Chapter 287: Holding Steady
Bruno thus took over the command of the team. He was still frustrated about the earlier missed goal; he needed his teammates to be united with him to fight against Arsenal. Despite his earlier declaration that he would fight even if he was alone, he knew that winning wasn't possible with just one person.
As Bruno was feeling frustrated, the live broadcast gave him a close-up shot.
"It's hard to imagine that the first most threatening attack in this game didn't come from the home team Arsenal but from the visiting team Udinese. And the one who orchestrated it all was their number eight, Bruno! This Portuguese midfielder always has a surprising sense of inspiration. His dummy was the highlight of the attack. God knows how he knew Di Natale was behind him since he never even looked back..."
The commentator praised Bruno, unaware of Bruno's worries. This attack didn't result in a goal but exposed his real identity. Now, the marking on him would certainly tighten, and Coquelin, though not as formidable as before his injury, could still cause trouble.
Additionally, this attack would likely provoke Arsenal's retaliation. Though they haven't dominated Europe yet, they've consistently made it to the knockout stages and troubled teams like Bayern Munich and Barcelona, proving their undeniable strength. Arsenal is a well-known technical team in football, and if they suddenly go on the offensive, can Udinese withstand it?
Regardless, they needed to weather this storm first!
Bruno quickly noticed a change in his teammates. Arsenal indeed launched a fierce offensive afterward, but Bruno found himself rarely involved in defense as everyone was putting in their utmost effort. He could sense the fighting spirit emanating from his teammates.
It's strange; where did this intense spirit come from?
Though Di Natale's shot didn't result in a goal, the team's previous brilliant coordination gave the previously doubtful teammates a lot of confidence. Whether or not they scored was a matter of luck. But the fact that they, led by Bruno, launched such an attack without giving Arsenal a chance to intercept was what truly mattered.
The Udinese players understood football; they saw what this attack meant: Arsenal wasn't invincible, and they were not weak!
With their morale restored, Udinese engaged in a tug-of-war with Arsenal. Their near-goal attack humiliated Arsenal, prompting them to launch a fierce assault on Udinese's goal, hoping to cover their shame with a few goals. But they didn't succeed. After completing the task of attacking Arsenal at the start, Udinese pulled back to defend and counterattack, giving Arsenal no chances.
Guidolin's tactical goal was nearly achieved; if only Di Natale's shot had been a bit more precise. Now they could only continue the game with a 0-0 score, instead of leading by one goal.
Seeing Udinese retreating into full defense, Arsenal pressed them hard in their half. Amidst the home fans' waves of cheers, the Gunners' offensive grew more intense. Bruno tightly marked Özil, freeing Badu to deal with others like Ramsey, who was also very active.
Twenty minutes into the game, Udinese was playing very passively.
"We can't just keep defending passively!" Captain Di Natale said to Bruno during a stoppage.
Bruno agreed: "I know. We're supposed to be playing defense and counterattack, but we're only defending without any counterattacks."
"So, think of a way, Bruno!" Di Natale had grown accustomed to relying on Bruno on the pitch.
During this time, Bruno wasn't just defending; he was also observing Arsenal, hoping to find something he could exploit. For instance, did Arsenal have any weaknesses in their defense during their relentless attacks?
After some observation, Bruno did find a weakness in Arsenal's defense. When Di Natale pulled back to assist in defense, the positions of Arsenal's two center-backs became problematic—they were too far forward and lacked coordination with the fullbacks. Both Mertesacker and Koscielny were tall center-backs, giving them strong aerial ability and heading capability, but they were also slow. Not only were they slow to turn, but their overall speed was also lacking.
In Arsenal's attacking system, these two were also tasked with occasionally moving forward to support the attack. When they did, only one center-back would stay back, and Arsenal's fullbacks were also very offensive-minded. If Udinese could launch a quick counterattack and accurately deliver the ball to Di Natale or Immobile upfront, they could exploit Arsenal's lapse in focus during the transition from attack to defense.
The challenge was whether Bruno could find the opportunity to pass the ball accurately amidst Arsenal's relentless assaults and whether Di Natale and Immobile could get into the right positions for him to make the pass. This would test their training and mutual understanding.
Coquelin's defensive ability wasn't what it had been in the first half of the season, before his major injury last November, which was advantageous for Bruno. Had it been the peak Coquelin of early in the season, Bruno couldn't guarantee that his final pass would be accurate. Inaccurate long passes would waste attacking opportunities, and defensive teams like Udinese couldn't afford to waste such chances. Hence, every attack needed to be cautious.
Bruno considered the situation from the most challenging perspective but couldn't share these difficulties with his teammates. They needed confidence at this moment. So he nodded to Di Natale and said, "Okay, no problem. Leave it to me."
Di Natale was happy to hear this. He patted Bruno's arm and said, "If you want to do it, then go for it!"
Bruno gave him a thumbs-up.
Twenty-seven minutes into the first half, Arsenal had besieged Udinese's half for fifteen minutes without scoring. During these fifteen minutes, Udinese only had three counterattacks, none of which threatened Arsenal's goal. The ball mostly stayed in Udinese's half. Arsenal tried various ways to break through Udinese's goal, but luck wasn't on their side.
During this time, Arsenal created four dangerous opportunities—one hit the crossbar, one was saved miraculously by goalkeeper Karnezis, and two narrowly missed the goal.
"Udinese seems completely overwhelmed by Arsenal's attack. For them, maintaining this 0-0 score until halftime would be a huge relief."
"Watching this, I can't help but think how great it would have been if Udinese had scored earlier..."
Another three minutes passed, and something significant happened in the last thirty seconds of these three minutes. Bruno cleared a ball intercepted by Widmer, and it landed at the feet of Arsenal center-back Koscielny near the center circle. With no Udinese player around him within ten meters, Koscielny planned to pass quickly if pressured. Seeing no one near, he decided to advance with the ball, thinking he might even score.
Seeing Koscielny dribble forward, Bruno knew what the Frenchman intended. He had done similar things before. Bruno signaled Badu to step up and intercept, while he stayed back to cover. Badu understood and moved up.
As Koscielny passed Immobile, who only pretended to defend without much effort, Koscielny felt more confident. But when he bypassed Badu, he realized the ball wasn't with him anymore—it was with Bruno!
Seeing Bruno take the ball past him, Koscielny knew he was in trouble.
"Whoa! Udinese intercepts the ball! Koscielny is out of position!" The commentator exclaimed.
Seeing Bruno with the ball, Di Natale suddenly accelerated along the flank, Immobile charged through the middle, and Adnan followed slightly behind on the left. The three surged into Arsenal's half like arrows.
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