Liverpool's third goal was indeed the last straw that broke Arsenal's back.

Or rather, "straw" wasn't quite the right word, because this goal clearly weighed a thousand tons. It wasn't just Arsenal; anyone would have collapsed under that weight.

Liverpool's offensive wave after wave, goal after goal, completely shattered the last bit of hope remaining in the hearts of everyone at Arsenal.

And the person who scored this goal was Chen Hero.

Chen Hero completed his hat trick.

This was also his fortieth league goal of the season!

After Chen Hero's physical fitness began to decline, although he was the league's top scorer every season, his goal count wasn't very high, basically around thirty-something, and he hadn't been able to reach forty again.

Experts had also analyzed with great seriousness that Chen Hero would never have a chance to break forty goals again before he retired. Because, with his body, scoring goals would become more and more difficult, and his playing time would become less and less. Naturally, the number of goals would also decrease.

Wasn't he already showing that trend?

That's why everyone thought Nacho had a good chance of winning the league's top scorer award with twenty-eight goals.

Who would have thought that in this last season, Chen Hero would once again break through the forty-goal mark.

This made the commentators who were broadcasting the game feel unbelievable.

"This is Chen Hero's fortieth league goal of the season! In the previous seasons, his highest was only thirty-eight goals! And this season, he completed such amazing data in less than half a season! If he had a full season, how many more surprises could he leave us before he leaves the football world?"

"A nearly forty-one-year-old guy actually scored forty goals in just fifteen league games! Of course... we must especially thank Manchester City's generosity—Hero crazily scored thirteen goals in one game against Manchester City!"

"Is he really almost forty-one years old?"

"Is he really someone who's about to retire?"

"Such an excellent player, if he really retires, I believe it will be a huge loss for football, and for us fans!"

※※※

The news that Liverpool had scored another goal reached the Emirates Stadium, and Arsenal's entire psychological defense collapsed.

They suddenly felt that it was impossible for them to beat Liverpool, and even if they were leading by one point, they would be caught up.

The two sides were simply not on the same level!

And Fulham took advantage of Arsenal's unstable emotions and lack of concentration to suddenly launch a counterattack and score a goal!

This goal completely killed Arsenal...

If Arsenal were held to a draw by Fulham at home, then Liverpool would overtake Arsenal with a one-point advantage and rise to the top of the league.

The Arsenal players knew this, but after Fulham equalized, they didn't show any signs of encouragement.

Instead, they looked at the celebrating Fulham players with blank expressions.

Hall lowered his head, unable to bear to look at the expressions of the devastated players.

This season, Arsenal had worked so hard for so long, and they had finally failed.

"Arsenal is done for!"

After seeing the expressions of the Arsenal players, the commentator made a conclusion. "They have no fighting spirit left! Although Liverpool's three goals were scored against Portsmouth's goal, it looks to us as if they were scored against Arsenal's goal... Look at their expressions, we are no strangers to this expression. Because just last season, when Arsenal reversed Liverpool at the last moment and won the league title, the Liverpool players had the same expression... Now, the tables have turned, and it's time to pay back..."

※※※

The news that Arsenal had been equalized by Fulham spread to Fratton Park, and Liverpool fans cheered.

They shouted loudly to tell the players on the field the score.

And the entire Liverpool team was also encouraged, and their offensive became even more fierce.

Portsmouth had no chance to fight back against such an opponent.

They were beaten black and blue.

In the end, the score of the game was Liverpool's 6-0 victory over Portsmouth away from home.

If Liverpool hadn't known that Arsenal had gone from a draw to a loss at the end, and had relaxed a little, they would have scored even more goals.

But it was enough now.

After thirty-six league games, Liverpool had jumped to the top of the league, while Arsenal had fallen to second place after losing the game. And the gap between them and Liverpool had widened to two points.

Two points may not seem like much.

But with only two rounds left in the league, this was a fatal gap.

As long as Liverpool wins these two games, the league title will be in their hands.

So after the game, the major media outlets announced that Liverpool had won the league title in advance.

They just blatantly ignored Arsenal.

But Arsenal didn't show anything that would make others take them seriously.

In fact, the initiative was really in their hands. They scored less than a minute after the game started.

As long as they could maintain that, even if they didn't score any more goals after that, and defended that goal, they could still lead Liverpool by one point.

If they could win this game, it would be good news for boosting Arsenal's morale. But they didn't.

After taking the lead, they became preoccupied.

They kept asking about Liverpool's situation, as if they weren't playing against Fulham at all.

As a result, Liverpool scored two goals in a row and scared them so much that their legs went weak. They completely forgot that no matter how many goals Liverpool scored, they were still leading Liverpool by one point.

It can only be said that although they won a league title, this Arsenal team hadn't won a title for too long. Suddenly winning a title didn't make them more confident and possess the qualities of a champion.

Perhaps the media's comments about their championship being a fluke had influenced them, making them really feel that they had just been lucky. As long as Chen Hero returned, they wouldn't be able to win the championship.

But they didn't think about it. There are twenty teams in the Premier League. Besides Liverpool, there are still nineteen other teams. When Chen Hero was suddenly banned, and the opportunity suddenly appeared in front of everyone, why was it Arsenal who finally seized the opportunity to become the champion, and not any other team?

No one told them this, not even the coach, Hall.

This is actually the inertia formed by the ten-year struggle between the two factions in Arsenal—the people of Arsenal focus all their attention on football style and tactics, but ignore that, in order to become a champion, in addition to these superficial things, the inner things are the most important. Do you have the heart of a champion? This is the key factor that determines whether they can become champions.

And the heart of a champion has been lacking in Arsenal since the Wenger era...

They haven't been able to find it back yet.

So it's only natural that they can't keep the championship.

※※※

Although the media was announcing that Liverpool had won the title in advance.

But within the Liverpool team, everyone didn't feel relieved.

This was mainly because Chen Hero, as the team captain and everyone's idol, didn't relax.

If he didn't relax, no one dared to relax.

Although the chances of losing the championship at the end were very small, there was still a probability of that happening after all.

So Chen Hero didn't agree with the idea that they could celebrate the championship now.

He still remembered the lesson of Liverpool's painful loss of the Champions League title six seasons ago.

That time, even he himself was arrogant and underestimated the enemy.

That was the first time in his career that he had been arrogant and underestimated the enemy, and it was the only time.

Since then, his attitude towards the championship has been to never say who wins or loses until the last second.

Perhaps physical fitness will gradually decline with age, and perhaps the skills underfoot will fluctuate due to changes in form.

These things can't be controlled.

But one's own heart can be controlled.

Only a person who can control his own heart can become a true strongman.

And Chen Hero is doing a good job in this regard.

With him as an example, no one in the entire Liverpool team dared to relax, be arrogant, or underestimate the enemy.

Even if Liverpool's opponents in the next two games aren't actually very strong.

※※※

After playing the game against Portsmouth, Gerrard gave the entire Liverpool team a day off.

The league is coming to an end, the schedule is tight, and the players are consuming too much physical energy. At this time, they need more rest.

So the day after the game, the team didn't arrange any training plans.

Everyone can sleep in at home, or go out to relax.

Chen Hero didn't go anywhere. As a man who already had children, he stayed at home to play football with his children.

Chen Yongxiang is really a genius, and more importantly, he is very, very passionate about football. He is willing to spend the whole day with football.

So other people's children will want to go to other places to play when they have a day off, but Chen Yongxiang just wants to play football.

He played football with his son for a whole day. If Gerrard knew about this, he would probably worry about Chen Hero's physical fitness.

But this is nothing to Chen Hero at all. The key is that the child is happy, that's all that matters.

When he was young, Chen Hero would never have such thoughts. Now he feels that as long as his son is happy, he doesn't mind being a little tired.

It's true that when you become a father, your perspective and focus on things are different.

When the afterglow of the setting sun shone in his yard, Chen Hero and Chen Yongxiang, one old and one young, sat on the lawn, the football rolled far away, and neither of them went to pick it up.

Chen Hero looked at his son, who was panting and still looked excited, and felt pity in his heart.

"How is it, son? Was it fun?"

"Fun!" Chen Yongxiang replied loudly.

Chen Hero patted his head: "Then when I retire, I can play football with you every day."

Unexpectedly, Chen Yongxiang shook his head: "I don't want that, Dad."

"Hey!" Chen Hero didn't expect to hear such an answer. He rolled his eyes. "Why?"

"My classmates told me that when you retire, Liverpool will be finished. So I don't want you to retire! I don't want Liverpool to be finished!"

Because his father is a Liverpool player, and he was born in Liverpool, Chen Yongxiang is naturally also a die-hard Liverpool fan.

If Liverpool is finished, he, as a Liverpool fan, will of course be very unhappy.

"This is the law of nature..."

"We can change this law of nature!"

"We? Change?"

"Yes, Dad, you keep playing, keep playing. Then when I grow up, I can take over your job! Look, this way Liverpool will never be finished!"

Chen Hero was stunned.