Chapter 1 Chen Hero's Absence

Chen Hero's failure to return for the night wasn't just a matter of concern for the reporters; Arsenal, Liverpool's opponent, was also very interested in the developments. This was directly related to their battle strategy.

If Chen Hero had gone out without permission and failed to return for the night, he might have a big fight with Martin O'Neill in the locker room. Regardless of who won or lost, it would be bad news for Liverpool. It would definitely affect the team's combat effectiveness and the mood of all the players.

Therefore, someone in Arsenal's coaching staff was specifically responsible for collecting the latest news about Chen Hero.

This person was Arsenal's assistant coach, Stephen Bould.

He lived up to expectations and brought Wenger the information he wanted to know.

"Martin O'Neill said in an interview with reporters that Hero had asked for leave, and he agreed."

Wenger felt a little regret in his heart, but there was no change in his expression. He signaled Bould to continue.

"Then Hero appeared and was besieged by reporters. He seemed to be in a bad mood. He refused the interview very rudely and insulted a reporter..."

Wenger raised his eyebrows. "What did he say?"

"It seems like he told him to go die and get lost or something..."

"Oh? So he's in a bad mood... saying such vicious things..."

"More than just bad!"

Bould nodded.

Wenger fell into deep thought.

Chen Hero is in a bad mood, why? Just because he was harassed by reporters?

He didn't think it was possible. Chen Hero was someone who often opposed reporters. How could he get so angry just because he was harassed by reporters? So there must be another reason.

For example, did something happen when he didn't return last night that affected his mood?

Or had he already had a fight with O'Neill? In fact, he had gone out without the coach's permission, but in order not to let the media hype it up and affect the team's preparation, he lied to the media and said he had agreed. Was that not the case at all? Otherwise, why would Chen Hero be upset?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was very likely the case.

In any case, Chen Hero's bad mood was a good thing. Because it meant he couldn't focus all his attention on the game.

This gave Arsenal an opportunity.

Moreover, Wenger was a very traditional coach, and he attached great importance to the discipline of the players. This could be seen from what he did when he first arrived at Arsenal. He first asked the Arsenal players to abstain from alcohol, and at that time, it was common for English players to drink heavily, and they didn't think it was a big deal. But he broke this bad habit as soon as he came.

So he felt that it was an unforgivable violation of discipline for players to not return the night before the game. It would be fine if he went to nightclubs at other times, but that would only affect training. Could the intensity of training compare to the intensity of the game?

What did he go do the night before the game? Wasn't it easy to imagine? What else could a strong man do? So what if he had a girlfriend?

This was the reason why many teams would gather together to stay overnight the day before the game, even if they were playing at home and didn't need to travel to an away game. It was still the same.

Wenger now felt that Chen Hero's condition was definitely not as good as before.

If they wanted to defeat Liverpool, this game would be a good breakthrough.

He never expected that Chen Hero would cause a "no show" incident before the game. It was really God helping me!

※※※

The reporters didn't get Chen Hero's answer at the entrance of the tunnel and angered him. He wouldn't accept interviews after this important game today, so how much material would they lose!

However, the thought that everyone wouldn't get anything made them feel a little more balanced. If they couldn't get anything, but someone else could, they would be even more upset.

A group of people came to the media seats dejectedly, waiting for the game to begin.

There were also many people waiting to see Chen Hero make a fool of himself.

Their ideas were the same as Wenger's - it would be fine if you went to nightclubs usually, but that wasn't the night before the game. Now you don't return the night before the game, who knows what you went to do, how can people believe your condition? It would be strange if you were in good shape!

Chen Hero's performance in this game would definitely not be as good as before. When he couldn't produce any convincing performance in the game, you wouldn't need to accept interviews after the game. We would have a lot to say after the game, and we would have a lot of scores to settle with you slowly.

Chris Bascombe was in the crowd. He wasn't here to see Chen Hero make a fool of himself. In fact, no reporter who supported Liverpool would want to see Chen Hero make a fool of himself, because that would mean they would have to watch Liverpool make a fool of themselves.

Of course, he had to firmly stand on Chen Hero's side, but at the same time, he was also worried, wondering what Chen Hero had gone to do by not returning for the night.

What important thing made him not even care about the game against Arsenal?

※※※

Wenger was cheering on his players, and he happened to use the thing that Chris Bascombe was wondering about.

"So far this season, Liverpool has not lost a single game. They have not lost in fifteen league rounds. They are at the top of the list, have scored forty-eight goals, and have only conceded thirteen goals. They are the team with the fewest goals conceded, and their goal difference is as high as thirty-five. They may already think they are invincible."

As Wenger spoke, he observed the expressions of each player. He noticed that these players had been successfully mobilized by him.

Although Martin O'Neill refused to admit it, Liverpool had indeed replaced Manchester United and become the most hated object of other Premier League teams - in fact, winning consecutive games and going undefeated for fifteen rounds were not enough to make them hate Liverpool so much. The key was that Liverpool had a magnet, Chen Hero, who was born to attract hatred...

Many people hated Liverpool because they didn't like Chen Hero.

This was like treating Manchester United. Manchester United was strong and arrogant at the same time. Although Manchester United people felt that this was their innate temperament, other people didn't think so, so they hated them.

Now they hated Liverpool for the same reason.

With a little provocation, it was enough to fill the players' hatred value for Liverpool.

He continued, "Just last night, the night before the game, their main striker Chen Hero didn't even go to the hotel. He left the training base directly after training and didn't go to the hotel to join the team until this afternoon. Do you know what this means?"

Wenger stared at everyone.

Then he suddenly emphasized his tone and increased his volume.

"Because you are being looked down upon by them!"

He rarely cursed like this, but in order to defeat Liverpool, he would accept playing the role of a rude and uneducated man!

"You are being looked down upon by Liverpool, you are being looked down upon by Chen Hero! He thinks that even if he doesn't return for the night, he can easily defeat you on the field! Liverpool thinks that even if Chen Hero's condition is affected by not returning for the night, it will not affect Liverpool's ability to defeat our Arsenal at home!"

These words really had an effect. Many Arsenal players in the locker room were already rebutting and protesting with disdain and anger.

Wenger had to add fuel to the fire.

"Since when did we Arsenal become such a team? Letting the enemy think that they can easily defeat us, even at their own home? Now, we have a chance to show them how powerful we are! We have a chance to prove to them that those who look down on Arsenal will definitely die miserably!"

When the players heard that Chen Hero, that bastard, didn't return the night before the game and still wanted to defeat Arsenal, they immediately became angry.

Do you really think our Arsenal is an easy target to bully?

Okay, today we will let you see how powerful we are!

Suddenly, a group of players howled excitedly.

Wenger breathed a sigh of relief, satisfied with the effect of his performance.

※※※

Samuel Meurtz stood in the stands of Anfield Stadium. This position was fixed for him, the location of his season ticket.

Because of what happened some time ago, he was praised by the media as a popular person. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, he specially disguised himself today - he wore a duck-tongue cap and raised the collar of his coat high, shrinking himself into a thick coat. If you didn't pay attention, you wouldn't be able to recognize him.

He and other fans waited in the stands for the game to begin.

The surrounding fans were discussing Chen Hero's failure to return last night.

"Could he have gone to a nightclub?"

"Who knows? But even if Hero went to a nightclub... it shouldn't affect his condition, right?"

"Who can say for sure? He usually goes to nightclubs and it doesn't affect his condition - or at least I don't know!"

"I wonder which nightclub it is, I really want to go and have fun too! If I'm lucky, maybe I can play with the girl that Hero played with!"

"I said, how can you still be in the mood to joke like this? The media said that Hero's failure to return is very serious! They said that it will definitely affect his own condition, and that Martin O'Neill, as the head coach, is so indulgent to him, which is not good for the team's discipline..."

"It's not that serious, is it?"

"Doesn't he usually play like this? I haven't seen his popularity in the team be so bad..."

……

Meurtz finally couldn't listen anymore. Seeing that Chen Hero's image was turning into this in the mouths of the fans, he couldn't allow the fans to say that about Chen Hero.

He took off his duck-tongue cap and retorted loudly, "You're all talking nonsense! Hero is not the kind of person you think he is!"

The surrounding fans were discussing enthusiastically, and they were inevitably upset when someone suddenly interrupted them. As a result, when they turned around, they saw a very popular person!

The media had been hyping up the poor old man who had lost a game ticket, a relic of his beloved son, for some time, with various photos and videos, so everyone recognized Samuel Meurtz at a glance.

"Mr. Meurtz?"

Someone asked in surprise.

"It's me!" Mr. Meurtz replied, and then said to the other fans, "Don't guess here, Hero didn't go to the hotel last night because he came to my house!"

Chen Hero came to do a good deed, but he didn't expect to be misunderstood now. He couldn't sit idly by and watch Chen Hero's reputation be ruined, so he had to stand up and clear Chen Hero's name!

"He went to my house and gave me the ticket I had been looking for. Out of gratitude, I kept him and invited him to dinner. Where did he go to a nightclub?"

Everyone was surprised to hear him say this, "Did you find your ticket?"

"Yes! I found it, it was Hero and his girlfriend who helped me find it!"

"This... Hero is really amazing!"

"Yes, yes!"

A group of people began to praise Hero.

"So don't guess here, I don't think not returning for the night will affect Hero's condition. He drove more than a thousand kilometers to pick up the car, crossing the entire Europe to catch up with the game, did it affect his condition? So many games in the past, so many living examples, can't they make you unconditionally believe him?"

Meurtz's rhetorical question made all the fans present silent.

Yes, when had Chen Hero ever disappointed them? When had his performance not been good enough? So what if he didn't return for the night? They were really confused to be entangled in such trivial matters!