This time, there was no return to the lounge, no tactical board, no black marker pens, and no small magnets.
Arteta had indeed brought up the Champions League knockout match three days later.
This unbeaten streak of twenty-one matches was not just a league record. If they were to ultimately suffer defeat in the upcoming Champions League, the consequences would be even more dire.
Not only would the streak of twenty-two consecutive unbeaten matches be thoroughly broken, but their Champions League journey this season would likely come to an end here as well, which was utterly unacceptable.
The club's top brass couldn't accept it, the coaching staff couldn't accept it, the players couldn't accept it, and most importantly, the hundreds of millions of Arsenal fans would likely not accept it either.
"Do you know what the most important thing for a team is? No matter how talented players may be, any team in the world, even a random amateur team in a football-barren country, will have gifted players."
"Our greatest weapon isn't Cao Baming, it's not Messi, nor is it Henry. It's this unity. We know who the core of the team is. We all have the same direction in our hearts. When the ball comes, someone will run in that direction on the field..."
"If someone runs in that direction, it means the ball will be passed. This understanding is a manifestation of strong cohesion, and it's merely a manifestation."
"We must realize that in today's world, no team can compare to Arsenal's strength. In terms of average player market value, we might not be the most expensive team in the world, but if we were to purely assess the team's strength, I believe Arsenal is already at the very top."
"As long as we can maintain this unity, the European Cup will be a piece of cake. We can win it easily!"
"Real Madrid cannot stop us, Bayern Munich cannot stop us, Barcelona cannot stop us, Paris Saint-Germain cannot stop us, Manchester City cannot stop us..."
"The pathetic Chelsea naturally cannot stop us either..."
At this point, everyone listening, their blood boiling, couldn't hold back for a moment. Cao Baming even chuckled.
"Chelsea actually made it to the Champions League Round of 16. If it wasn't mentioned today, I would have forgotten!"
"What kind of team is Chelsea? Aren't they a weak league side? We beat them eight-one so easily, and they still made it to the Champions League?"
If you didn't look at the league table, you might not know it. Even after the previous match, Chelsea was still firmly seated in fourth place in the current Premier League standings.
And they were neck-and-neck with Tottenham in third place. They had also qualified from their Champions League group in first place with a strong performance. Their form had been consistently good.
Just two days ago, they had defeated Leicester City 2-0, and their defense was still quite formidable.
This point might be incomprehensible to the fans, even strange. How could Chelsea, who had maintained good form all along, have a defense that seemed like it was made of paper when they faced Arsenal?
The answer to this question was probably known only to Cao Baming.
"To put it briefly, we must win our next match. Our goal is to utterly destroy Real Madrid, the very Real Madrid that stole our championship last season. We want revenge!"
The players had waited for over an hour to finally hear this "brief" statement.
Arteta always liked to add this phrase at the end of his lengthy speeches, which often lasted an hour or even longer.
At first, it felt a bit comical, even becoming a private joke and a point of sarcasm among the players. But now, everyone had long grown accustomed to it.
"I hope Real Madrid doesn't block our path to meet the formidable Chelsea! I hope they know what's good for them!"
"Hahaha, your hope is misplaced. You should pray that Chelsea successfully defeats Juventus and advances. That's not an easy task."
"I wonder if they'll wet their pants at the start of the game next time we meet? Remember to remind me on match day to check their trousers."
As they chatted, they recalled an incident where a player had actually wet his pants on the field. It was when Cao Baming had just joined Arsenal. The player had been so stunned by Cao Baming's thunderous shot that he lost all control!
After all, before Cao Baming's appearance, no one had ever seen a football possess such power. Absolutely no one had.
They walked back to the training pitch, laughing. Since they were determined to win this match, training was still very important.
There were only three days left before the match, and it was an away game, which was not good news.
An away game in the Premier League was not the same concept as an away game in the Champions League. The difference was immense, a true ten thousand leagues apart.
Fortunately, everyone was filled with confidence now, which was the most reassuring thing.
The most dreaded thing for a team is to lose confidence before the match even starts. In such a case, it's equivalent to losing the match before it begins, and the outcome usually wouldn't be surprising.
On the training ground, everyone was focused and relaxed, even though there were only two days left for training.
The total duration of the two days of training was not long. It was impossible to devise a special tactical plan specifically for Real Madrid in such a short time. Fortunately, they had already prepared for this match.
It was a good thing that Arteta was a sensible person and knew that relegated teams like Bournemouth posed absolutely no threat to Arsenal. Therefore, he could naturally focus the targeted training on the more important opponent, Real Madrid.
He had long studied Real Madrid's current tactics and lineup changes.
This season, they had found two great treasures: the midfield maestro Zidane, and the super tank in defense and midfield, Carlos. With the support of these two, Real Madrid had become completely revitalized.
They were already the absolute dominators of La Liga, and this season, Real Madrid had become even stronger, to a suffocating degree. In La Liga, they had already opened up a gap of two tiers with all other teams. Even their old rivals, Barcelona, were merely like ants in front of this Real Madrid team.