Ramsdale's saves this season have been nothing short of miraculous. With a mere brush of his hand, he managed to parry away a shot that was heading for the absolute corner. If that ball had gone in, the sheer beauty of the entire sequence, combined with that wicked curve and the precision of its final placement, would have undoubtedly earned it a nomination for the Puskás Award this year.
After catching the ball, Ramsdale threw it to a nearby teammate and then cheered them on with cupped hands. Instantly, his own morale surged, feeling immensely satisfied and confident with this save.
It happened to be Cao Baming who received the ball. One moment he was in the front lines organizing the attack, and the next, he had retreated to a defensive position to collect the goalkeeper's throw.
It is precisely this fluid or perhaps peculiar positioning that makes Cao Baming so unpredictable.
After carrying the ball forward a few steps and observing the various lines on the field, Cao Baming decisively passed the ball once he reached midfield, sending it to a teammate on the wing. This was also the optimal passing route predicted by the system.
Arsenal's tactics were very clear. Although Cao Baming was a free agent across the entire pitch in this match, his role was primarily defensive.
This style of playing as a free agent, running all over the pitch, while offering ample freedom, still had its limitations. In any match, there would always be a focus, either on offense or defense, which was unavoidable.
The world is such that you must give something to gain something. If you go all out on offense, your defense will naturally suffer. Conversely, if you focus entirely on defense, your offense will inevitably appear weak and ineffective.
While it might be considered weak and ineffective, this was only in comparison to Arsenal themselves. When placed amongst all the teams in the world, it remained a top-tier offense and defense, without a doubt.
Cao Baming, as the core of the entire Arsenal team, had been with them for such a long time. Arteta's understanding of him was already quite thorough. While outsiders might see no weaknesses in Arsenal, he, as the team's head coach, had long since identified the team's vulnerability.
That vulnerability was their heavy reliance on the current team core, Cao Baming. Once he retreated to defend, the attack would become weak and ineffective. If he participated in the attack, significant gaps would appear in the defense. If he could see this, others would undoubtedly see it too.
Therefore, in matches against weaker opponents, Cao Baming's position would lean towards offense. However, against top-tier strong teams like Real Madrid, Cao Baming would undoubtedly need to maintain a steady defensive focus, leaving the attacking duties to the two top superstars in the front line, Messi and Henry.
Observing the situation on the field, Arteta gradually realized the current reality: Real Madrid might also have spotted this weakness. After all, their opposing head coach was not to be trifled with; he was a cunning and experienced individual.
Their attacks often initiated just as Cao Baming showed the slightest inclination to organize an attack. Once Cao Baming passed the ball to a teammate, the entire Real Madrid team would instantly increase their tempo and begin a high press.
These attempts had been repeated three or four times, and even one successful instance was enough to create significant danger.
In the seventh minute of the match, Real Madrid launched a very dangerous attack, which stemmed precisely from a high press and a successful recovery of possession.
The ball was intercepted from Cao Baming's pass, which was entirely different from intercepting someone else's pass. Because after Cao Baming passed the ball, he was unable to immediately retreat into defense. If a counter-attack were to launch at this moment, Real Madrid would have a very high chance of scoring.
Thomas lost the ball in midfield, and Rodrygo, who had dropped back to receive the pass, was the one who actively made the interception.
Taking advantage of Cao Baming's turn, Real Madrid threaded a diagonal pass forward. The ball moved across the pitch like an electric current, with simple and crisp triangular passes, directly reaching the front line and finding Benzema, who was about to surge forward!
Ultimately, Benzema's first shot was blocked by a defender. At this moment, Cao Baming still had not fully retreated into defense.
Seeing the ball fly high into the air, everyone prepared to contest the second ball. Everyone was well aware of how strong Benzema's heading ability was.
The next second, the ball slowly descended into the penalty area. Near the edge of the box, it fell almost vertically. At this point, Benzema was already positioned to receive the ball, preparing to head it directly into the goal without a touch.
Fortunately, at this crucial moment, White appeared beside him, using his body to forcefully block Benzema's jump, preventing him from comfortably heading the ball towards the goal.
Although White did not gain an aerial advantage, he was sufficient to disrupt Benzema. As a result, although he managed to head the ball, he directed it wide.
This miss was not slight; it sent the ball out of bounds.
The entire Arsenal team breathed a sigh of relief, as did head coach Arteta on the sidelines.
However, this was only a temporary reprieve. It seemed the opponents had recognized their weakness, and if this continued, problems would inevitably arise.
Cao Baming, on the field, was naturally well aware of this.
He glanced at Ancelotti, who was thoughtfully standing on the sidelines, and then a slight curve formed on his lips.
"I didn't expect such an obvious problem to finally be recognized now."
However, Cao Baming was not worried in the slightest. After all, this merely made things more interesting. Winning too easily would be devoid of any challenge.
As the match continued, the goal kick was taken to midfield, and Cao Baming, as expected, received the pass and proceeded to handle it.
Arteta frantically signaled from the sidelines, urging Cao Baming to retreat further back, so that he could defend against the opponent's attempts to exploit the space behind him.
However, Cao Baming, on the football pitch, although he heard Arteta's calls, remained unmoved. He continued to act as the organizational core of the entire team in midfield, with all passes needing to go through his feet.
But the more he acted this way, the more Arteta's heart pounded. Every pass Cao Baming sent out was a potential danger, something that the opposing Real Madrid team seemed to have studied for a long time.