Chapter 738 - 136: Comeback! 4-Goal Haul! No. 9 God! Epic Derby! Fight, or Crawl? Biggest Scoreline in History

Afternoon of October 29, 2011.

The weather was cloudy. Humidity: 87. Wind speed: 23 kilometers per hour.

The sun timidly hid behind heavy clouds, as if ashamed to watch the match unfolding in the stadium. The thick, muggy air was mixed with the roaring of fans in the stands, carrying a faint trace of bitter beer.

The Arsenal fans who had traveled with the team sat in a corner of Stamford Bridge Stadium, quietly slumped in their seats. Only the red-and-white team flags, propped against the railings, still fluttered stubbornly. They seemed suffocated by the overwhelming cheers of the home Chelsea fans. From the moment the halftime whistle blew, both the fans and their flags had remained exactly like this.

2-1!

That was the score at the end of the first half. Before this London Derby, countless media outlets and experts had already analyzed the matchup, predicting that Arsenal would once again face an arduous battle. From the Mourinho era to the present, Chelsea’s home ground had always been the most impregnable fortress in the Premier League!

Yet, the Gunners had actually played quite well in the first half. Up until the forty-fifth minute, the two teams were tied 1-1. But just as everyone thought the half would end in a draw, a corner kick changed everything. Lampard took the corner, and Terry scored with a header.

Every traveling Gunners fan and everyone watching the live broadcast at home were probably deeply disappointed. They had hoped for at least a draw, and with hope came disappointment.

It was just like the League Cup match on Wednesday. The team had fielded a squad composed entirely of substitutes for the away game against Bolton, ultimately losing 1-2. No one had said much about it because no one had held any expectations.

The sudden goal left the Gunners players completely stunned. In this match, the Gunners had conceded a goal just fourteen minutes into the game. It had come from the left flank, too—Juan Mata had taken the ball on the left, made a breakthrough past Gibbs, and sent a diagonal pass toward the goal, allowing a late-arriving Lampard to head it in.

However, in the thirty-sixth minute, Wang Shuo assisted Hazard in leveling the score. If one overlooked the initial goal, the two teams had been evenly matched. But no one expected them to concede another goal from a corner kick.

Once again, it was the left flank! Once again, a set piece! These seemed to be two insurmountable hurdles for the Gunners this season.

The players kept their heads down, hurrying into the player tunnel. Behind them, Stamford Bridge Stadium was engulfed in the overwhelming celebrations of the Chelsea fans. It was a piercing sound.

In the away locker room, Wenger spoke up. "We actually did quite well in the first half.

"Today, we are facing a very tenacious team. From the opening kickoff, they’ve subjected us to a frenzied, high-pressing game. Our two flanks, in particular, have been under immense pressure."

As soon as his voice faded, Lichsteiner remained relatively unfazed, but Gibbs looked somewhat embarrassed. The first goal they conceded came from a pass made by Juan Mata right on his side. Meanwhile, the corner kick that led to the second goal was conceded by Lichsteiner while defending on the right flank.

"I take primary responsibility for the situation in the first half; I underestimated the defensive pressure of an away game," Wenger said, proactively taking all the blame.

He was indeed at fault.

In this match, Alexandre Song was the holding midfielder, with Arteta partnering Aaron Ramsey. Fielding two technical midfielders made it clear that they intended to fight Chelsea to the bitter end.

And what about Chelsea? They adopted a tactical approach similar to Manchester United’s: relentlessly pressing, constantly disrupting Arsenal’s passing, and attacking the wings at every opportunity. Sturridge was on the left flank and Juan Mata on the right. Both players boasted exceptional individual abilities and blistering speed. This was especially true for Sturridge; Lichsteiner was under immense pressure trying to mark him.

Up front, Hazard and Walcott hardly ever dropped back to defend. Wang Shuo covered a massive area, and they frequently pushed high up the pitch. Had Matuidi been deployed, the defense on the left side would have been relatively secure. However, with Arteta and Aaron Ramsey partnering up, Alexandre Song was left playing as a lone defensive midfielder. Forced to divide his attention between the flanks while also keeping an eye on the late runs of Lampard and Ramirez, he was under equally immense pressure.

"I do not plan to make any substitutions during halftime!" Wenger looked resolutely at the players before him, his voice firm as he made the guarantee. This was meant to give everyone a dose of reassurance.

"However, we need to make some changes. Eden, Theo." Wenger looked toward Hazard and Walcott. "Bosingwa and Ashley Cole frequently push up to join the attack, so you need to put more pressure on them!

"You don’t need to drop back to defend, but don’t let them push up to attack, either. Keep them pinned up front!"

Wenger’s philosophy this season was offense as defense. Conceding goals wasn’t actually terrifying, as long as they could score up front!

"Chelsea has left us plenty of space behind their lines in this match, but we didn’t exploit it enough in the first half," Wenger continued.

"This is especially true on their two flanks. Both Bosingwa and Ashley Cole like to make attacking runs, which leaves a massive vacuum behind them.

"Lampard and Ramirez are spending more time fighting in the midfield rather than dropping back to cover and protect Mikel’s flanks. In the second half, we need to take full advantage of those half-spaces.

"Mikel is a player with solid frontal defensive abilities, but his running coverage is weak. Those half-spaces are their weak spots."

There was a wildly absurd piece of data: in the first half, Chelsea’s possession rate was actually four percentage points higher than Arsenal’s.