Mastering the Game

Many years ago, the young and inexperienced Pirlo sat in the United States, witnessing the Super Bowl firsthand. Aldrich leaned in to share insights on the importance and benefits of a deeper organizing style, along with the crucial role of hidden attacking points during a game. Back then, Pirlo couldn't completely comprehend Aldrich's insights. Yet, as time went by and his on-field experience expanded, he started to appreciate Aldrich's original intention behind his training.

Since the second half of last season, he had thought his previous self was already good enough, but now, with the emergence of Millwall's new generation of attacking players, he realized that he truly had the ability to dominate a game.

He takes on the role of a deep organizer, unbothered by the opponents marking him closely. This is thanks to the presence of at least four teammates in front of him, each posing a considerable threat, providing him with the necessary cover. He will never be the primary focus on the opponents' radar. Even if they attempt to neutralize him with one or two players, he can simply shift his focus to supporting his teammates.

Now, he keeps a watchful eye on everything happening on the field, orchestrating the play. His every action has a direct influence on the team's attack.

As he observed the Arsenal players hurriedly sprinting around, wary of his distribution, it would be a lie to say he wasn't pleased. But when he chose not to deliver a threatening pass, the Arsenal players would slacken their efforts. Pirlo couldn't help but chuckle to himself, feeling a sense of triumph.

You guys are so easy to deceive!

Arsenal launched another aggressive attack, which ended in a connection between Bergkamp and Ibrahimović. Ibrahimović headed the ball to Bergkamp, who got past Neil but couldn't get past Southgate. After two quick passes, the ball found its way to Pirlo.

Overmars sprinted directly towards Pirlo, while Petit charged in as well, and Vieira retreated to find Nedved.

Three meters, two meters, one meter—just as Petit was about to catch up to Pirlo from the side, Pirlo made a penetrating pass forward.

At that moment, Nedved made a diagonal run, and Vieira just started moving, closely trailing this former teammate, now considered a longtime rival. But he could only watch as Ronaldinho brushed past him and exchanged positions with Nedved, receiving Pirlo's pass in the center.

Millwall's counterattack surged forward.

With the ball at his feet, Ronaldinho advanced towards the Arsenal defense. Just before reaching the penalty area, Keown stepped in to challenge, while Adams made a conscious effort to defend against Larsson's potential inward run. Without hesitation, Ronaldinho passed the ball to Henry, who had made a sideways run to create space.

Henry received the ball, turned, and as Dixon came in for support, Vieira could only try to intercept him. However, Henry didn't give them a chance to get close, delivering a quick pass straight ahead. Nedved had started his run the moment Pirlo passed the ball, tracing a path that resembled a half-circle, moving from the center to the left. After looping around, he cut inside into the penalty area. At the moment Henry received the ball, Vieira abandoned the chase for Nedved, reasoning that he needed to challenge Henry while Dixon should take care of Nedved.

Could Dixon, at 35 years old, really keep up with Nedved?

Inside the penalty area, Nedved took a lateral step with the ball and unleashed a powerful shot, effortlessly finding the back of the net once more.

Keown, Dixon, and the other players raised their hands to signal for an offside against Nedved, but the linesman remained unmoved. The referee pointed to the center circle, indicating that the goal was valid.

"3-0, 3-0! Millwall leads Arsenal 3-0, and the scorer is Nedved. What a fantastic run he made! This goal should have sealed the game's fate. Millwall is on track for an incredible tenth consecutive league win. If you count the two League Cup matches, one Champions League game, and one Charity Shield, they've won every official match in this new season!"

After seeing the goal, Aldrich turned with a smile and walked towards the substitutes' bench, calling up Gronkjaer and Klose. He picked up a tactical notebook, instructing them to warm up while he jotted down notes, outlining their movement zones during attacks, their main responsibilities, and critical positions during defense.

With his back to the field, he didn't need to look to know how the situation on the pitch was unfolding.

Although Arsenal harbored ambitions of equalizing the score, what they truly needed now was a goal to save face.

Losing to Manchester United was one thing; a 2-1 defeat was bearable. But losing to Millwall by 3-0 would be utterly humiliating, leaving them with no confidence to even talk about competing for the league title. After losing to two direct rivals in the first ten rounds, how could they hope to compete? Were they really relying on Manchester United and Millwall to keep stumbling against weaker teams?

Once Klose and Gronkjaer finished warming up, Aldrich called them over to assign their on-field tasks. Once they understood, Millwall was set to make the substitutions.

"All the Lions fans in the stands are on their feet, applauding Larsson and Henry! They performed brilliantly today; Larsson scored a goal, and Henry provided an assist. They are key to Millwall's victory."

Aldrich's substitution was a clear signal; there was no need for him to say anything further. The players on the field understood that the tactics would change.

They could no longer play the way they had for the previous 70 minutes.

The frantic swapping of positions among the attacking players would not happen again.

Even without Pirlo, the overall strength of the remaining four players on the front line has been greatly improved, but if one of them is missing and the same tactics are continued to be used, the overall influence will definitely be greatly reduced.

Klose would be fixed in the center-forward position, and Gronkjaer would stick to the right-wing spot. Millwall was now ready to adopt a 4-2-3-1 formation, genuinely focusing on defense and counterattacks.

Aldrich had begun his preparations for the game in Turkey that was just three days away.

Meanwhile, at The Den, the Lions fans were singing cheerful songs with their arms around each other in celebration, while the Arsenal fans visiting from afar had already begun to exit.

Arsenal's players remained resilient on the field. Ibrahimović and Bergkamp were actively moving, but the ball never reached them. Their relentless efforts became increasingly frustrating, and Arsenal's desperate pushes for a goal were exactly what Millwall wanted.

Defend and counterattack, defend and counterattack—first defend, then counterattack!

Sylvinho's long ball was headed away by Neil to the flanks, where Schneider then sent a long pass looking for Klose. After Klose received the ball, he didn't turn; instead, he immediately laid it off to the flanks for Gronkjaer, who was full of energy and started a long sprint, driving the ball forward from just past the halfway line.

Facing Sylvinho's defense, he didn't try to overpower him, but passed it into the middle where Nedved received the ball and shifted it to Ronaldinho. Ronaldinho cut inside and delivered a delicate lob to the ** back post, where Klose came charging in for a header. The ball was parried away by Seaman, and in the panic, Keown attempted to clear it. However, the ball hit Nedved and ricocheted back towards the goal. Seaman lay on the ground, watching helplessly as the ball rolled back towards the other side of the net. Dixon sprinted to the goal line, trying to clear it but was a step too late, watching the ball roll into the net.

"4-0! Millwall's scoring isn't over yet, not yet! My goodness, Arsenal has completely collapsed! Keown's clearance hit Nedved and deflected into the net. Millwall's overwhelming attacking power and their mastery of the game's tempo have left Arsenal suffocating in disarray!"

Wenger lowered his head and covered his forehead on the sidelines.

In reality, a score of 3-0 isn't necessarily a disaster, but the way it unfolded put enormous pressure on Arsenal; if we're being honest, "despair" would be a more fitting word.

Millwall's defense may not rank among Europe's elite, but their attacking threat forced their opponents to compromise on offense. If Arsenal took the risk of going all out for attack without scoring, they would leave themselves vulnerable to being torn apart by Millwall. This could lead to a significant psychological blow to the players and a dent in the team's morale.

It was this palpable gap in the on-pitch battle that plunged Arsenal's players into unprecedented despair.

Aldrich had already taken a seat, calmly watching the remaining moments of the match.

As the match approached its final moments, Millwall scored another goal from a corner, with Klose as the scorer. Strikingly, he didn't head the ball in; the first bounce in the box was left unchallenged! This is a critical error in defending set pieces.

With the ball dropping, Arsenal appeared to be crumbling, and their corner defense had clearly broken down, allowing Klose to shoot the ball into the net.

When the match ended, The Den erupted with deafening cheers.

"5-0—who could have imagined Millwall would utterly thrash Arsenal 5-0 in this derby? This score matches Chelsea's annihilation of Manchester United yesterday, but the implications for the entire Premier League are vastly different. Just three weeks ago, Manchester United trailed Millwall by only two points. Now, after three rounds of matches and with October just starting, Millwall has achieved ten consecutive league victories. Meanwhile, Manchester United, winless in three matches, has fallen nine points behind Millwall. There are still rounds left in the league, and even a one-point gap feels enormous between championship contenders. We don't want the suspense of the Premier League title to end too early, but we must acknowledge that Millwall's strength has brought about this situation. They've made it clear to all their competitors in the Premier League: if you want to take the title from them, you'll need to step up your game and work harder. I hope my Christmas wish won't be that by May, we'll still be seeing a title race, but Hall's team seems to compel me to make such a wish this Christmas. Congratulations to Millwall on their ten consecutive wins! They're still far from their record of eighteen consecutive wins in the league, or the all-time record in Europe's top five leagues, but we have reason to believe they could achieve even better results. Clearly, they're stronger now than ever."

The match concluded, the rain had stopped, and the sky cleared. As the evening sun streamed into the stadium, the lingering raindrops sparkled faintly. Aldrich looked up at the sky, then turned to glance at the away team's bench, where Wenger was nowhere to be seen. It seemed their post-match handshake would not happen.

He stood up, embraced his coaching assistants Klinsmann, Jansen, and Villas-Boas, as the cheers of fans from the stands echoed in his ears. He walked onto the pitch and hugged each player. Before leaving, the players joined hands and made a lap around the field to thank the fans who were reluctant to leave, savoring this moment.

Aldrich walked down the players' tunnel with one hand in his pocket, a slight smile on his face as he accepted post-match interviews.

The reasons behind Arsenal's collapse weren't complex: their defense had aged and could not withstand the full-force assault from Millwall's world-class forwards. Support for the defense was required from the midfield to the forwards, yet Arsenal also needed to attack. Falling behind in pace during this transition left them vulnerable.

However, in front of the cameras, Aldrich didn't need to name names or point out that Dixon was old or that Silvinho was still adjusting to the team; such comments would come off as arrogant and disrespectful.

So, he merely stated that Millwall performed better at home and that Arsenal failed to adapt to the rainy conditions. Regarding individual player performances, he responded diplomatically, avoiding deeper discussions.