, he was a great genius, a genius of the same level as Fabregas himself. It is normal for two geniuses to fight each other to win or lose. There is no need for frustration.

These words enlightened Fabregas, and he also re-reflected on his thoughts when he became famous at a young age. In this sense, the failure of the match against Wood helped him and became a very valuable asset in his career.

Maybe he would like to thank Wood? But he would never publicly admit this.

This time it was a good opportunity, as Arsenal will play against Nottingham Forest in three straight games and he has the chance to beat Wood in the game.

Four years ago, in the South African World Cup, the then European champion Spain lost to George Wood alone, and Wood was later awarded the title of "Saint George". This title is a praise for Wood. But it sounds not so comfortable for Fabregas. He always remembers the scene of being eliminated. That year they were highly expected, but they were eliminated early...

In the European Cup two years later, the two were the main players of their respective national teams, but they never met from beginning to end. Capello's team stopped in the semi-finals. Spain was eliminated in the quarter-finals...

Although they have two chances of meeting each year and win or lose each other in the local league, none of them are key games. Unlike this time, three games. Every game is important. Fabregas is eager to make George Wood lose all this season.

He really admires Wood, and because of this, he particularly enjoys the feeling of beating Wood.

George Wood doesn't know what his opponent is thinking, and he almost never has troubles like Fabregas. He has too many opponents, but he treats some people equally and does not treat them as lifelong opponents - his mind lacks this concept. His only football world is Nottingham Forest, and other teams and players are nothing more than symbols called "opponents" or "enemy".

Arsenal is coming the day after tomorrow? OK, let them come. See you on the court.

This is all George Wood's psychological activities.

If a reporter asked him about questions like Fabregas, his answers would be cold and make people feel that he was deliberately against the media.

A reporter once conducted a voting survey in his peer circle: Who do you think is the most difficult person to interview in Premier League teams? Who do you think is the most unnewsworthy player in Premier League teams? Who do you think is the most unwilling Premier League player in Premier League teams? Who are the Premier League players you dislike interviewing the most?

The answers to the first place are all one person: George Wood.

A reporter complained that he was as famous as his name, and he was like a piece of wood. He answered the meaninglessness and no hype value. He and Tony Don't have two extremes in this regard.   The same question as "one plus one equals several", Wood would answer concisely: "Two.   " And Tony Don't's reaction was much more interesting, and he would ask back: "Don't you know such a simple question?" Or "Maybe it three?"

Therefore, at Nottingham Forest, reporters are more willing to interview Pepe, Bale... or other players, except George Wood, who is a target that he doesn't want to touch.

Since his debut, there are only a handful of interviews about him in the media. Any reporter will feel uncomfortable when facing Wood - no matter what questions they ask, they will not get a warm response. Celebrity interviews are actually like two people playing tennis. Some people serve and some people catch the ball, and then they hit it like this. In this way, both the interviewee and the interviewer will feel smooth. But the interviewer is a tennis ball with the same person. The interviewer is desperately serving, and Wood does not pick it up, and does not pick it up. So the interviewer needs to be both serving and caddie, running back and forth between serving and picking up the ball, exhausted, and still faces George Wood's wooden face. It is a really devastating interview experience.

Regarding the three consecutive games with Arsenal, the media didn't ask Wood much about this time. Only the Nottingham Evening Post, which has the best relationship with the Forest, got an interview with Wood.

Pierce Bruce asked about his outlook for the game. Wood was not as cautious as Donn. He said bluntly: "We will win."

"Are you three games? Or just the day after tomorrow?" Bruce asked.

"Three games."

Bruce laughed: "But your boss Tony Donn didn't say such things."

Wood shook his head: "If it weren't for the victory, why are we going to play?"

This question is philosophical, and Pierce Bruce is speechless.

He then used this sentence to the title to inspire the Forest and the Forest fans.

"The purpose of the game is to win?" Wenger couldn't help laughing when he saw this article. "It's in line with Tony Donn's football philosophy."

He was sitting on a bus from North London to Nottingham. He didn't need to continue analyzing their opponents at this time. Wenger was so familiar to him that he couldn't get along with the other side. The Forests' home game against Chelsea in the first two weeks might provide him with some reference. His team is also good at skill, and Don will definitely use the rough tactics at home to destroy Arsenal's offense.

Arsenal has made targeted arrangements for this.

At the city stadium, Arsenal will speed up the passing of football and minimize the time the ball stays under the players' feet. If Nottingham Forest wants to press, let us lead them by our nose and exhaust the last bit of strength.

He knew that in the recent season-end sprint, the Forests consumed a lot of physical energy. This is where he could use it.

In Wenger's mind, he did not take this game out separately. He was considering all three games. Thanks to this schedule, he had a very good overall plan.

First of all, he oppressed the Forest team away, and Wenger didn't even mind losing to the Forest team away, as long as the points difference was too big. The main purpose was to continue to consume the Forest team's physical fitness and let them do their best to win a game. Then the next league and the Champions League are Arsenal's home courts.

In that game in the league, Wenger will continue to oppress the Forest team, forcing them to play at their fast pace and further consume the Forest team's physical fitness. The draw is the best result, because if you win the Forest team at home, it may stimulate Don to devote all the focus of the season to the Champions League. If you have lost to the Forest team in the first leg, even if you play in the second leg, even if you play at home in the second leg... If you lose to the Forest team in the league... Wenger has also seriously considered this situation, and he believes that it is not completely unacceptable. After all, his team has a six-point gap with the Forest team and a five-point gap with Liverpool. He is not worried that losing a game will lose the whole game.

Finally, return to the mid-week Champions League. Arsenal will fire fully at home, facing the exhausted Nottingham Forest, which has been dragged by two consecutive high-intensity games.

By then, Nottingham Forest will run out of physical energy and both the League Champions League will be eliminated.

Arsenal just lost one of its strongest opponents.
Chapter completed!