Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 33

33. Time of Pain and Patience

Once again, ‘The Rifle Volunteer Inn’.

The two middle-aged Burnley natives, whose home game season tickets had been snatched away by their children, were once again filling the pub with Burnley residents, loudly sharing their predictions while enjoying beer.

“We have to win today! No, we will win!”

At the shout of an unknown person, the fans filling the pub agreed loudly.

“Yeah! We’ve never lost two in a row since Kim took over!”

“What’s two losses in a row?! We haven’t even drawn two games in a row!”

“Ooooooh!!!”

Watching the other fans burning with anticipation for victory, Henry Smythe emptied his beer glass.

“Hey, do you really think we can win today?”

Seeing the worried face of his longtime friend, Mitch Tyler, which didn’t suit his large frame, Henry Smythe confidently slammed his beer glass on the counter.

“Ah, don’t worry! Honestly, is Arsenal really Arsenal after Arsène Wenger? They’re just a toothless tiger now!”

“Well…”

The two friends, recalling Arsenal’s recent slump to 8th place in the last two seasons after a period of chaos following the semi-forced resignation of Arsène Wenger, who had led the team for over 20 years, nodded their heads, along with the fans who were listening to their conversation.

“Losing to Manchester City on the road isn’t something to be ashamed of!”

“Yeah! Kim has never lost at home!”

If Hyungmin had heard, he would have cautiously pointed out that he had only played 7 home games so far, but fortunately, Hyungmin was currently in the Turf Moor locker room, conducting the final tactical briefing.

“Turf Moor is impregnable!”

“That’s right!!!”

Amidst the agreement from around him, Henry Smythe, who was getting excited, climbed onto a chair and encouraged the fans’ fighting spirit.

“Honestly, Mikel Arteta is worse than Pep Guardiola! He was just Pep Guardiola’s coach!”

“That’s right!!! That’s right!!!”

“If we lost 2-1 to Pep, we’ll probably win 2-1 against Pep’s disciple, Mikel Arteta!”

If Helena had heard, she would have pointed out that it lacked any scientific basis, logic, or even common sense, but the Burnley fans filling the pub didn’t care about basis, logic, or common sense.

“Victory!”

“Victory~!!!”

The crowd responded to Henry Smythe’s shout with great anticipation.

If Hyungmin knew about the passionate support and expectations of the fans taking place all over Burnley, he would have emptied his already empty stomach once again due to the lingering anxiety.

Oblivious to the situation outside, Hyungmin put on a relaxed expression for the players looking at him in the home team locker room and calmly continued the tactical briefing.

“Mikel Arteta hasn’t yet established the optimal formation or his own style at Arsenal.”

The opposing team’s expected formation on the tactical board was 4-2-3-1.

“Alexandre Lacazette is the central striker, supported by Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, and Nicolas Pépé in the second line. But Lacazette isn’t fast, strong, or technically excellent. Ben and James can control him well enough.”

Captain Ben Mee and his central defense partner James Tarkowski nodded seriously.

“The central midfielders are Granit Xhaka and Martin Ødegaard. Xhaka has excellent passing but lacks mobility, and Ødegaard is good offensively but not defensively. If Niki presses them whenever they have the ball and Hannibal and Brownie support, we won’t lose the midfield battle.”

As Burnley’s young midfielders, Nicolas Seiwald and Hannibal Mejbri, nodded, Josh Brownhill, who had given up pointing out the nickname, sighed and shook his head.

“Arsenal’s central defenders, Ben White and Gabriel, are good at passing, so they are likely to launch attacks directly, bypassing the midfield. And right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu will be defensive, while left-back Kieran Tierney will be offensive.”

On the tactical board, the opposing team’s left defender was slightly raised, and the right defender was slightly lowered.

“It’s the opposite of our compatibility. If Karim penetrates the space left by Tierney, and Dwight pulls Tomiyasu out, it will work.”

Burnley’s forwards nodded.

“Okay, then go out and show Arsenal the true face of Burnley!”

He clearly gave the instructions with such confidence.

And even my tactics weren’t that wrong.

So why are we losing like this?

While watching the game, Hyungmin looked at the scoreboard with a hollow expression, then watched the game again. Arthur spoke to him with the composure of age and experience.

“Sometimes, there are games like this.”

“No, does this even make sense?!”

Hyungmin, annoyed by Arthur speaking as if he were a third party, began to argue.

“These things happen!”

“Why does it have to happen here and now?! It’s frustrating!”

The frustrated manager and the equally unhappy assistant coach began to bicker at each other.

Slightly embarrassed by the behavior of his boss and assistant coach, Burnley’s fitness coach, Paulo Morais, turned his head to the adjacent technical area and noticed Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, watching the game with a serious expression.

Paulo Morais wondered if they also needed to have a more serious demeanor.

Of course, he couldn’t know that similar conversations to those of his manager and assistant coach were taking place between fans in every pub in Burnley, and that in one of the historic pubs, two longtime friends had finally started throwing punches at each other.

Naturally, he couldn’t know what the opposing team’s coach was thinking, but while listening to the home team’s manager and assistant coach bickering in the adjacent technical area, Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta gestured to his team and shouted.

“Make the defense tighter!”

Having heard the manager’s instructions, Arsenal’s players seemed determined to solidify their lead, firmly positioning themselves in their own half and only attempting counterattacks through left winger Bukayo Saka and center forward Alexandre Lacazette.

Of course, Mikel Arteta could also understand the opposing team manager’s frustration very well.

If he had pushed this hard against a bigger and stronger team than themselves at home, and the scoreline was reversed, he would have been frustrated too.

Of course, taking a neutral stance, the assistant coach was also right.

Football is unpredictable, and luck can be fickle.

His former boss, Pep Guardiola, was a romantic who openly said that he preferred a beautiful defeat to an ugly victory.

Mikel Arteta, who had taken over a rapidly deteriorating former team, valued immediate points more than such extravagant emotions.

Of course, life has a strangely fair aspect, so statistically, the points gained from playing such a sloppy game today will definitely be lost in a good game later.

But Mikel Arteta decided to put aside such philosophical concerns and gratefully accept the 3 points.

What did it matter how the goal went in?

Whether football is beautiful or ugly, 3 points are 3 points.

If the game against Manchester City was a feeling of despair faced against a team that was ahead of them in every area,

The game against Arsenal was a game where they desperately realized what kind of result they would get if luck turned against them while facing a defensively minded opponent.

21 to 8 in shots during 90 minutes.

7 to 2 in shots on target.

Expected goals of 2.83 to 0.72.

Even corner kicks were 6 to 4.

In other words, Burnley had overwhelmingly dominated the opposing team for 90 minutes, but none of the 7 shots on target went into the goal.

Arsenal only had 2 shots on target, and both went in.

Both were goals conceded from free kicks.

The first was in the 15th minute of the first half.

Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka scored with a brilliant direct free kick from outside the penalty box.

The second was in the 45th minute of the first half.

Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard took an indirect free kick near the halfway line and sent the ball towards Burnley’s goal, which Takehiro Tomiyasu connected with a header, breaking through Burnley’s defense.

The media would surely pick apart the fact that they shouldn’t have given away direct free kicks in dangerous areas, or that they should have defended better in indirect free kick situations,

But Hyungmin knew best that it was realistically impossible.

How could they not commit fouls outside the penalty box when facing Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Martinelli?

And who didn’t want to defend in indirect free kicks?

Arsenal’s Japanese defender had simply outmaneuvered Burnley’s defense.

Burnley didn’t have any particular strengths in set-piece [corner kicks, free kicks, etc.] attacks or weaknesses in set-piece defense, and Hyungmin didn’t have the time or mental capacity to address this right now.

However, thanks to that ordinary part that wasn’t particularly weak, Burnley, despite having a perfect advantage throughout the game, eventually succumbed to the solid defense of a team composed of much more expensive players.

***

The day after the game.

Hannibal Mejbri, one of the four loanees who had resolved to go out to Burnley town again on their first day off after the curfew was lifted, said regretfully.

“Hey, Henry Tyler can’t come out.”

“Henry? Why?” Nicolas Seiwald, who was preparing next to him, asked.

“His father is sick. He said he needs to take care of him.”

“Really? Then shouldn’t we visit him?”

Karim Adeyemi, who had been quietly watching Hannibal’s phone screen, put the brakes on the Austrian-born model citizen who was suddenly burning with the idea of doing community service for the fans.

“Hey, I don’t think that’s a good idea?”

“Why?”

“This guy put a smiling face emoticon after saying his father is sick.”

As Nicolas Seiwald made a shocked expression, Jacob Ramsey, who was listening to the conversation next to him, asked.

“Isn’t that guy secretly a parricide or something?”

“Hey, surely not?”

Hannibal Mejbri tried to defend the friend he had made in Burnley, but he was also embarrassed.

It was the moment when one more victim of the unexpected defeat to Arsenal was confirmed.