At this moment, under Cao Baiming's speech, all the Arsenal players saw this match as a game. Even though the opponent was the powerful Changhe, it did not dampen their relaxed mood, because they were absolutely certain that no matter how they played this game, the result would undoubtedly be a victory.
As the team's coach, Arteta was very helpless about this situation, but he could do nothing. Now, the person with the most say in the team was no longer him, the head coach, but Cao Baiming.
As the captain of Arsenal, Cao Baiming had the highest prestige. As long as he said a word, people around him would immediately believe him without thinking and do as he said. This was leadership.
In a blink of an eye, the game began!
Manchester City, without Haaland, once again fielded a lineup almost identical to that of a year ago, a traditional 4-3-3 formation. However, it was not traditional in reality, as it was a City-style false nine formation.
The team was not that tense about the current situation. After all, even before Haaland arrived, City's strength far surpassed that of other Premier League teams.
At least, the performance data clearly showed this point. Manchester City, with a super goal-scoring machine like Haaland, was undoubtedly terrifying and powerful, but he was not indispensable, nor had they reached a level of dependence on him.
Guardiola's football philosophy's greatest characteristic was its possession-based system. The possession system he built could gradually pass the ball into the opponent's goal. If this could be achieved, then the presence of a striker really made little difference.
Cao Baiming quietly watched the field. At this moment, he had already walked onto the field, and he was fully aware of the little tricks Manchester City was playing.
The opponent still thought they had a slight chance of winning, but this idea was utterly naive, as it was an impossibility.
As the referee's whistle blew, the match finally began. The players of both teams on the field instantly entered the competitive state. However, the difference was that Arsenal players clearly lacked a hint of tension compared to Manchester City players.
They were so relaxed, as if they were enjoying the game.
And at this moment, even many fans naively believed this was an evenly matched contest. But when they saw this scene, perhaps their thoughts should have changed by now.
Manchester City, as the home team, of course, kicked off. After a series of passes, the ball unexpectedly came to De Bruyne's feet. Both offensive organization and threatening passes needed to be handled by him in the end.
De Bruyne could certainly be considered a midfield maestro, and he was one of the few players Cao Baiming respected.
A De Bruyne in form could assist anyone. Even without Haaland, with players like Sterling and Mahrez, he could feed them the ball directly into their mouths.
As long as De Bruyne was in excellent form, even if you found a 90-year-old grandmother to play as a striker in a wheelchair, he could easily score goals. This was the strength of a midfield maestro.
Now, the problem seemed to lie with De Bruyne. Cao Baiming, who had seen it in the simulator, had already noticed this. Although Manchester City's overall strength and form had not yet returned to their previous peak, De Bruyne's individual level had recovered somewhat at this moment.
Cao Baiming didn't know what had happened to him, but it didn't matter anymore, because he wasn't someone Cao Baiming cared about.
After nearly two minutes of play, Manchester City had maintained possession of the ball. This alone showed that Manchester City seemed to be in good form today.
At this point, Cao Baiming had not even touched the ball once, and he had not been within two meters of the ball since the start of the match.
This situation caused the other Arsenal players to begin to doubt. They doubted how much confidence Cao Baiming's pre-match speech had truly instilled in them.
No matter what, the opponent was Manchester City! They had almost been tricked by Cao Baiming into thinking that the opponent was an easy team to bully.
Now, it seemed the situation was indeed not right.
However, Arsenal captain Cao Baiming did not disappoint his teammates. Just as the match reached the three-minute mark, Cao Baiming ran alone into an empty space in midfield. Just as everyone couldn't understand what he was doing, a football suddenly shot over like a sharp arrow, and Cao Baiming was standing almost on the path of the pass.
Could it be that the opposing player really hadn't blinked? The truth might not be as simple as it appeared.
After all, human reaction speed has its limits; it cannot exceed 0.01 seconds. Before the player passed the ball, his body movements had already revealed his intention. Cao Baiming had already predicted that this pass would arrive at this position.
When Salami Ka realized this, it was already too late. Because at this moment, Cao Baiming suddenly erupted to his maximum speed.
Like a rocket launch, his burst of acceleration reached an incomprehensible level. At this moment, the ball perfectly intersected with Cao Baiming's trajectory.
The next second, the football had miraculously landed at his feet, as if he had magnets on his boots.
When Cao Baiming successfully controlled the ball at his feet, all his teammates suddenly understood his intention.
They had never been good at understanding Cao Baiming's thoughts. Even after playing together for a whole year, they still couldn't do it. Every time Cao Baiming made a decision, everyone would be astonished.
At the critical juncture of the third minute of the match, Cao Baiming successfully intercepted the ball. Furthermore, this was the first time Arsenal had gained possession of the ball in the entire match. How could Cao Baiming easily waste such a ceremonial opportunity?