ps, three updates for today, and three more tomorrow~ Begging for your monthly votes, we are being overtaken!

※※※

As the match between Arsenal and Liverpool drew closer, the media began to hype up the scoring rivalry between Van Persie and Chen Hero again. But this time, it didn't have much effect.

Because Van Persie was no longer the Van Persie who had scored thirty-six goals in a single season. His good form and health only lasted for two seasons, and this season he was tormented by injuries again. He didn't get many chances to play. So far, in fifteen league rounds, he has only played eight games and scored three goals. He's no longer in the same league as Chen Hero.

If it were up to Wenger's old temper, Van Persie, who was over thirty years old, should have been sold off after that season in which he scored thirty-six goals. Because he would have still fetched a good price at that time. If not, he should have been sold this summer. This was the last chance.

But Wenger didn't do that.

Starting from October 1996, he has coached Arsenal for seventeen years. In these seventeen years, he has been known for cultivating talented young players, and at the same time, he always seemed to be at odds with those veterans.

Few veterans have ended well under him. Most players, as long as they are over thirty, Wenger starts thinking about how to sell them for a good price. Renewals are all on a one-year basis—which is completely insulting.

Many people have criticized Wenger's approach as inhumane and also the reason why Arsenal has lacked championships for a long time. Because there are no more qualified old players under him, they are all a bunch of kids. How can you expect this group of young soldiers to cope with big occasions? Lacking the leadership of experienced veterans, a group of young people may be able to win a few big games when things are going smoothly, but if they are not... they may fall directly to the bottom. All the problems of young people are fully displayed in the Arsenal team. It has to be said that this is what Wenger's team-building strategy has brought about.

This seems to have formed a vicious circle—without veterans, all young people, they can't win championships. If they can't win championships, let alone veterans, even promising young people can't be retained. The former captain Fabregas returned to Barcelona, where he started, for the championship. Players such as Nasri also abandoned Arsenal for the championship and went to other teams that could win championships. The loss of talent has made Arsenal weaker year by year, and they still haven't won a championship to this day…

These blows seem to have given Wenger some touch.

He maintained enough confidence and patience in Van Persie.

In this season when Van Persie was frequently injured, he even unusually took the lead in offering a new contract with decent terms. If Van Persie signs this contract, it would mean that he will retire in this team!

This was hard to imagine before…

Van Persie changed from a handsome young man to a veteran, and Wenger also seemed to have changed…

※※※

In his early years, Van Persie really had the idea of ​​leaving Arsenal because he couldn't win championships. But when he was seriously injured at the age of thirty and then constantly suffered minor injuries after his comeback, he no longer had the idea of ​​leaving. He felt that his career would probably end at Arsenal. His only wish now is to help Arsenal win a championship before retiring, no matter what kind of championship, as long as it is a championship…

He has decided to accept the new contract offered by the club.

Two years ago, he once said in his competition with Chen Hero: "If this game doesn't work, there's the next game, and if the next game doesn't work, there's next season."

He doesn't mention these bold words now. He no longer regards Chen Hero as his enemy, because Chen Hero is a rising sun, while he is already setting in the west and starting to decline.

There is no comparison between the two. He failed to defeat Chen Hero in the golden age of his career, let alone now.

Having abandoned his competitive spirit with Chen Hero, he is now more focused on helping the new players in the team and passing on his experience and skills.

This is also why he has only scored five goals. It's not to say that his shooting skills have really declined, and his goal-scoring rate has also declined. It's just that he has retreated from a pure shooter to the second line and become an organizer. In Wenger's tactics, he is more of a passer than a scorer.

His position and role have changed several times with his time at Arsenal, from the wing to the center, from the shadow striker to the center forward, from the center forward to the attacking midfielder. Each change has witnessed a period of Arsenal's history.

But in today's game, he is going to pick up the spear that he hasn't used for many years, put on his armor, ride his war horse, and charge to the front… to kill the enemy!

Before this game, Wenger found Van Persie and told him his idea. In this game, he wanted to put Van Persie back on the front line to be the center forward.

Let Van Persie entangle with Liverpool's tall defenders, and use Van Persie's flexibility and skills to find opportunities from Skrtel and Agger.

This task is very important. Wenger suddenly felt a little uneasy about entrusting it to those young lads…

He went from not trusting veterans to not trusting young players. Everything that happened at Arsenal also affected this famous coach.

Van Persie had no objection to the coach's arrangement, and he agreed to everything.

At the same time, a burst of pride rekindled in his heart.

Competing with Chen Hero for the entire season, he no longer has the energy. But at the very least, I can compete with you in this game, and have a showdown, Chen Hero!

※※※

Martin O'Neill never expected that Wenger would push Van Persie, who should be playing as an attacking midfielder, back to the front line and make him a center forward at the very front!

This was a big surprise to him.

At the beginning of this season, Van Persie withdrew from the center forward position and became an attacking midfielder. Wenger made full use of his skills, experience, and awareness to lead the young lads around him. So Van Persie doesn't shoot much now, and he also scores less goals, but his number of passes has gone up, and his number of assists has also increased, and the effect is still pretty good.

Arsenal's main striker this season is twenty-year-old Ryo Miyaichi from Japan, who was loaned to Bolton for the previous two seasons, and only returned to his parent team this season. Due to his outstanding performance during his loan spell, he was able to play as a main player this season, replacing the poorly performing German shooter Podolski.

Ryo Miyaichi was once hailed as the "Cristiano Ronaldo of Japan", with speed, skill, and physicality. Together with Takashi Usami, Takumi Miyayoshi and others, they are collectively known as the "Platinum Generation of Japanese Football".

As Arsenal's main striker, he has scored ten goals this season, making him the team's top scorer.

But in this game, Ryo Miyaichi was placed on the wing, giving the center to the veteran Van Persie.

Originally, Martin O'Neill's research, intelligence, and defensive tactics in the penalty area were all aimed at Ryo Miyaichi, but he didn't expect that it would suddenly be replaced by Van Persie, which caught him a little off guard.

Not only was he caught off guard, but the entire Liverpool team was also caught off guard.

At the end of last season, Van Persie suffered a serious injury, and only recovered before this season, but after that, he has been suffering from minor injuries, unable to play systematically, and his game status has been intermittent. The Liverpool players all felt that Van Persie was finished. He used to be injured frequently. There were two years in the middle when he didn't get injured much, but he didn't expect it to be just a flash in the pan.

So no one regarded Van Persie as a threat. On the other hand, Ryo Miyaichi and Walcott were more of a headache for the Liverpool players…

Who would have thought that Van Persie would be the closest to them in this game!

And Arsenal took advantage of Liverpool's unpreparedness and scored a goal in the ninth minute of the game.

The scorer was Robin Van Persie!

"The goal is in! Van Persie! He cleverly broke through Agger's defense, and then shot with his left foot! Beautiful! The football only hung in the far corner!!" Zhang Jun, a famous commentator in China, shouted. "Arsenal took the lead against Liverpool with this goal in less than ten minutes of the start of the game! Before, everyone thought that Arsenal's chances of beating Liverpool at home were probably not great, but now it seems that everyone guessed wrong! Van Persie, who is already thirty years old, has been classified as a 'veteran', but it is this veteran who gave Liverpool a fatal blow! Who dares to stand up with a sword? Only my General Van!"

※※※

From the surprised and unbelievable eyes of those Liverpool players, Van Persie saw the disdain and contempt deeply buried in their hearts.

He knew that in the eyes of these people, he could only play as an attacking midfielder, getting further and further away from the goal. His scoring ability must be much worse than before.

So they never expected to defend his shot…

This aroused the remaining unruliness in Van Persie's heart—how can I say that I am also Arsenal's player with the most Premier League goals in a single season! You look down on me so much?

Okay, we'll see!

※※※

Chen Hero frowned when he saw Van Persie running to celebrate the goal with his teammates.

He had been a little dismissive of him before the game. After all, he has only scored three goals this season, and his name cannot be found on the scorer list. Chen Hero had long stopped regarding Van Persie as his opponent, and he didn't think that Van Persie could still threaten him.

But he found that he had overlooked a problem.

Even if Van Persie can't really threaten him in the entire season, he is entirely possible to threaten him in a game!

He doesn't need to beat himself in the entire season and win any top scorer. He only needs to defeat himself and Liverpool in this game. Then he is considered to have lost to Van Persie! Because the competition between two people sometimes does not depend on each other's goal data…

Therefore, Chen Hero, who discovered this problem, frowned.

Although he is no longer a figure who dominates the scorer list, his remaining power is still there…

I really shouldn't have underestimated you, sorry.

Who dares to stand up with a sword? Only my General Van!

Good, good, really good!

Such an opponent is really good!