Inside Manchester City's locker room.
The players had just celebrated the good news of winning the championship in advance, and the next match was also incredibly exciting!
"Don't those Arsenal guys really think they're invincible?" Mahrez said with a mocking tone.
"No way, no way, they want to win?"
"Henry isn't even playing, and even if Henry played, it would be the same. How could he play as well as our King Ma!" Sterling said with a smile.
"No, no, it's all thanks to my teammates feeding me!" Mahrez chuckled awkwardly, but felt a surge of joy inside.
"Do you really think I'm praising you? Do you even know how many chances you've wasted?"
De Bruyne remained silent, watching their heated discussion.
He had now firmly secured the title of the world's number one midfielder.
In recent matches, with Guardiola's excellent tactical planning, he not only provided the most assists in the top five leagues but was also the midfielder with the most shots and goals.
He was now streets ahead of Modric, at least according to the stats.
"Don't be too careless. That Cao Baming on the other side really has some skills. I've watched a few replays, and I don't know how many times I've watched that clip of him single-handedly defending Salah..."
"Indeed, his defense is very strong!" De Bruyne suddenly spoke.
"And his offense is quite strong too!"
"Not bad, among the weaklings, he's certainly considered quite strong."
...
At this moment, Guardiola walked into the room.
"What are you arguing about! Why aren't you studying my tactics properly, do you think you're invincible? Is Messi here? If Messi were here, it wouldn't matter if he was lazy, he can score goals, can you?"
At this, everyone instantly turned into well-behaved children.
They were all too accustomed to Guardiola's daily psychological manipulation, long used to it.
No one expected that in the years they'd been at Manchester City, the name they heard most often wasn't any of their teammates, but a player from La Liga, Messi.
Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Guardiola took out the tactical board and began his explanation.
...
"We've won enough this season, but do you think you're satisfied with this result?" Guardiola asked with a lecturing tone.
No one answered from below.
Different players had different thoughts. Perhaps most of them felt, satisfied...
"Of course not satisfied! Winning the championship four rounds in advance, what's there to be proud of? That's it! Only four rounds ahead, you are the dumbest generation I've ever coached!"
"..."
Silence below.
"Bringing the ball into the penalty area and thinking you've succeeded? Three defenders, four attackers, horizontal three, vertical two, how many times have you failed to do this on the field? You can't even do such simple things, and you still want to win the championship? Ptooey! No, you still want to... achieve thirty consecutive wins?"
De Bruyne could personally attest to how many clear chances he had set up that his teammates had wasted in the penalty area. Not a single one was missed!
Manchester City's locker room had always been this way. Now that they had won the league championship, with Guardiola's temper, he would absolutely not be satisfied.
"Our next opponent is Arsenal, and they are very strong!"
Guardiola's words startled all the players. No way, no way, did Guo actually say a team was strong?
First time seeing this! The players' eyes widened.
Was Messi at Arsenal? He wasn't there either!
The players' hearts pounded, who was this person in front of them? What had he done to Guardiola...
Soon, Guardiola continued...
"...Do you even know what might happen? They might score! We might not even be able to keep a clean sheet!"
"Especially that Cao Baming, his way of scoring is too bizarre. Fortunately, our head coach is me, and I've naturally thought of a solution. As long as you do as I say, there won't be much of a problem!"
At this point, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, this was their coach.
"However, aren't we going to talk about Henry?"
Foden raised his hand and asked.
Guardiola was interrupted and looked displeased.
"What did you say? Henry? What difference would it make if he came? He's just a goal-scoring machine. As long as the defensive formation is set up properly, he won't have many chances."
"Besides, Arteta won't let Henry play!"
Guardiola spoke very confidently, as if he understood Arteta completely.
However, in the players' eyes, their coach always spoke with such confidence, regardless of whether he had the backing or not.
After a night of "coaching," the players' confidence grew significantly.
Guardiola's psychologically manipulative coaching was indeed effective. Strangely, the players seemed to feel quite comfortable listening to it!
The outside world was also filled with anticipation for the upcoming match. The support for both sides was evenly matched, but looking at the odds revealed how many people were just saying that.
Although public opinion seemed to favor both teams equally, the odds were a staggering 3:1, with Manchester City being three times more favored than Arsenal!
This was even more exaggerated than when they played Liverpool, where the odds were only 1:1.2.
It seemed that Manchester City's phenomenal dominance this season was not easily shaken.
Even if Arsenal were very strong, they were likely in for a tough time against Manchester City!
They had already won so much this season. Guardiola was now pursuing not just victory, but a beautiful victory!
Facing such a Manchester City, Arteta naturally lacked confidence in his heart!
Henry had integrated well into the team, but he still wasn't intended to play in the next important match.
On this point, Guardiola had guessed correctly.
The reason was simple: the new tactics hadn't been finalized yet.
For now, Cao Baming was so effective within this system that they could enjoy it for a while longer.
...
Two days passed.
On the day of the match, thousands of fans gathered at the stadium.
This time, the scale was unprecedented. At this rate, even a final might not draw such a crowd.
Before the match, both sides had announced their matchday squads.
For Manchester City, Sterling was injured, which was great news for the fans. Apart from that, all other positions featured regular starters. The midfield core De Bruyne, combined with Bernardo Silva and Foden, formed a lethal triangle that had already dominated everything. Now, they were just facing a new opponent.
For Arsenal's squad, the notable point was that Cao Baming was still in the starting lineup. He could now firmly secure a starting position!
Henry was still listed on the substitute bench, which was one of the reasons fans were so eager to buy tickets.
Before the match, the players were going through their final warm-ups.
Meanwhile, in far-off China, fans had already turned on their live broadcasts, waiting...