Inside the away dressing room at Highbury, Mourinho slowly looked over the eleven players sitting in front of him.
One impression stood out immediately.
They were young.
Very young.
Before the match, Ethan had sought Mourinho out for a private conversation that lasted more than half an hour.
They spoke about the direction of the club.
About what New Manchester United had already become.
And about what it needed to become next.
Ethan's position was clear.
The result of one match did not matter nearly as much as the future of the team.
Running a football club was not so different from running a business.
As the organisation developed, the strategy that worked at one stage could become unsuitable at the next.
The philosophy could remain the same.
The methods could not.
New Manchester United's core principles had never changed.
But the way the club operated had constantly evolved with its circumstances.
Promotion to the Premier League was a perfect example.
Once the commercial department suggested signing Beckham, Ethan approved the move.
The result was obvious.
Beckham had transformed the club both on and off the pitch.
He had raised its profile.
Increased its commercial value.
And become one of its most important players.
After half a season in the Premier League, outsiders no longer saw New Manchester United merely as an ambitious promoted side.
The perception had changed.
They were now viewed as genuine contenders.
Not yet one of England's traditional giants.
Not yet a club with decades of elite history behind it.
But strong.
Dangerous.
And playing with enough momentum to stand above established Premier League sides such as Newcastle.
That meant it was time to evolve again.
...
The African Cup of Nations had become the club's most immediate squad problem.
The Ghanaian and Ivorian football associations had both made it clear that Essien, Drogba, and the Touré brothers were important to their national teams and were expected to report on time.
Mourinho's request for delayed release had been rejected.
That meant the coaching staff needed an internal solution.
Redondo could no longer be treated as a serious first-team option.
He was effectively semi-retired now.
Much of his role involved representing the club, mentoring younger players, and taking part in charitable work around the world.
Mourinho therefore intended to give opportunities to Mikel and Michael Johnson.
Ethan had plenty of potential transfer targets in mind.
But Mourinho did not want another signing unless one became absolutely necessary.
Ethan respected that.
There was no point forcing an extra midfielder into the squad and creating a problem once Essien and Yaya Touré returned.
Depth was useful.
Overcrowding was not.
...
"The boss asked me something today."
Mourinho's voice broke the silence in the dressing room.
"Are we a big team?"
The players looked up.
Several seemed surprised.
Others simply waited.
Mourinho had developed a reputation for knowing how to reach his players before important matches.
He could provoke them.
Challenge them.
Give them something to think about.
"Do you know what I told him?"
Nobody answered.
A few players shook their heads.
Mourinho smiled.
"I said no."
"We aren't."
That got their attention.
He turned towards the tactics board and slapped a hand against Arsenal's formation.
"So what makes a big team?"
Silence.
Nobody wanted to guess incorrectly.
Mourinho answered his own question.
"The simplest version?"
"A big team doesn't spend every match worrying about the opposition."
"It doesn't change its identity because the shirt on the other side happens to be famous."
"It plays its football."
"It imposes its game."
"And it wins in the way it knows best."
Several players shifted forward in their seats.
Mourinho's voice grew stronger.
"So what is our best football?"
"Running ourselves into the ground?"
"Defending for our lives?"
"Throwing everyone forward?"
He let the questions hang for a moment.
"No."
"Our football is control."
"Pressure."
"Aggression."
Three words.
All of them meant the same thing in one important respect.
Initiative.
Mourinho wanted his team to dictate what happened.
Not react to it.
"If Arsenal consider themselves the aristocrats of London, fine."
"Then we're the club coming to take their place."
"If they think this is their ground, their league, their moment, then make them prove it."
"Don't come here worrying about Henry."
"Don't come here worrying about Vieira."
"Make them worry about us."
The mood in the room changed.
The players were listening differently now.
Mourinho turned back towards the board.
"Everyone knows Arsenal have a problem on the left."
"Ashley Cole is suspended."
"I know it."
"You know it."
"Wenger knows it."
"The entire country knows it."
Then Mourinho smiled.
"So I've started Maicon instead of Kolo."
He looked across the room.
"That means we're going to attack Arsenal's left side all afternoon, yes?"
Several players hesitated.
Mourinho's smile widened.
"No."
"Come on."
"I'm not that obvious."
...
Ethan remembered reading countless analyses of Wenger in his previous life.
For all the Frenchman's brilliance, there had always been questions about one part of his management.
His decisions during matches.
Wenger was not Ferguson.
He was not Mourinho.
Nor was he Benítez or Ancelotti.
He had his own strengths.
His own style.
His own way of seeing football.
But one criticism appeared repeatedly.
At crucial moments, Wenger could hesitate.
Sometimes he waited too long before changing something.
Sometimes his team suffered because of it.
That did not diminish what he had done for Arsenal.
Nor did it erase his influence on English football.
No manager was flawless.
And if Mourinho could exploit one of Wenger's weaknesses, he would.
...
When Wenger saw New Manchester United's starting eleven, Maicon's inclusion immediately caught his attention.
Mourinho had chosen the more attacking Brazilian over the more conservative Kolo Touré.
That had to mean something.
Did Mourinho intend to attack Arsenal's left relentlessly?
Palacio had been excellent all season.
Kaká frequently drifted towards that side.
Essien could support behind them.
Now Maicon would be overlapping as well.
Was Mourinho really planning to commit that many players forward against Pires and Henry?
On the opposite side, New Manchester United had Evra and Robben.
On the right, Maicon and Palacio.
Both flanks looked extremely aggressive.
One of Wenger's assistants leaned closer.
"Mourinho hinted before the match that they'd attack us."
Wenger shook his head.
"Mind games."
"He isn't going to come to Highbury and throw everyone forward."
The assistant hesitated.
"What if he does?"
Wenger thought for a moment.
"Then make their full-backs defend."
"Get our wide players and the front two pressing their back line."
"If they push too high, punish the space behind them."
His decision was made.
Wenger simply did not believe Mourinho would risk turning the match into an all-out attacking contest.
He had prepared carefully.
Arsenal's recent record against major opponents had not been as convincing as their unbeaten run suggested.
Their matches against Manchester United and Liverpool had relied heavily on moments of individual quality.
And New Manchester United had already shown in previous meetings that they could be devastating on the counter.
Wenger expected Mourinho to be cautious.
Mourinho was counting on exactly that expectation.
...
The players emerged from the tunnel to a wall of noise.
Highbury erupted in boos.
Almost all of it was directed towards New Manchester United.
The visitors barely reacted.
They walked onto the pitch with complete focus.
"They're a good side," Eva's grandfather admitted from the private box.
Ethan smiled.
He accepted the compliment without argument.
For security and privacy, Arsenal had arranged a box for Ethan, Eva, and her family.
Several thousand New Manchester United supporters had travelled to London as well.
They occupied one corner of Highbury.
Their numbers were respectable.
But this was Arsenal's ground.
The home support overwhelmed them easily.
That was normal.
No club deliberately gave away supporters enough space to turn its own stadium into a neutral venue.
Down on the pitch, Beckham and Vieira met for the coin toss.
New Manchester United won and chose to kick off.
The two sides spread into their shapes.
Arsenal lined up in a familiar 4-4-2.
New Manchester United appeared in their usual 4-2-3-1.
But formations on paper meant very little.
Only once the ball began moving would the real structure appear.
The referee checked both sides.
Then blew his whistle.
New Manchester United kicked off.
Arsenal's front four immediately pressed.
Not recklessly.
But enough to prevent easy progression from the back.
New Manchester United responded with short, technically clean combinations.
One line played into the next.
The ball moved forward without panic.
Palacio stayed wide on the right and high against Arsenal's defensive line.
Robben started from the left but operated slightly deeper, often moving outside the immediate reach of the full-back.
Kaká's starting position was advanced, although he repeatedly dropped into midfield to receive.
Drogba occupied the spaces between Campbell and Cygan.
Possession moved between both teams.
Neither side rushed.
Neither side looked nervous.
The football was quick but controlled.
"These are probably two of the most technically accomplished sides in the Premier League," Martin Tyler said.
"Arsenal's football is built around control and combinations."
"New Manchester United are more direct, but technically they're just as comfortable moving the ball through pressure."
"The result is that we're seeing very few cheap turnovers."
Andy Gray nodded.
"The width is interesting too."
"Robben and Palacio are staying very wide."
"New Manchester United clearly want to stretch Arsenal."
"Arsenal are doing something similar."
"Ljungberg is holding the right side."
"Henry is drifting left."
"Pires is coming inside more often."
Then the assistant referee's flag went up.
"Offside."
Palacio slowed and gave a rueful smile.
As he jogged back, he turned towards Beckham and raised a thumb.
The pass had been excellent.
Arsenal's defensive line had simply stepped forward at exactly the right moment.
"That diagonal from Beckham has become one of New Manchester United's most dangerous weapons," Gray said.
"Robben, Palacio, Kaká, Cristiano Ronaldo when he plays, they're all quick enough to punish a defence the moment Beckham sees the run."
Tyler agreed.
"Wenger clearly knows that."
"Robben has already been caught once."
"Now Palacio."
"Arsenal are deliberately squeezing the line and trying to catch them offside."
Gray glanced at the pitch.
"That's dangerous too."
"Get the timing wrong once against this front four and someone's through on goal."
The game continued at a fast pace.
New Manchester United repeatedly tested Arsenal's line.
Arsenal repeatedly tried to work the ball towards Henry and Bergkamp.
Neither side could quite land the decisive pass.
Both managers had arrived with a clear plan.
Both believed they knew how to hurt the other.
Mourinho glanced at his watch.
Fifteen minutes.
0-0.
The match had been open.
Entertaining.
But not especially dangerous.
Arsenal had managed two shots from distance.
New Manchester United's best effort had been a Beckham free kick that Lehmann gathered comfortably.
It was probably the most open match Mourinho's side had played all season.
One Henry effort from outside the penalty area had genuinely worried him.
With New Manchester United's defensive line positioned higher than usual, Essien could not always sit in the same deep screening position he normally occupied.
That was the cost of playing more proactively.
Mourinho looked back towards Cassell.
Cassell gave a small nod.
Mourinho thought for another moment.
Then stepped towards the edge of the technical area.
He caught Maicon's attention.
And nodded.
The Brazilian understood.
The next phase of the plan had begun.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
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