Chapter 13: Manchester City Vs Arsenal: Preparations

With just a day left before their big face-off against Arsenal, Gregory had to make sure the players were well-prepared for the match.

They had to come in a bit late for training that Friday, and after that, they made their way to the locker room where he was going to explain everything to them.

"Those guys from London are going to be here tomorrow so listen up everyone." The coach said before tapping his fingers on the board behind him.

'I guess I get why he's getting so worked up.' Axel said inwardly. 'We got knocked out by Arsenal in the third round of the Carabao Cup, it was a close match but none of that matters if you end up losing the game.'

"Before I tell you guys how we're going to be handling them, you have to know what formation we're going to be using and who's going to be in the starting eleven." He remarked before quickly setting a four-four-two formation on the board.

'Hmm, four-four-two.'

"We'll be playing with this formation and for that reason, Peterson will be starting on the bench so that Terry can start in midfield."

As soon as the coach disclosed that, Axel slowly turned his gaze to Terry a little to the right.

Terry was a twenty-seven-year-old central midfielder who had not been able to get that much playtime since he joined the club last season.

It was obvious from his face that he was glad that Gregory was starting him in this match but that was mainly because the other two midfielders in the squad were out injured.

"Alright, now that you know that, let's talk about how we're going to deal with Arsenal." There was a hint of annoyance in his voice as he quickly changed the formation to four-three-three. "This is their standard formation but that's not mainly what we're going to be talking about because their success recently has been more on individual performance than teamwork. All we need to do is block their main source of goal." He added before pointing to the striker on the board.

'That is true, most of Arsenal's goals this season have been from Mathys Henri Tel, eighteen goals scored so far this season but even with that, they're still stuck in fourth place struggling to move past Liverpool.'

"But that's not the only thing we need to do, we also need to take care of their number one provider, Arda Guller has good vision but he can't do anything if he doesn't get the chance to make those long passes, so we have to make sure he barely gets the chance to do so." He articulated. "And then finally there's this Lionel Messi reincarnate on their right wing."

'Seriously? You know you can't use that word when Messi is still alive.' Axel sighed inwardly. 'But I guess it makes sense to call him that.'

Davidson Green was notably one of the best youngsters in the game, only two years older than Axel, he had already made a name for himself in the world of football as one of the best dribblers able to slice through the defense like a hot knife through butter.

The only reason Gregory didn't consider him to be their main threat was because his finishing wasn't that great. Still, he could always pass whenever he got the chance but he didn't have that Lionel Messi vision so he wasn't that much of a threat either but getting close to the goalpost was his forte and things happen most of the time when he pulls that off.

'He's going to be tough to deal with, but I want his shirt after the game.'

The coach went on to explain other things about how they were going to be doing things in the match, and after that, they were allowed to head home.

"Looks like you won't be on the pitch for the first half tomorrow," Axel said as he made his way down the hallway alongside Peterson.

"Yeah, but that's okay, if he thinks this is the best way to handle the match then I'm okay with it, I'll be joining in the second half so it's okay." The winger responded.

"Just like me you always have a positive outlook on everything." He smiled before turning his gaze away from him.

"Maybe that's why we get along so well." He put his arm over his shoulder just as he said those words. "So, what did coach tell you before we left the locker room?"

"Uh, he just told me to keep my head up because they're going to be scouts in the stands tomorrow."

"Oh, scouts from which teams?" 

"He didn't say." The youngster shook his head. "But I don't care either way, I'm going to try my best tomorrow just like always not for the scouts to notice me but so that I can stay in this team for a little while longer."

"Well, you have what it takes so don't worry," Peterson remarked before giving him a little pat on the back.

________ _______

The sun was almost completely gone from the sky when Axel got home but he wasn't in a hurry to open the door.

He stared at the sky as it slowly grew dim and after a couple of seconds, he let out a sigh before pushing the door open.

"I'm home."

He walked into the room to find out that there was no one there waiting for him and once again, he let out a sigh before slowly bringing his gaze down.

"Oh, yeah, that's right." He muttered before slowly closing the door.

He slowly got his backpack off his back and just held it with his left hand as he dragged his feet to the staircase.

Once he got to the staircase, he stopped moving before slowly raising his gaze.

"I wonder if she's in her room or went out to get something." 

He proceeded to make his way upstairs, and once he got there, he made his way straight to his room.

He closed the door as soon as he walked in there and proceeded to drop his bag on the bed before bringing out his phone from his pocket.

"One match, one goal Zero assists, and my first big game's tomorrow." He muttered before making his way to the bed. "Time for me to see what I can do."

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