Chapter 471: Defeat

In his previous life, when Gao Shen was still a student, he had always admired those strategic geniuses who could plan and win battles from thousands of miles away.

He also particularly enjoyed playing the role of a grand strategist. He always believed that some people in this world were truly extraordinary, possessing incredible intelligence. These individuals could devise intricate plans based on a variety of information, foresee opportunities, and predict every move far in advance.

It was akin to Mei Changsu in the TV series Nirvana in Fire.

Gao Shen had once imagined that highly successful business elites must operate in the same way. For instance, figures like Warren Buffett, the "god of stocks"; Bill Gates, who famously dropped out of college; others like the two wealthiest individuals who could casually earn 100 million, or the richest entrepreneur thriving on a relentless "996" work culture.

This perspective lasted for years until Gao Shen's thoughts gradually matured.

When he was just a small cog in the corporate machine, he constantly looked up to his superiors, from company leaders to department heads, wondering how they could be so impressive, always making such wise and calculated decisions.

However, as he began to take on leadership roles himself and his subordinates started looking at him with similar admiration, he realized something important: it wasn't so much about having a precise, unparalleled vision, but rather the advantage that came from access to different levels of information.

Gradually, he began to understand that those he had once admired were not particularly exceptional. They too fumbled during meetings, hesitated when making decisions, made mistakes, and scrambled to fix their blunders in every way possible.

He had witnessed a prominent industry leader make a premature announcement, only to suffer heavy losses and public humiliation.

He had also seen a company that had been declared dead and on the brink of bankruptcy suddenly come back to life because one of their long-neglected products unexpectedly gained market traction.

He had even seen how large, supposedly invincible companies did not really possess the ability to plan ten steps ahead. They merely picked a direction, invested heavily, plunged in headfirst, and experimented relentlessly. Out of dozens of attempts, perhaps only one succeeded, and that single success would be touted as a legendary story of triumph.

Even if something was clearly beneficial for everyone, the process of implementation would inevitably veer off track, spiraling out of control and ultimately resulting in disastrous consequences.

Gao Shen had once heard an adage: "Why is failure the mother of success?"

The reason is that every individual, every family, every company, and even every country is always taking steps forward, trying and failing repeatedly, and continuously correcting their course.

There has never been such a thing as winning from thousands of miles away through flawless planning!

What exists instead is moving forward one step at a time.

This truth applies to individuals, businesses, nations, and even football.

And this underscores the importance of on-the-spot decision-making!

Pre-game strategies are like planning and preparation before a match. They can certainly be well thought out, but once the opponent begins to adjust their tactics during the game, if you fail to respond in time and lose control of the details, the match will eventually deviate from its intended trajectory.

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For the match against Arsenal, Gao Shen began preparing as soon as the draw results were announced.

However, the most crucial part of his preparation was identifying Arsenal's weaknesses.

At this stage, Gao Shen had not yet decided how to approach the match or what lineup to use when traveling to London.

This was because international matches posed significant uncertainties for preparation. It was critical to determine whether any of his players had sustained injuries during national team duty and how they had recovered upon their return.

Similarly, Arsenal were also affected by the international schedule. How prepared were they?

These were all factors that needed consideration.

Intelligence gathering and analysis were what Gao Shen prioritized most, which was why Lucas' analysis department, where Lucas himself served as director had been continuously expanded. The department now had six members, making it the most significant division in Castel Volturno in terms of staffing.

Information regarding Arsenal and the upcoming match came flooding into Naples from all directions like a snowstorm. After being filtered and reviewed, it all landed on Gao Shen's desk.

Since the 2004–2005 season, Arsenal had played 21 home games in the Champions League, losing only one. That lone defeat occurred in 2006, when they lost to Real Madrid.

And during that match, the head coach of Real Madrid was Gao Shen.

In other words, over the past five years in the Champions League, Arsenal had only ever been defeated at home by Gao Shen, whether at Highbury Stadium or the Emirates Stadium.

Since moving to the Emirates Stadium in 2006, Arsenal had remained unbeaten in Champions League home games.

If the Champions League qualifiers were included, their unbeaten streak would be even more impressive.

In recent years, whether it was AC Milan, Liverpool, or this season's Roma, none had managed to secure victory at Arsenal's home ground. This was a major source of pride for the Gunners.

For Arsenal, this was their greatest psychological advantage.

At the same time, Arsenal, like Napoli, was the youngest team in this season's Champions League.

The average age of the Gunners was just 23 years old, slightly older than Napoli by a little over a year.

Both teams were primarily composed of young players, both adhered to a passing and movement-oriented playing style, and even their formations were strikingly similar.

Arsenal's recent strong performances could be attributed to Wenger's ability to seamlessly switch between two tactical systems: the 4-2-3-1 and the 4-4-2.

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"When playing away, they use the 4-2-3-1, which is more balanced; at home, they use the 4-4-2, which is more attack-focused."

"Arsenal's recent form indicates that their players have mastered the rotation between these two tactical systems."

At the coaches' meeting, Lucas analyzed Arsenal's current situation.

"Additionally, they have their own attacking trident: Van Persie, Adebayor, and Walcott, as well as players like Nasri and Fabregas. These attackers can form tight offensive connections in the front, frequently interchanging positions, which will undoubtedly create significant challenges for our defense."

Lucas' analysis largely aligned with Gao Shen and the coaching staff's observations about Arsenal.

It was difficult to succeed with just one fixed formation, unless you controlled possession as overwhelmingly as Barcelona.

This season, Manchester United had alternated between the 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formations, while Arsenal rotated between the 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 systems.

Napoli, similarly, utilized both the 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formations this season.

It was clear that the 4-2-3-1 formation remained quite popular.

Gao Shen believed that no matter how Arsenal adjusted their tactics, some aspects of their game remained consistent.

For instance, their reliance on wide play.

From the past to the present, Arsenal had always emphasized wing play as their main attacking channel.

In earlier years, they relied on Ljungberg, Pires, Henry, and Reyes. Now, it was Walcott, Nasri, and Arshavin.

Even their fullbacks were chosen based on their offensive capabilities, which often left gaps in Arsenal's defense.

Additionally, Wenger's teams had long struggled with transitioning from attack to defense.

Since Gao Shen's time coaching Real Madrid, he had always emphasized the speed and efficiency of transitions between attack and defense.

The so-called transition from attack to defense involved both launching swift counterattacks and quickly regrouping defensively.

Gao Shen had previously noted Wenger's insistence on maintaining short passing distances, requiring players to stay within ten meters of one another. While this constant movement optimized their offensive game, it also consumed enormous amounts of energy.

This excessive running brought about another issue: when Arsenal controlled possession, they could dictate the tempo and exploit their wide players. However, once they lost the ball, their formation would often fall apart.

How to quickly regroup and establish a defensive shape had always been a major issue for Arsenal.

In the past, when players like Vieira, Gilberto Silva, and Sol Campbell were around, their individual abilities allowed them to organize the defense in the midfield and backline quickly, minimizing these problems.

However, after those players left, the cracks began to show.

For example, in midfield, Fabregas replaced Vieira. While Fabregas excelled at organizing attacks, could he fill Vieira's defensive role?

Not to mention, in terms of physicality and defensive capability, the Spanish midfielder was on an entirely different level compared to Vieira.

After Wenger implemented his policy of not renewing contracts with players over the age of 30, experienced players left in droves, lowering Arsenal's average age but also depriving the team of valuable experience.

As a result, when Arsenal transitioned from attack to defense, they no longer had key figures to stabilize their formation as they did before.

This is why Arsenal now appeared so fragile.

Wenger's Gunners had never struggled offensively. With their passing and movement, attacking was never an issue.

But Arsenal's Achilles' heel had always been their defense.

If their defense was unstable, no matter how brilliant their attack was, it was nothing more than a castle built on sand.

"So," Gao Shen concluded his analysis, expressing his core strategy.

The match had to be approached step by step, but the fundamental approach against Arsenal would remain unchanged. This was the direction Gao Shen had set for Napoli.

"In our upcoming training sessions, we'll focus on drills for wing-based attacking and defensive transitions. We'll aim to play at a high tempo, in the simplest, most direct, and sharpest way possible, to defeat Arsenal!"

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