amaotonovel Chapter 393 - 66: USA Tour - Arsenal Match I
Chapter 393 - 66: USA Tour - Arsenal Match I
Chapter 296: USA Tour - Arsenal Match
Saturday, July 22, 2023MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey6:15 PM EST
The dressing room sat underneath MetLife Stadium with eighty-two thousand fans creating a dull roar above that filtered through concrete and steel, and Demien sat at his spot with the number fourteen shirt hanging behind him while Ten Hag stood in the center addressing the squad.
"First half lineup," Ten Hag said without checking notes because he’d memorized this hours ago. "Onana in goal. Dalot right, Shaw left. Varane and Martinez center. Casemiro and Demien holding. Bruno at ten. Sancho right wing, Rashford left, Antony up top. Four-two-three-one. Second half complete rotation."
Demien’s chest tightened slightly because this was his first appearance for Manchester United against Premier League opposition and the red home kit felt heavier than it should have.
Mount sat nearby lacing his boots. "You’ll get your chance second half. Just watch how the system works first forty-five."
Ten Hag called attention again. "Arsenal press high. Rice and Odegaard hunt you. When Case has the ball, Demien shows between lines. When they press both, you rotate dropping to collect from center-backs. Simple patterns we drilled all week."
The team headed out for warm-up at six-fifteen and the tunnel walk onto the pitch showed Demien his first American crowd—mixed red and white, United and Arsenal fans separated by sections, noise level already high despite kickoff being seventy-five minutes away.
The pitch was perfect under evening lights and grass conditions were immaculate because American venues maintained surfaces to NFL standards.
Blue text appeared privately.
「MATCH MISSION ACTIVATED」「MANCHESTER UNITED VS ARSENAL」「Pre-Season Friendly」
「OBJECTIVES」「Complete 90%+ pass accuracy」「Win 5+ duels」「Create 1+ scoring chance」
「REWARDS」「20 MP | 3 SP」
The panel faded and warm-up began with passing drills where Demien worked alongside Bruno, Casemiro, Mount, and Eriksen in the midfield group, and the tempo was quick with demands for clean first touches and sharp movement.
Fifteen minutes before they returned to the dressing room where Ten Hag reminded them Arsenal made mistakes against Leeds last week so press their center-backs hard and force errors.
——
7:30 PM EST — Kickoff
Arsenal wore white away kit and United wore red home kit, and when the whistle blew Demien settled into position as the left-sided holding midfielder in the double pivot with Casemiro on the right while Bruno pushed high between midfield and attack.
The opening minutes showed Arsenal pressing aggressively with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard hunting United’s build-up from deep, and third minute Varane played the ball to Demien under pressure from Kai Havertz closing down fast.
Demien’s first touch came off the inside of his right boot and cushioned the ball away from Havertz’s challenge, and his body swiveled using the space created while Havertz’s momentum carried him past, and the simple pass back to Casemiro completed the sequence exactly how Ten Hag wanted.
「STATS ACTIVE」First Touch: 84 | Agility: 82
Seventh minute Arsenal built from back with Ramsdale playing short to Gabriel and United’s press triggered immediately with Antony closing the center-back down, and Demien read the passing lane to Rice and stepped up to cut it off before the ball arrived.
「STATS ACTIVE」Positioning: 86 | Anticipation: 85
The ball bounced toward midfield where Bruno collected but Arsenal recovered shape quickly and United recycled possession back to defense.
Eleventh minute United won the ball in midfield when Casemiro intercepted Jorginho’s square pass and immediately looked for Demien who’d checked into space between Arsenal’s midfield and defensive lines.
Demien received with his back to goal and Ben White pressed from behind trying to prevent the turn, and the activation came instantly.
「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」Claudio Marchisio — Balanced Engine
His shoulder dropped left making White shift his weight that direction and then he spun right using the outside of his right boot to take his first touch away from the pressure while his body shielded the ball, and White couldn’t get around him because the positioning was perfect.
Now facing forward with space ahead he spotted Bruno’s run between Gabriel and William Saliba splitting them with a through ball that used his passing accuracy to put the weight exactly right.
「STATS ACTIVE」Vision: 81 | Short Passing: 88
The ball rolled into Bruno’s path with ideal pace but Bruno’s first touch pushed it slightly wide under pressure from Saliba and his shot from a tight angle went near post where Ramsdale saved comfortably.
Chance created. Bruno jogged back pointing at Demien acknowledging the pass quality while Ten Hag watched from the touchline and nodded once.
Twenty-second minute Arsenal built from back again and Ramsdale played short to Gabriel who was immediately closed by Antony, and Gabriel’s touch was heavy pushing the ball forward two yards instead of one.
「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」N’Golo Kanté — Everywhere at Once
Demien read the loose touch instantly and burst forward closing ten yards in two seconds before sliding in with perfect timing to win the ball cleanly without fouling.
「STATS ACTIVE」Acceleration: 83 | Tackling: 84
The ball broke to Sancho on the right wing who collected and drove at Arsenal’s retreating defense before cutting inside past Zinchenko and shooting from eighteen yards, and the deflection off Gabriel looped toward goal forcing Ramsdale to backpedal and tip over the crossbar with his fingertips.
Corner to United. Demien’s defensive work rate on display.
Twenty-sixth minute Arsenal countered after clearing the corner and Odegaard carried forward centrally with space ahead, and Demien tracked back to recover into position before reading Odegaard preparing to slip a pass through for Saka’s run.
「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」Roberto Baggio — Divine Ponytail
The game intelligence activated two seconds before the pass happened and Demien stepped across to intercept with his outstretched leg, and the ball was cut out cleanly before transitioning to attack immediately with a first-time pass forward to Rashford on the left wing.
Thirtieth minute Bruno scored. Arsenal tried playing out from back for the third time and Gabriel received from Ramsdale under Antony’s pressure, and his first touch was heavy pushing the ball two yards forward.
Bruno read it instantly and jumped on the error winning possession twenty-five yards from goal, and his first controlling touch with his right foot steadied the ball before he struck with the same foot using proper technique.
The ball skidded low and fast toward the bottom right corner with pace and dip, and Ramsdale got a strong hand to it diving full stretch but couldn’t keep it out as the ball squirmed under his body into the net.